Otherworld
I’m fascinated by the senses and consciousness of other species. They inhabit such strange ‘other’ worlds. Judging by how fascinated this Grey …
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 …
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 …
Wave rainbows and bubble-bath seals
Seeing transient rainbows flicker into and out of life on the crests of waves is a magical feeling. At the north end …
Gannets and Bridled Guillemots with a side order of Seal sausages
Clamour. That’s the best word to describe it. That’s if you’re talking about sound. Pungent would probably the thing that comes to …
Kangaroo Island – New Zealand Fur Seals
“Kangaroo Island. Too good to spoil.” That’s what the Australian Government’s Natural Resources website says. “Keep Kangaroo Island free from introduced pests. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Seals and Salmon
It’s siesta time for the Common Seals at Broughton on Westray. It’s a time to let their food go down, let their …
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 haul
In Pierowall on Westray in Orkney, the seals haul themselves up onto the rocks in the Bay. They lie scattered like 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 …
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 …
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
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.
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
Humans have evolved as social animals and we pick up on incredibly subtle non-verbal cues from each other. Unlike most other primates …
Giving me the sly eye
A seal at Pierowall is wary of me and watches out of the corner of its eye.
“Write an essay on colour in animals,” they said.
At school I chose to take Geography A Level and due to the intricacies of the timetable, which only one man was …
Grey seal v Common seal. Who nose the difference?
Thanks to the Orkney Seal Rescue Centre I now know how to tell the difference between the two species of seal based …
Just in case you thought seals were cute
Common Seals are wonderful and wild animals. This one at Broughton is yawning and showing its teeth perfectly; three front teeth, one …
“Who you lookin’ at?”
The seals at Broughton on Westray are curious.