The grey seal is huge by any standards and a comparison is often made with the size of a grey seal and a red deer stag. The average weight of a grey seal bull is 507 lbs whilst the average red deer stag is only 230 lbs! To see a grey seal depends on the time of the year as during the summer months they can be seen in various places around Inverness and one of the easiest is in the Beauly Firth. They like to rest on the sand and mud banks between the tides and these are often called “haul outs” but in some ways this is a misnomer. They can haul themselves out on land as they have to do when at their mating and pupping grounds which are called rookeries. However, outside the breeding season it is far easier to choose a bank or rock that is just about to show above the water of an ebbing tide. Then they just sit there as the waters recede and they are left “hauled out”.
In contrast, during the Autumn they gather together, sometimes in their thousands, for the mating and pupping time and there are two rookeries in the north. One is on the Monach Isles off the Uists in the Western Isles and the other huge rookery is on North Rona. North Rona is even more isolated and remote than the Monach Isles and lies way off the north coast. The seals of North Rona were very much studied by Frank Fraser Darling who wrote a book on the subject. In recent years the North Rona grey seals have been intensely studied by the University of St. Andrews that has had small teams of researchers on the island during the Autumn for many seasons. For many years I had responsibilities for both the Monach Isles and North Rona and to visit these in the Autumn is one of the most moving experiences I have ever had.
One of the characteristics of both the grey seal and the harbour seal, but particularly the former, is that they are so inquisitive. A good example is the photograph I took of the head of a grey seal. This was taken in the harbour at Burghead along the coast east of inverness in July this year. It shows a grey seal cow amidst the fishing boats and the seal was obviously curious as the people walked about along the harbour wall. It is also said that the seals will react with curiosity when music is played and I did this many years ago on the west coast and they just came closer and closer. Some older readers may recall when the Kessock Ferry was still running as the boat was often followed by one or two grey seals as it plied its way across the inner firth. Again the grey seals were just being very curious. These days grey seals can often be seen in the River Ness actually in the middle of Inverness. They are fishing and just occasionally they catch a salmon much to the frustration of nearby anglers who appear fishless. Chanonry Point, on the Black Isle, attracts many naturalists who go to see the famous dolphins, if you can get a vantage point as these days it is so packed with people. With the attraction of the dolphins the presence of the grey seals often goes un-noticed but as the tide turns and makes it brings the fish in and there will be a solitary cow or bull grey seal after the fish.
Tags: highland wildlife