Had a look at Shoreham Beach to see if there were many stranded starfish and what else I could find of interest on the strandline.
There were very few starfish present. Mainly bits of larger ones, especially single legs. There were a quite a few dogfish egg case but only two ray egg cases. Only one of these was intact and possible to identify. It was from an undulate ray. The egg felt heavier than the empty cases and smelt. I carefully cut it open to reveal a partly developed ray with egg yolk. The embryo had started to dry. (see below) 
It was interesting to see the number of pebbles with holes on the beach. It took a lot of searching last month to find a few for a display, today they were everywhere. We now call thgem lucky stones but were originally refered to as hagstones and where reputed to be a protection again witches. Here are just a few of the hagstones I found on a short stretch of beach.
1 comment:
Dear Steve, I was interested to see the hag stones you have collected. Hagstones were also used traditionally to protect the home and boundaries from unwanted intruders.
I am quite superstitious and would very much appreciate it if you would consider selling me a few. I have a paypal account.
My email address is
julia146@hotmail.co.uk
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