Currently browsing tag

Seals

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

Otherworld

I’m fascinated by the senses and consciousness of other species. They inhabit such strange ‘other’ worlds. Judging by how fascinated this Grey …

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 …

Kangaroo Island - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

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. …

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

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 - 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 …