HORSEY ROOKERY
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had the conversation where I’ve tried to convince someone that wildlife of the British Isles is every bit as charismatic as that you get elsewhere. It’s true that in terms of species numbers, the UK is relatively depauperate. It’s also true that we don’t have vast swathes of wilderness like the Amazon, or the US, or other bits of Europe for that matter. Our reserves are small, our big predators few. But I think that people can get so bogged down in these facts that they fail to see what’s right before their eyes.
I cite the swirling towers of seabirds, the starling murmurations, the colours of an elephant hawkmoth. Carpets of bluebells, a dawn chorus, basking sharks in the summer. Norfolk’s seal pupping rookeries in the winter, however, will always be my ace card. Every year’s trip to Horsey fills me with the same joy I’ve experienced in some of the most exotic wild places in the world, and this year was no different.
This trip was extra special because I got to show my parents around for the first time. We arrived at the rookery on Boxing Day- slightly later in the year than usual. I think they were only expecting to see the odd seal pup here and there, and I loved seeing them be completely bowled over by the how abundant the pups were, how huge the males were, and how accessible the whole thing was.
Most of the pups were going through the process of moulting into their waterproof coats, after having been weaned rather abruptly by their mothers (she usually ups and leaves after around three weeks, leaving her pup to rely on its fat stores until hunger drives it into the sea). It’s incredible to think that they’ll learn to fish through a mixture of instinct and trial-and-error- and it’s impossible, when you look into those huge eyes, not to be rooting for every single one of them.
How privileged we are to have them here. What a marvellous place to call home.
N. B. All these photos were taken with a high zoom lens from a substantial distance. No pups were disturbed in the making of this post!
