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| It was 7-10 pm Beach Buoy had son in law and his dog for company. It was Sunny with a wind from the west. The tide was high. A man was keeping watch over the Little Tern nesting site. |
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| The four of them headed South. |
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| Not a lot of people about, |
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| When it is ok to get the blues.......... |
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| Earlier in the day Beach Buoy spotted a passing oil rig as he was returning from work. It is being decommissioned in the River Tees. BEACH BUOY. |
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| It was 6-30 pm Orange clad joggers gathered in the car park. It was a bit of a squash, so Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog headed for the beach. Mams and Dads stood lining on the promenade wall, watching their children doing sporty type training on the beach. The Little Tern Nesting site still looked all good, nice that everyone is heeding the warnings and letting them be. Beach Buoy walked to the water's edge. It wasn't a long walk as the tide was so high. A family tried flying kites in the breeze from the south. "Run into the wind!" the lady shouted. The kite spiralled and fell to the floor. The man running into the wind was coming in for some criticism for his technique. Beach Buoy thought the problem was the kite design? You shouldn't have to run and run. |
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| It had been sunny earlier but it clouded over when they arrived at the beach. The sea was royal blue and the sky, oddly enough was sky blue out at sea. It gave a crisp and contrasting horizon. The sea was calm enough, just rippled a little on the surface. The Sea Serpent was nowhere to be seen. He may have gone to see the mermaids over at Longscar Rocks? Maybe they were all relaxing in that sub sea cave having a whale of a time ... in fact perhaps the whale is there too? ..... anything is possible. A man and a Border Collie appeared from the south, they were closely followed by a man with a wag powered Spaniel. |
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| Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog stopped at the Grey Rocks. The sun came out. Even Stubborn Dog was pleasantly surprised. They stayed a while and stood their ground when two ladies with three Alsatians off the lead headed their way. Stubborn Dog was enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the seaside. He laid flat and went to sleep. When it was time to go, he didn't want to. He can't help being stubborn, it's a breed thing. It can be cute. But when you are tired it can be a pain in the neck, the back and the legs. |
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| They finally headed back. The Sun stayed out, so their shadows hitched a ride back to the van. |
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| They parked up on the sea front and made a cup of tea. Then a cup of Coffee for good measure. They sat and relaxed. |
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| Beach Buoy did venture out to take some photographs of the clouds in the bay. |
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| ..... and of the Headland |
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| ..... and of the clouds with the shades of the setting sun. BEACH BUOY. |
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| It was mild and it was muggy. 6-30 pm the time. The village Church bells rang. As Beach Buoy was parking the van, cars were being emptied of their colourful owners; a keep fit get together was about to start. The group chatted and giggled as more and more joined the throng. In the end they were louder than their clothing. Beach Buoy went to the beach. It was good to see that people were staying away from the Little Tern nesting site. Two Horses and riders walked the water's edge. It wasn't far off high tide so the beach was fairly narrow. Beach Buoy headed south and watched as two ships swapped places ; one heading for sea and the other bound for Port. He glanced back to see the keep fit group strung across the beach, evenly spaced like a Police search team (In every shade of high visibility clothing ) looking for the murder weapon!...... They were heading his way. Beach Buoy walked on ...... he checked back. They had all legged it in the opposite direction. Did someone shout "Coffee and Doughnuts?" He walked to the grey rocks and turned 180 degrees. The sea was calm. The air was calm. So far along he could see the keep fit club (Special Branch.) running up and down the Dunes , possibly to work off those doughnuts? A bemused dog owner watched as his big daft dog ran up and down the dunes with the club. He didn't even eat a doughnut. |
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| Two new cushions for the van. BEACH BUOY. |
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| Beach Buoy drove the short distance to the beach. As they approached the sea front, a man walked by . He was taking two small white clouds for a walk, that's what it looked like. They arrived in warm and windy car park at 5-03pm. The man watching over the Little Tern Nest site, that Beach Buoy had talked the other night, was on duty; binoculars in hand. |
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| The wind was whipping sand from the dunes and scattering it out at sea.... and right across the nest site. Birds face the wind , so those plucky Little Terns must have been getting a face full? |
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| Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog headed south, passing clumps of storm delivered Seaweed that was laid near the strand line catching the sand as it tried to blow over. |
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| The Sky was looking good with lots of fluffy white clouds. |
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| The beach was so relaxing and almost deserted. |
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| Beach Buoy had a long sit and think down by the grey rocks. Stubborn Dog laid at his feet, as flat as roadkill. It would have been longer if two random dogs hadn't appeared from the dunes to run into the sea. It was time to go... Beach Buoy passed his own boots prints as they returned. BEACH BUOY. |
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| Beach Buoy was woken by the sunlight streaming through the bedroom window like a movie on a screen. It was 5am. Beach Buoy had gone to bed very late; too late. He was up! By the time he found both mo and jo it was 5-25 am at the car park. The Sun had hidden behind a wall of Fog. The Clock Tower was hidden from view when stood in the water treatment car park. Beach Buoy looked over the promenade wall, all seemed well with the little terns. He could hear them in the fog, but couldn't see them. Beach Buoy walked down the ramp to the beach. He had walked a minute or two then thought "Did I lock the van?" He headed back to the van. Stubborn Dog went into mega stubborn mode thinking that he had been given the shortest beach walk ever. They walked and dragged their way to be in sight of the van. Beach Buoy pointed the key in the direction of the van and tried the remote.....nothing. Then he remembered an old Top Gear Show. He pointed the key at his head and FLASH FLASH the van was locked. Back to the Beach. There was a pale glow in the sky where the Sun should be. |
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| As they headed south the fog began to clear. Waves rolled in gently but every now and then a couple of waves would come and Slam Dunk the beach. |
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| The sun was trying its best. |
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| The Beach was a game of two halves... To the South now, a hint of blue sky and a brightness that was welcome. |
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| To the North it was still Foggy. A wall of Fog seemed to be heading along to the town and the headland. |
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| Within twenty minutes or so the fog had cleared the village. |
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| Beach Buoy found a comfy bum shaped rock to have a sit and think on. He was directly opposite the Sea Serpent and its marker. Beach Buoy yawned loudly. For a moment the world stood still. In his haste to go to the beach, he had grabbed the damp coat from last nights walk. The Sun was out fully now, it dried his coat and warmed his fat face. A ship came out of Port. The crew must have been glad the Fog had cleared even with all of today's technology to assist them. The comfy bum shaped rock became a spike. Beach Buoy stood up. They started a slow walk back. Cars could be seen now along the front. Beach Buoy wondered how many seaside resorts were waking up right now? Chairs being placed outside cafes. Full fat Sunday Newspapers weighing down the newsagents shelves. |
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| The tide was going out. |
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| They headed on north. The beach was still deserted. The Skylark sang as the wind picked up, carrying its song out to the Mermaids as they brushed their wavy locks of seaweed tangled hair. Beach Buoy went to the van to grab the binoculars. He rested on the promenade wall to look at the little Terns. It was just after 7am The 7 am club arrived. They had come via the promenade to steer clear of the nest site. Mari the poodle stood on her back legs to say hello to Beach Buoy. They chatted a short while and one of the group left some treats for Stubborn Dog. Beach Buoy returned to the promenade later in the day. One of the bird's minders informed that there were around 30 nesting pairs. Some Ringed Plovers too. He said they had been caught out as they were ready for the Terns at Crimson but they didn't come . It is thought some came to Seaton Carew and some of the colony had gone up the coast to the Long Nanny site. The-long-nanny-little-tern-site BEACH BUOY. |
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| Beach Buoy had been to work. He and Stubborn Dog arrived at the beach at 5pm. A bird watcher type had set up camp on the promenade over-looking The Little Terns nesting site. Flask and binoculars on promenade wall and another pair around his neck. A fellow bird watcher type had just left the scene with a laminated sign in hand as he headed to the beach, where others were running bunting between the KEEP OUT cones the lined the edges of the nesting site. A normally, speak when spoken to Beach Buoy asked the man how it was going. The man said he had been there all day and all day yesterday. Beach Buoy mentioned that the birds are more usually up at Crimdon, about five miles up the coast. The man informed him that crows had got to the eggs. Beach Buoy suggested maybe that's why they have moved here, the man agreed. Beach Buoy was surprised to be right for once. The man informed Beach Buoy that the eggs take 19 to 21 days to hatch. A lady in jeans and RSPB top walked quickly to the scene. She told the man more barriers might be needed at the sea end of the nesting site. She must have had a busy couple of days?... "We are going to be shadows of our former selves when all this is done." Beach Buoy told the man "It was nice taking to you." The man returned the compliment. Beach Buoy headed to the sand. A couple of helpers can be seen putting up the bunting on the first photograph. |
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| There was a mild wind from the south west. The wind carried the smell of the riverside industry. A bitter acrid smell drifted across the beach. Slants of rain moved across the horizon. Beach Buoy was hoping he had timed the walk to miss out on a soaking. |
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| The scene to the north didn't look too promising in the "Miss out on a soaking" stakes. |
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| It seemed a little brighter to the south.... just a little. A "Man" walked by with his dog. He didn't bother to clean up his dog's mess. As he walked he vaped. Puffs of smoke come from him as he walked. Another unwanted smell drifted across the beach but now it was Srawberrys, filtered by a stranger's lungs. A walking jogger appeared from the dunes and started to run again once he realised that he had an audience. Beach Buoy glanced back to see a fisherman following along the water's edge, with a number of bags, rod and tripod. Up at the grey rocks a couple gathered driftwood for a fire that they had started at the dune edge. Then the heavens opened and rain fell out. Lots of rain fell out. The raindrops were so large it felt like hailstones. The fire went out. Beach Buoy turned back. The walking fisherman had set up half way along the beach. He was trying to put a raincoat on in the downpour. |
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| The photograph doesn't do the scene justice, but St Hilda's Church over on the headland had a glow of its own. They arrived back at the van soaked to the skin. A young couple were taking a turn watching over the terns. BEACH BUOY. |
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| No Beach tonight! A late drive over to Hartlepool Headland. It was 10 pm and still light. |
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| Across the Bay lies Sunny Seaton Carew. BEACH BUOY. |
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| It was a later than usual beach. 7-30pm and the rain had finally stopped. |
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| Signs added tonight to compliment the lines of cones that appeared. |
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| Lots of grey around but there was a hint of light to the north. A ship way out on the horizon even seemed to lit by bright sunlight. Or perhaps it was the good ship Lucy Nation? |
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| The tide was well out. As the beach drained it put patterned cuts in the sands. |
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| It was a mild evening, the walk was needed tonight. |
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| The beach was almost deserted. A white haired lady beach-combed as she headed back north with her little black dog. She was up in the shingle, so Beach Buoy headed closer the water's edge. BEACH BUOY. |
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| Foggy Beach 6-20 pm. It looks like the chattering terns are nesting on a busy part of the beach? Two lines of cones won't keep people and dogs out! |
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| It was a grey day..... BEACH BUOY. |
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| It was 3-58 pm. It was windy. It was grey. It was deserted. It was the middle of June but felt more like the middle of October. The wind blasted across the beach from the north east. |
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| The rough sea brought seaweed the seaweed brought Balloons. |
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| Beach Buoy collected seven in total... |
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| The Sky was a light and lumpy grey whereas the sea was darker; darker than the road that had brought them here. Waves were hitting the end of South Gare Pier and rising up as high as the and as wide as the light that marked the end of the line. |
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| Stubborn Dog wanted to stay. BEACH BUOY. |
