Hauxley Nature Reserve, Northumberland

Sanderling 90
Dunlin 10
Turnstone 10 (some in summer plumage)

Sanderling and turnstones.

Coquet Island. This is one of the last places in the UK for breeding roseate terns.

There's some really interesting stuff going on, on the beach at Hauxley. As you can see in this photo, there are three layers. The sand dunes are apparently on top of an ancient peat bog, which is itself on top of clay. In this photo you can see part of a tree which has been preserved in the peat. I wonder how old it is? Well, at least old enough for about 30cm of peat to have accumulated over it (at the rate of about 1mm per year) and then for a sand dune to have formed over the peat. And how long has the sand dune been there?