Seaside in the wind, rain and hail

I had a walk along part of the beach by Mudeford and Christchurch, dodging hailstones and  trying to shelter from the showers.  It was very bracing but quite enjoyable.  The waves were really high and some of the car park couldn’t be used as the water was coming over the barriers.  A small group of Oystercatchers were flying around, stopping here and there to pick among the pebbles on the beach.  There were also lots of Turnstones which move around increadibly quickly.  There was also a sudden influx of Pied Wagtails bobbing up and down among the pebbles.  I took some photos although it was tricky to keep my camera dry.

There were gulls everywhere as you would expect so I didn’t take any photos except for a Herring Gull next to a Starling on the chimney and a Lesser Black-Backed Gull, also on the chimneys.

The cliffs can be quite dangerous in that area and there are often rockfalls.

I tried to take some shots of the waves.  There were a couple of jet-skiers out on the sea, as well as yachts and the odd windsurfer.  Must be mad!

This is just an interesting piece of seaweed among the broken shells and pebbles on the beach.

There was a lifeboat on the water but I think they were just practising.  They didn’t seem to be doing a rescue of any sort.

and to finish, these cute wooden reindeer were in front of a little information centre.

This is a video of the Oystercatchers, Turnstones and waves on the beach.