MAGICAL SEASIDE TREASURE HUNT
Shore search suitable for all the family – kids love it!
Care of the Sea Shore
The seashore is a very fragile environment. Pollution, litter, trampling on plants and frightening animals all cause damage. Take note of the following and you will ensure that the shore is left as you found it.
Don’t take animals home – they don’t survive for long
If you have turned over a rock to see what is underneath, don’t forget to turn it back again. Most animals will not survive if they are left exposed.
Take your litter home, leave nothing behind.
What you might find:
Common Limpet (Bairneach Coiteann)
Description
Habitat: On the rocky shores at either side of the pier.They cling to rock surfaces with their strong sucker foot.
Colour: Greyish shell with white inside. Empty shells can develop orange, green and brown hues from being continually being washed by the sea.
Size: Up to 7cm.
Common Razorshell (Scian Mhara Chuar)
Description
Habitat: Most often found washed up on beaches and shores.
Colour: White but often covered with a brown flaky covering.
Size: Up to 12cm.
Common Shore Crab (Portán Glas)
Description
Habitat: In rockpools, under seaweed, on rocky or sandy beaches and in shallow water.
Colour: Can have a variety of colours greenish brown, yellow, red or black.
Size: Up to 7cm.
Edible Cockle (Ruacan)
Description
Habitat: Buried in the sandy mud along the shore – you might have to dig for them to find live ones.
Colour: Creamy white with tannish marks at the edges of the shell.
Size: Up to 5cm.
Edible Perriwinkle (Gioradán)
Description
Habitat: Attached to rocks, at the edges of rock pools and under seaweed.
Colour: Dark brown.
Size: Up to 3cm.
European Cowrie (Fínicín Eorpach)
Description
Habitat: Washed ashore and normally in the middle of lots of other shells. You will have to travel back along the shore on the left-hand side of the pier to find these. They are quite difficult to find!
Colour: Creamy pink to orangy brown.
Size: Up to 1.2cm.
Flat Perriwinkle (Faocha Leathan)
Description
Habitat: On any of our shores – these shells are very plentiful and a very colourful addition to your shell collection.
Colour: Yellow, green, orange, brown.
Size: Up to 1cm.
King Scallop (Muirín Mór)
Description
Habitat: Live scallop can be found along the shore at very low tides and empty shells can be found along the shore.
Colour: Live scallop are reddish brown but empty shells can often be washed whiter.
Size: Up to 15cm.
Lugworm (Lugach)
Description
Habitat: At low tide on the muddy part of the shore.
Colour: Grey and sandy looking.
Size: Up to 20cm.
Painted Topshell (Faochán Mhuire Dathannach)
Description
Habitat: Mostly empty shells are found along our shores and even they are difficult to come across. Keep looking though, they are quite beautiful up close.
Colour: Pink with darker banding and white spots.
Size: Up to 3cm.
Purple Flat Topshell (Faochán Mhuire Corcra)
Description
Habitat: Very plentiful on all our shores.
Colour: Grey-green with purple markings.
Size: Up to 2cm.
Queen Scallop (Muiríní Banríon)
Description
Habitat: Live scallop can be found along the shore at very low tides and empty shells can be found along the shore. More difficult to find than King scallop.
Colour: Dark pinkish.
Size: Up to 90cm.
Rough Perriwinkle (Faocha Gharbh)
Description
Habitat: Quite plentiful along our shores, rock pools and under seaweed. Empty shells washed up.
Colour: White, brown, green, yellow, dark purple and orange – white are the most common in our area.
Size: Up to 1.8cm.
Beadlet Anemone (Bundún Coirníneach)
Description
Habitat: Under seaweeds, rock pools and on our rocky shorelines at either side of the pier.
Colour: Can be red, orange green or brown.
Size: 2-7cm in diameter.
Bladder Wrack (Feamainn Bhoilgíneach)
Description
Habitat: On any of the rocky shores along the seafront. Be careful it’s very slippy!
Colour: Olive Green to yellow-brown.
Size: 15-100cm.
Common Barnacle (Garbhán Carriage Coiteann)
Description
Habitat: Cemented to rocks, stones and shells.
Colour: Yellow to greyish-white.
Size: Up to 1.5cm.
Common Blue Mussel (Diúilicín)
Description
Habitat: Difficult to find live mussels on our shores but you will find lots of empty shells along the shorelines. Live mussels attach themselves to rocks and stones.
Colour: Blue black shell with a white inside. Many are cover with barnacles.
Size: 1-10cm.
