Monday 20 February 2017

Seals at Horsey Gap

What an amazing experience this was. A half hour walk south along the dunes from the Horsey Gap car park and suddenly, there are hundreds of seals hauled out along the beach between the groynes. Most of the seals were Grey Seals, but some of them were Common Seals.


The seals had an amazing range of colours.

This is a Grey Seal pup born in the Autumn. Almost adult sized it still has it juvenile coloured coat.

 The classic profile of a Grey Seal

From time to time, some of the Grey Seals would arch up for a stretch, and a bit of a look around.






The Grey Seals seemed content to lie very close to each other. The Common Seals tended to be slightly apart from the main group.

 A juvenile Grey Seal.


Two more Common Seals. Less than 10% of the seals present were from this species.




The colour variation of the Grey Seals was remarkable. This orange individual stood out.

A Common Seal.



The photos of the two Common Seals above show the characteristic 'v' shape made by their nostrils. Grey Seal nostrils are more parallel.


 A lovely sky with seals in the foreground.

A rare empty stretch of beach.

Please note that I am happy to be corrected over my identifications of Grey and Common seals.
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3 comments:

  1. gags20 February 2017 at 00:39

    Gentle aerobics and relaxation in the warming Spring sun - what could be more desirable.

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  2. gags20 February 2017 at 00:39

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Viveca Koh21 February 2017 at 02:57

    I love seals and your photographs are fantastic, you have really captured the beauty and character of these lovely creatures. I would've been in heaven if I'd been there and seen so many! I also love the way they blend in colour-wise with the shingle, and that orange one is quite something!

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