There's No One Home

 

A walk on the beach will invariably result in finding lots of seashells and along the shore between Hoylake and West Kirby there are millions upon millions of them. Each shell host to a creature (clam, mussel, oyster, cockle, whelk, razor clam etc) which in turn is a source of food for the many wading birds and gulls that can be found along the coastline here.

I thought this was quite a magnificent specimen, once home to a whelk (a type of sea snail) but now abandoned and exposed by the tide. I liked the way the light caught it and the reflection it cast in the shallow puddle in the sand.

Beach Life

I started off today's blog thinking about how well camouflaged the shells in the first picture are, how well they blend with the colour of the rock. I also thought what good protection these shells have provided for the inhabitants as you can see they are chipped and worn but the creatures inside were clearly alive and clinging onto the rock for dear life.

Then I have ended the selection with the bright yellow shell in the final picture. This one was empty and its' occupant had left it behind or perhaps even been eaten by some predator or other, I love the colour and on a beach where everything else seemed to be shades of grey it really stood out. I wonder what purpose this bright colour has.