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Exploring the most splendid playground in the world! Recording UK marine wildlife.

“The seashore is the most splendid playground in the world. There is so much to do and so much to see that we never grow tired of being there. No matter how long a time we may spend at the seaside, there are always new treasures to seek, fresh discoveries to make – always something more to interest or amuse us.”                                                                                      
                                                                                                           The Sea Shore by F. Martin Duncan

Those words were written over a hundred years ago in a book for children but they are still true today, and just as true for adults as for kids – in my case anyway! You will find me exploring the marine environment at every possible opportunity, snorkelling, diving, turning over boulders on the seashore and peering into rockpools.  My home patch is the north east coast of England from Yorkshire to Northumberland. This is a beautiful and extremely varied coastline; highlights include the iconic and ever-changing Spurn Point, Flamborough’s chalk headland and sea caves, the rugged limestone cliffs and reefs of the Durham Heritage Coast, and Northumberland with its sand dunes, castles and islands. 

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Beetles, flies, bugs, bees, wasps and ants!

Here’s a bit about myself and how my passion for insects developed. My interest was sparked more than 60 years ago at primary school. Our house in Uckfield backed on to a flowery meadow occasionally cut by hand for hay. I was aged about 10 when I noticed the variety of insects present, including many different butterflies and, with the aid of an Observer’s book, I soon learnt to recognise them.  During my first year at secondary school, I met a boy in my class with similar interests. His father worked in the office at a Decca Navigation station, located in the centre of a forest about 5 miles away, and we had permission to wander freely in the heath and woodland surrounding the radio mast. The area turned out to be an amazingly rich habitat for all kinds of insects, although at the time we were not aware that the forest hosted the only known British colony of the Lewes Wave moth. Unfortunately, it became extinct after the site was destroyed around 1960, so this was a lost opportunity to see something really special.

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