Low Tide at the End of the Pier

Walked to the end of the pier at low tide - a very sad sight - just a collection of concrete bocks and boulders.

One of the huge slabs of concrete dislodged from the pier.

Looking at the same slab from below.

Looking at the end of the pier from the other side of the harbour.

Wild Weather and Rough Seas

No-one on the swings at the Massney Braes.  Two days of heavy snow showers had left around 10cms of  snow underfoot with some drifting in places.

Looking towards the West of Largo Bay, waves crashing on to the shore.

Down at Lower Largo Harbour, the sea was pounding the pier, which was already in a parlous state.

The sea was channeling behind the Crusoe Hotel and  coming onto the road, leaving behind stones and other debris.

Looking towards the East of Largo Bay

A Tiny Rock Pool

A tiny rock pool on the beach (middle-shore) approaching Lower Largo Harbour from Lundin Links. Lots of barnacles and some limpets but my eye was drawn to the centre of the pool where there was a mass of  minute blue-grey larval-like creatures (about 3mm in length) that were in continual rapid motion although maintaining the roughly circular shape of the mass.

Looking at the close-up photo (click to enlarge) they are segmented, with antennae and paired legs. That suggests arthropods and crustaceans. (Crustacea is the major group or subphylum of the phylum arthropoda  that includes the crabs, prawns, and sandhopper types of animal.) I think that these are very small marine crustaceans of the order isopoda, although I wouldn't like to hazard a guess at the species. The land-based woodlice belong to the same order - they have an ‘armoured’ body or exoskeleton with lots of limbs and joints, and their body is flattened from top to bottom. Can see the resemblance to woodlice in the close-up below.

Update (August 2015) - Thanks for the comments and especially to the person who identified them as marine insects of the order collembola  rather than crustaceans, with the name Anurida maritime or seashore springtail.

A Delicate Structure - Identification

About a year ago I found the bird skull (pictured here in the first two photos), on the beach near Lower Largo Harbour. I thought it was that of a small diving bird, a tern, perhaps, but wasn't sure. The mystery was solved on a recent trip to the Isle of May. On a tray in the splendid new Visitor Centre there was a variety of objects that had been found on the island and I was surprised to see a bird skull that looked virtually identical to the one that I had found. Helpfully labelled by the Scottish National Heritage Staff as a guillemot skull, I had the identification for my find.

The guillemot skull displayed in the Isle of May Visitor Centre.

Lower Largo Pier - More Storm Damage (2)

 The high tides have battered the end of Lower Largo Pier in the last week.

Further damage resulting from the high tides and wind over the last few days.

Huge concrete slabs from the top surface of the pier lying at the entrance to the harbour.

Sleeping Eider Ducks

Two male eider ducks asleep on the Lower Largo Harbour slipway.

I tried not to disturb them as I took a photo but they must have heard the camera shutter and next moment they were off into the water joined by another that must have been round the corner.

There were more eider ducks swimming in the shelter of the harbour.

Eider Ducks at Lower Largo

Often see eider ducks on the rocks opposite the pier in Lower Largo. Today though they were in the harbour. Most of them seemed to be sleeping.

Male eider duck (Somateria mollissima).

Waves Crash Ashore

Strong south-easterly winds blowing across Largo Bay saw some spectacular waves at the harbour in Lower Largo.

Waves swamping Largo pier.

Breakers roll ashore.

Foam covers the beach in front of the Temple car park at Lower Largo.

Pipit On Lichen Covered Sea Wall

A pipit on the sea wall at the western approach to the harbour at Lower Largo. Because of its proximity to the shore, I think that this is a rock pipit but I don't think I would be able to tell the difference between a rock, meadow or water pipit. The striking yellow lichen is likely to be Xanthoria parietina.

After the Deluge

Debris in the Keil Burn in Lundin Links after heavy rain swamped the East Coast of Scotland last night.

Reflections in a flooded field.

 Gulls alight in the lake that has formed at the bottom of a flooded field between Upper Largo and Lundin Links.

 Flooding on the road between Lundin Links and Upper Largo.

Flooding in the fields and on the road.

The Largo Burn in Spate in the Serpentine Walk.

Foam covers the beach at Lower Largo

Three boats swamped at Lower Largo harbour.