At a quick glance, the beach looks like, well, a beach at Cleveleys, but stop a minute and look more closely and you’ll see it’s a rich and diverse environment.
The sandy beach next to the new steps is host to all manner of invertebrates and sea creatures, many of which live underneath the sand. Refreshed twice a day by the tide, the table is never empty for the birds who feed in the shallows.
Go northwards past the cafe onto the shingle beach at Rossall Promenade, and the shingle and stone section above high water is home to a wide range of wildlife. There are wild marine plants managing to take hold and grow on the high sections near the wall - these are specially adapted to the harsh environment and regular dowsings with salt laden spray and sea air.
The strand line all along the north west Fylde Coast holds seaweed and twigs in which the sea birds hunt for their food. You’ll see Sanderling and Turnstones running in flocks along the edge of the tide and searching among the pebbles for food - when they stop they are indistinguishable from the stones! The sea and beach is also home to invertebrates and sea creatures, and a rich diet for the large numbers of Oyster Catchers with their distinctive orange legs and long curved orange beaks. The sea at Cleveleys is very clean which helps support such a wide range of sea life. Seals are often to be seen, with their black heads bobbing up and down in the water, although you may need binoculars to tell them apart from a swimming gull - unless they have come to shore for a rest!
Marine Conservation Society for information about our seas and shores
The Fylde Coast Marine Life Project is logging and recording wildlife found on this coast
