A Visit to the East 2016


A Visit to the East 2016

The 'East' mentioned in the title of this web gallery refers to the East of England - no seas were crossed to take any of these photographs!

Most were taken in Norfolk where Lyn and I spent four days in one of three self catering cottages which have the collective name of "Big Sky" - ours was the "Ladybird" cottage. On our way back home, we visited Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in North Lincolnshire before spending two nights in Lincoln in order to experience the famous Lincoln Christmas Market.

The main purpose of the trip was to take a look at the Atlantic Grey Seals on Horsey Beach and although we spent a lot of time observing and taking photographs of the seals, we also visited some of the other attractions in the area.

The following text comes from the 'Friends of Horsey Seals' website:

Around half of the world’s population of grey seals are found around Britain, therefore their protection is of international conservation importance. The scientific name Halichoerus grypus means “Hook-nosed Sea Pig”! It is one of our largest mammals but is still vulnerable to disturbance during the pupping season.

Grey seals come ashore to breed – the breeding site is known as a rookery or haul-out. The females (cows) arrive at the breeding sites first and will usually give birth a day later. As mammals they feed their pups on their milk for three weeks, keeping a close territory. When the males (bulls) arrive they compete for space nearest to the cows. The fittest bulls get the best positions for mating. If pups get disturbed they may move into a bull’s (or other cow’s) territory, where they could get injured or even killed.

After the pup is weaned (approximately three weeks) the mother will leave. Over the next few weeks the pup will moult its soft white coat for a mottled waterproof one; it will not feed during this time and relies on the fat it built up by feeding (undisturbed) from its mother earlier on. When it gets hungry enough it will make its way to the sea where it will learn to feed itself.

Let me know if you want more information or simply wish to comment on the photographs here by using the 'Contact' link which you will see on each page.

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