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Seals

Seals, Brixham - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Playful

There’s some quite intense play-biting going on along the wooden pontoons in Brixham harbour. It’ll all end in a splash. I can …

Common Seals - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Harbour Seals

Amazingly, there are limbs inside the fat-suit which seals wear. You would, however, be forgiven for thinking otherwise: This one is delicately …

Grey Seal - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey

Have you seen a male Grey Seal?

The Grey Seals around Orkney are a classic combination of curious and wary. They are alternately fascinated by me and worried by …

Grey Seal - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey

Why the long face?

I’d like to know why Grey Seals have a long sloping head. What’s the evolutionary advantage? What’s the adaptation for? What does …

Grey Seal - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey

Hook-nosed Seapigs

The scientific name of the Grey Seal is Halichoerus grypus. It means Hook-nosed Seapig. Everyone needs a rest after eating. I was …

Common Seal - 1970s Nature Notebooks - (c) David Bailey (not the)

Common Seal in the 1970s

Leafing through my childhood scrapbooks I come across a drawing of a Common Seal. It has all the characteristics of a Common …

Seal on Westray - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Seal haul

In Pierowall on Westray in Orkney, the seals haul themselves up onto the rocks in the Bay. They lie scattered like the …

Common Seal - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Too much for dinner

The seals on Westray always look in such good condition when I see them: I’m hoping that’s because the seas are clean …

Grey Seal - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Sniff my fingers

Grey seals are very distinctive. This one was hauled out at Broughton in Pierowall. They have that famous Roman nose: I first …

Seal and Turnstones - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Turnstone procession

This seal is having a snooze in Pierowall as Turnstones parade across the wet rocky shore. It doesn’t look as interested as …

The top 10 reasons you shouldn't visit Westray - from theHALLofEINAR.com

The top 10 reasons you shouldn’t visit Westray

Friends and relatives often ask me whether Westray is a good place to visit and my answer is always very clear. “No,” I say. “I wouldn’t recommend it.” Here then are my top ten reasons why you should never visit Westray.

Orkney Seal Rescue - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Practical help for Orkney seals

Orkney Seal Rescue works to protect seals: they rescue sick, injured and abandoned animals. Here’s one: Orkney Seal Rescue founded their registered …

The whites of their eyes - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

The whites of their eyes

Humans have evolved as social animals and we pick up on incredibly subtle non-verbal cues from each other. Unlike most other primates …

Orkney Seal Rescue - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) 2016 David Bailey (not the)

Orkney Seal Rescue

We have time to visit the Orkney Seal Rescue centre in South Ronaldsay thanks to Ross. He shows us the only current …

Seals and Turnstones - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Two for One offers

It appears that Westray Wildlife will be continuing their two-for-one offers for the remainder of the month. :)

Common Seals - me after dinner - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) 2016 David Bailey (not the)

Me, after dinner

It’s the afternoon and the seals are out in force at Broughton on Westray. From all appearances they seem to have had dinner; at least that’s what I look like after I’ve had mine.