Low tide
22nd August 2009, SaturdayThe longest tides of the year stretch the terrafirma of Rye Bay beyond its usual bounds.
Sounds are the yelps of Redshanks echoing in the canyon of the harbour mouth, the river gurgling past, distant Herring Gulls out along the shoreline and the mumbling of the only other person on the beach, all the time on her mobile phone. Strangely, sounds from Rye town leapfrog intervening baffles to arrive intact on the beach: the rumble of weekend motorcycles and the PA from the Dog Show.
Necklace Shells (above) break the surface of the sand. They prey on bivalves like the Thin Tellin (below) using a chemical to bore a hole through the shell.
As the tide turns and saltwater flows back up the beach gulleys, the surface bubbles with a vanguard of little fish.