That seals it

We are coming very late to this party. For a few years now I have been aware of the seal colonies on the East coast and how in the early Winter they can be good places to see seal pups. A lot of friends and acquaintances have been and come back with some great tales and photos. Now with a bit more time on our hands and a good weather forecast we decided to bite the bullet and go to one of the two prime locations - Horsey Gap in Norfolk. We set out in good time (5.15!) and got to the car park, north of Great Yarmouth, just after 7.30. There were already 5 or 6 cars there, parked up behind the dunes with lots of signs and noticeboards pointing us in the right direction. You could hear snorting and mewing noises from behind the dunes as we pulled on our warm clothes, sorted out the camera gear and set off.
I thought it was going to be a bit of a walk but it only took a couple of minutes to get up onto the top of the dunes. Looking down there were seals in both directions, and lots of them.

From the noticeboard we gathered that over 1400 pubs had been born this year. You could certainly see lots of them on the beach.

With the tide very high they were pushed up close to the dunes, meaning that the mothers were having to be aware of the larger males who were there in large numbers as well.

With a strong onshore wind the surf was being whipped up creating almost a bubble-bath effect for the seals as they moved about on the edge of the waves. Even the very young seals were confident, albeit only in a couple of feet of water!

When they weren't messing about in that playful-young-animal way the pups spent a lot of time near their mothers, either for protection and reassurance or to suckle and feed. They can put on 2kg a day apparently on the rich milk.

The only ting about Horsey which could be a bit annoying is that you are on the top of the dunes looking down on the seals. Great panoramic views of the scene on the beach but not so good for photos which are, generally, better when you on the same level as the subject. So, we were very pleased and somewhat surprised when we came round a corner on the path and came across a photographer lying down. On the path in front of him was a mother seal with a pup, only an hour or so old and still quite damp.

You see both a bit of the afterbirth and its umbilical cord still attached. Initially it had a bit of a confused expression on its face as it came to terms with being outside of the warmth of its mother and into a brisk East coast day. The mother had been quite clever though and the path, although used by people, who now gave it a wide birth, was sheltered both from the wind and the other seals. The pup gradually dried out and took on a lovely silky sheen to its coat. It also became much more animated and rolled around though never leaving its mothers side by more than a few feet.

At the risk of going a bit anthropomorphic, the mother did seem to have a proud expression on her face. She was pretty relaxed as we kept a respectful distance, and only got agitated once when another group came up from the other side of the path and blocked her in. We all moved back and she quickly relaxed again.
The other main interest, but on the beach, was the males, who perhaps as the sand was getting less and less were being forced into close proximity to each other. This created quite a few stand-offs and even some rather vicious fights.

The mothers and pups had to make sure they didn't get caught up in the fights as the males are significantly larger than them!

We spent almost three hours I would guess on the beach, or rather in the dunes. You only get to see a small section of the whole colony, the rest stretched out in both directions away from us. It was a stunning day though in every sense and we will certainly go back, or perhaps try the other colony at Donna Nook in Lincolnshire.