Seal of Disapproval

Birdchick thinks she has it bad with her disapproving rabbits? Well, rabbits ain't the only disaprovers in the animal kingdom - check out the disdain and disapproval this baby grey seal gave me for photographing it just after nap time:

"I disapprove of photo-sessions when I'm trying to nap"

"Maybe if I give him the old one-eyed glare of disapproval he'll get the idea and just go away"

"I'm just gonna turn my nose up in disapproval of this blog altogether"

Congratulations on the book's success Birdchick and thanks for giving me an excuse for my favourite punning post title ever.

Thanksgiving IATB

I'm not American but that doesn't mean I can't give thanks around this time of year for the things that are important to me and the things I enjoy in life. Among the things I enjoy is of course I and the Bird ably hosted for Thanksgiving by the Ridger at The Greenbelt.

Seashore midwivery

Warning: Post contains details and images of natural activity some may find "icky"....maybe come back later if you're eating.

Whilst the main attraction of the Donna Nook seal rookery is, obviously, the seals as a tidal mudflat it holds more than its share of interesting birds too and we certainly didn't neglect them. Intriguingly it was the two commonest species present that provided much of the interest in a truly remarkable moment I feel privileged to have witnessed. It all started with the noise of a baby crying; a newborn baby grey seal. I must have missed its birth by seconds but plenty of others were paying attention. The baby seal was wimpering a little pathetically and its mother seemed to be ignoring it when this huge (great black-backed) gull (Larus marinus) swooped down. Even with the perspective difference this shot really is a good size comparison of seal and gull.

As the gull advanced it looked rather menacing and the poor little seal looked really unhappy. At that point we were actually wondering if the gull might somehow try its luck for a seal lunch when mum stepped in and the gulls retreated.

This magpie (Pica pica), whilst smaller, also expressed an interest. I always thought the rhyme said 4 magpies for a birth.

Of course the magpie wasn't interested in predating the seal, it, and the gulls, were after the afterbirth and with good reason. Placenta is very rich in nutrients to the extent that as River Cottage chef/maverick/visionary Hugh-Fearnley-Whittingstall famously taught us in many cultures human placenta is a valued food. In the cold English winter it must be an awesome food source for these birds. As soon as the mother's back was turned the juvenile GBBG was straight back in for his share. Again the size comparison is interesting.

I was surprised how unmolested he was by other gulls, only a few magpies paid him any attention at all as he picked at his prize for several minutes. Unfortunately for the gull as soon as I made this observation out loud, he managed to split it open somehow and instantly this happened:

Notice how much fluffier and bigger the seal looks on the right now he's dried out? I suspect the birds' opportunism is (whilst perhaps irritating to mother and scary for baby) a good thing for the seals as it removes the afterbirth from the nursery area and presumably takes a potential disease source away.

Anyone wondering about the seal will be pleased to know he was suckling happily by the time we left.

Mystery mammal revealed

OK - I'm back in the tropics which means time has expired on the mystery mammal post from this morning without anyone guessing successfully. Here's the beastie in question (the close up was the underside of its mouth as it lay belly up sun bathing (taken from behind the safety of the reserve fence)):

Its a newborn Grey Seal, Halichoerus grypus. Bull Grey Seals represent the largest mammal to come ashore in the UK and at this time of year the seals come ashore in numbers at their rookeries to pup and mate (and its important they d0 - almost half the world's population live around the United Kingdom) Here's an adult to show you what the adorable ball of fluff above matures into.

Luckily I spent some time in the UK last week very close to the wonderful reserve of Donna Nook where these shots were taken and witnessed pretty much all aspects of the seal life cycle in the course of 3 hours or so. More shots to come illustrating the amazing natural history of these animals.

More mammals

Any ideas what this extreme close-up shows? A clue would be that it is the largest native mammal found on the British mainland.