Seals were the last things on my mind as I headed north up the east coast last week. If I am going up the coast I always like to see what the tide is doing as it make so much difference over what is to be seen at various places along the coasts. The Kessock Bridge and the firth below gave me the answer as the tide was almost full and making. I had judged it all wrong again. Whenever I look down at the firth at Kessock it reminds me of the years I took that early morning, harrowing, ferry crossing. Everyone looking so serious at the clamour to get on board and the fuss of getting just an inch or so from the car in front. The only consolation was the seals. They were mainly grey seals and always so inquisitive as if they just liked following the boat on the albeit short journey. No matter what time of the day there always seemed to be seals there and mainly grey seals.
Then it was on to the Cromarty Firth and another reminder of seals as the tide was going out and the common seals were already starting to show. Many people coin the phrase that these seals, both common and grey seals, haul themselves onto rocks and banks and seem to rest up between the tides. Then with the tide turning fish will be on the move so it is back to hunting them for food. In fact the seals do not normally “haul out” at all. If you watch them over some time you will realise that they wait for a small mound of sand, mud or a rock appears as the tide is ebbing. They then sit there and just wait, as only seals can, for the tide to ebb completely. No energy needed as they may well be some distance from the water but they did not clamber or haul themselves there. They can move remarkably easily if they need to but why bother when the tide will do it all. In the Cromarty Firth you can see both common seals and grey seals but at this time of the year they are mainly common seals. The grey seals are off to their breeding colonies on remote islands especially along the west coast.
Then it was north to Loch Fleet which brought back many memories. The National Nature Reserve used to extend into the famous Mound Alderwoods west of the main causeway and I used to have responsibilities for the Reserve. Now the NNR covers a smaller area but equally as important. I had come to see a wide variety of things but one of them was the seals. Both grey and common seals occur here and in recent years a hundred common seals can be hauled out there. As it happened, with the tide still fully in, there was almost a complete absence of any seals. This is the norm although to be fair I did see a single common seal, just its head as it peered at me in that inquisitive way in which only seals can. A lady from a nearby house came out and we discussed many things about the reserve. When I mentioned so few seals she commented that I should have sung to them!
This is not as odd as it might appear as when I was Warden at Inverpolly on the west coast I did sing to the grey seals and play music. It worked as the seals would often come in very close as if they wanted to hear the sound much closer to. As for loch Fleet the very informative lady told me that when the SWT and SNH had an open day earlier in the year a strange thing happened. There was a pipe band and at one stage there was a row of seals’ heads peering towards the shore as if enjoying the pipes.