The strong wind was picking up sand grains from the beach, filling up the upturned limpet shell. Saltation is the main process for transporting sand from a beach into sand dunes but this was an offshore south-easterly so the sand was ending up in the sea. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltation_%28geology%29
Uploaded to Geograph by Hugh Venables on 16 September 2006
Photo © Hugh Venables, 16 September 2006.
Licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons licence