Seal of Approval,
Well Rochdale Field Naturalists managed to strike lucky again with the weather. After a week of sometimes torrential rain in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and much of the countryside we passed through still flooded, we arrived at Donna Nook on a clear calm day with plenty of sunshine.
Britain has about 40% of the world population of Grey Seals, one of the rarest seal species, and this Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust reserve is famous for the large numbers which come every November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes on the coastline. The earliest seals arrived in the last week of October and the first pup was born on 27th but by the time of our trip there were over 600 adult seals present (123 bulls and 496 cows) and 250 pups had been born.
Hundreds of other people were also taking advantage of the fine weather to get a close look at the seals from the viewing area set up by the Trust. Often when RFNS members arrive at a reserve the group splits up as people head off in different directions but here there was no doubt as to where everyone was going – along the path to the viewing area! Not far along the first seals came into sight and soon it wasn’t a case of trying to spot a mother and pup but rather choosing which ones to look at. Some of these amazing wild animals were just a few feet way from the fence beside the path not seeming to be at all perturbed by the human beings watching them and providing a host of photo opportunities. The large bull seals stayed much further out but could be seen chasing away rivals at times, moving across the land remarkably quickly for such large, heavy animals designed for swimming.
Eventually some members of the group tore themselves away from the seal spectacle and went off to explore other parts of the reserve. Binoculars revealed good numbers of Brent Geese and Shelducks out on the coastal marshes, as well as Curlew, Redshanks and large groups of Lapwings and Oystercatchers, while telescopes confirmed that the waders on the mudflats in the distance were Dunlin and Knot. Walking along the bank to the west produced sightings of typical farmland birds including a small flock of Linnets but unfortunately no Redwing or Fieldfare. However some lucky people saw a male Hen Harrier flying over the bank and out towards the marshes.
Sand dunes are not necessarily the first type of habitat that people think of as being good for fungi but hiding among the Marram Grass and orange-berried Sea Buckthorn several different species were found. These included brightly coloured waxcaps such as the crimson and yellow Dune Waxcap, both Orange and Golden Waxcaps, and lilac coloured Wood Blewit. Earthstars were also found under the Buckthorn bushes. Perhaps surprisingly for November there were also still a few flowers to be seen with Common Storksbill, Red Campion and Sow Thistle among those listed.
November days are short and the light was fading fast when members boarded the coach for the return to Rochdale. It was a long journey but everyone agreed that the fantastic experience of seeing the seals made it well worth while.
Overall numbers of species recorded were: – 40 birds, 9 fungi, 8 flowering plants, one Red Admiral Butterfly, one Buff-tailed Bumblebee and a lot of Grey Seals!
Stop Press – as of writing, 16/11/2019, there were 362 bull seals, 1254 cows and 872 pups.