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Live for today but work for everyone's tomorrow! Any views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of any organisation/institution I am affiliated with.

Saturday, 27 October 2018

Some (more) seals of Bardsey

Autumn calls and so do the grey seals of Bardsey Island! 
Here are a few photos from the latest breeding
season.

A recently moulted pup - so born about three weeks ago and now living off its fat whilst contemplating entering the sea. This youngster is too young to be scared of us. A little later this changes and this years moulted pups generally become nervous and will quickly head off over the shore to the safety of the sea.
A bull (an adult male) - hauled out and resting on the shore.
His strong tarry 'perfume' can be smelled from many yards away.
Another handsome bull.
Newly born pup in the white coat that it wears for the first three or so weeks of its life.
This one has a nice soft bed of sea-cast kelp.
And here is a pup in mid-moult. His little head has now lost its baby fluff and over the next couple of days the rest of his body will go the same way. Note the fluff on the ground!
Mother seal suckling her pup in the shingle zone of the upper part of the shore.




And finally a snippet of film of a young pup calling for her mum and some lunch. Mum was not far away.

The Shapes of Bardsey

The low Autumn sunshine lights up the 'Island of Twenty Thousand Saints', Bardsey or in Welsh, Ynys Enlli, the Island in the Tides..































More about Bardsey HERE and its wildlife HERE..