Cormac MacFhionnlaoich
@cormacscoast.bsky.social
Hiking guide providing walking tours along Ireland's Atlantic coast Cliffs of Moher, Burren,Slieve League Zoology Marine Biology Geology Botany Local history
Netted Dogwhelks (Tritia reticulata) moving in on some food. These little scavengers behave like an intertidal cleanup crew and once they pick up a scent they move faster than your average snail. 🐌⚡️ County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
A vividly coloured Furrowed crab (Xantho sp.) waving his claws about. 🦀🤨 County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
Sound on 🔊 Dripping water echoing through a Seacave at lowtide. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
A "Seaweed Tattoo" on a rock at lowtide. Seaweed dries on the rock at low tide and the chemicals released during the drying remove a thin layer of algae from the rock just beneath the Seaweed. When the tide returns and washes away the dried Seaweed it leaves behind an imprint (Tattoo).
Midday sun, casting shaddow on the rock faces at the Cliffs of Moher. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
A Sea Cucumber (Holothuria forskali - I'm guessing) extending its retractable tentacles and rolling over to show off its tube feet. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
Gina's busy defending her treat (Cleavers/Stickywillies) from Boxer's attention. He decides to comes over to complain that she's not sharing 🤣 County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
A bit of Summer drizzle has this snail moving out on the open road again, after a long dry spell kept them confined to shady areas. 🐌 County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
Small periwinkles (Melarhaphe neritoides) are tiny semi-marine gastropods (snails) that live in cracks and crevices around the high tideline. Although they spend most of their time out of the water they need access to the sea to reproduce. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
A pretty pebble- likely a glacial deposit from the last iceage. Volcanic in origin, it stands out against the rest of the sedimentary limestone and sandstone commonly found here. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
The large purple patch in the water at the bottom of the Cliffs of Moher is a huge accumulation of Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita). It's hard to get an idea of scale when you're looking down from a height of almost 700 feet, but I'd say that there's a few hundred thousand of them in it 🪼😲
Another gorgeous Goniatite fossil 😍 County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
Seacave water, so clear and still - it looks allot shallower than it is!! The backs of these caves make for secluded spots that grey seals sometimes use as nurseries. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
A group of Snakelocks anemones (Anemonia viridis) devouring a Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) that they've managed to get a hold of. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
DELAYS - due to Thick topshells (Phorcus lineatus) crossing the track. 🐚🚂 County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
(1/2) As a child I'd often spot these "oil spills" in small pools or roadside drains and assumed it came from vehicles or dumped waste. I later learned that most of it was organic - and actually coming from soils or rocks in the area. They way to tell the difference is by touching the surface.
(1/2) A Snakelocks anemone (Anemonia viridis) and a Strawberry Anemone (Actinia fragacea) on the shore during lowtide. Strawberry Anemones like many other intertidal dwelling anemone species, have the ability to close up and hold water inside when the tide goes out.
A selection of fossilized Crinoid stems, preserved in a piece of a dark shale, concretion. Crinoids are marine creatures, related to starfish and sea urchins. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
In this image that evokes a "Parent and child" scene, are a pair of Goniatite fossils that have lain facing each other in the sediment layers, that make up the Cliffs of Moher, for over 300 million years. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
Seaweeds (like the leaves on trees) often lose their dark red/brown or green colours as they decompose, often changing briefly to bright pinks or yellows like the one here. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
A partially "hatched" septarian nodule (fossilized mud bubble). County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
One my favourite seashells to find on the shore 😍 - a Common Wentletrap shell (Epitonium clathrus). County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours
A partial European Lobster (Homarus gammarus) shell. Although a deep blue colour when alive, lobsters (like many crustacean species) turn a red or orange colour, as seen in this video, when exposed to heat or direct sunlight. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours