Blue Monday along the Wild Atlantic Way

So today was Blue Monday. Apparently the most depressing day of the year, not for me though. Michael from Nature Learn had posted recently about sea creatures –  By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella) – so I went searching.

The first stop was Kellystown near Ransboro, Strandhill (photo at the top of the post).  It’s the first time I’ve been there and it’s such a beautiful, peaceful, place. All I could hear were the sea birds, there wasn’t even a sound from the sea. Such a still, perfect, day and a pleasure to just walk along and enjoy my surroundings.

There were quite a lot Velella velella washed up along the shore, they are so small it’s quite hard to spot them. I’ve used a coin so you can get more of an idea of the size of them.

I went on to Gibraltar Point where Michael said there were a lot more of them – he was right. There must have been hundreds all washed up along the shore.

They are absolutely beautiful, the colours are amazing. The turn transparent when they have dried out. Isn’t nature wonderful? You can read more about these stunning creatures here.

Next time you are walking down by the Atlantic have a closer look at the shore, you never know what you’ll find.