Recently my niece and sister-in-law visited us from across 'The pond' and so we needed to find something of interest to do, in the out-back of Norfolk, in the middle of winter.... That will keep a ten year old engaged. Mmmm, tough call.
Well having reviewed all the options (not a lot in January) we decided to go and see the seal colony at Blakeney point. Having been in Norfolk for 2 years we should really have made a point of visiting these seals before as it is one of the biggest breeding colonies in the British aisles and it is right on our door step. As I write this I am watching the BBC Winterwatch programme and they are showing footage of the self same seal colony from earlier this winter. They report that there are 1,200 seals there right at this moment. They breed in winter and the peek time for cubs is November to January so we got to see a lot of cubs albeit that they were more like teenagers.
My niece loved them, as we all did, and it is something that Alison and I intend to do again soon.
Here are some of my favourite photos.
 |
| The vast majority of these seals are Grey seals |
 |
| Smile, you're on candid camera! This is one of the older cubs rapidly losing it's young cub fluffy fur. |
 |
| A mother takes her cub swimming |
 |
| A manly belly flop |
 |
| Up to 11ft long the Bull Grey seal can weigh as much as 48 stone and up close they look really formidable |
 |
| Sealed with a kiss |
 |
| A seal appears to be in blissful ignorance as a Turnstone scuttles by |
 |
| A smaller Bull seal showing the scars of previous battles from other Bulls fighting over a female, or just another Saturday night in Essex. |
 |
| The harsh reality of life and death as a Greater Black backed gull feeds on a Grey seal cub's carcass |
The nearby salt marshes are really busy with thousands of migratory birds and vast flocks of geese take to the air every time a Marsh Harrier spooks them, it is just brilliant up on the coast at the moment.
6,596
No comments:
Post a Comment