Lurching Up The Beach…
(Grey and Common Seals at Horsey Beach, Norfolk…)
They were evident just beyond Horsey at Winterton, although
It was a case of spotting their heads popping out
From waves, as the North Sea tide withdrew.
Hard, often undulating sandbanks appeared
To walk upon and get a little nearer to the shallows, where
The seals played hide and seek with watchers’ eager eyes…
Horsey’s beach nearby became a different proposition though,
For upon arrival, two or three seals had gathered about
Near the edges of the retreating waves and wispy spew.
However, beyond a wooden groyne a pod of seals reared
Huge, heavy bodies onto the damp sandy beach there
And galumphed, or basked, or rolled upon the sandy rise…
A few pups with expressions somehow appealing,
Were joyous to watch, their skins seemingly soft and warm;
Larger beasts looked mean, their movements threatening,
As the herd shuffled further up the beach, like a sluggish swarm.
The hooting, the wailing, often sounding excruciating,
Seemed almost ghost-like, resonating about the shore
As further up the beach the beasts moved, coruscating
And sparring with jaws wide, causing a spectacular furore…
Their beauty and the skins of such marbling, glistening hues,
Were at odds with redundant flippers as they lurched up hardened sand,
But this was a marvel, a memory it will be difficult to lose
And a phenomenon spectacular, peculiar but rather grand…
Pete Ray
30th September 2023…
Fantastic moments…
At Winterton, some folks walked towards the seals in the shallows but incredibly allowed their dogs off their leads whilst doing so…
I fail to understand why they would do that with wildlife nearby.
At Horsey, two or three people went right down towards where the seals were making landfall to take closer pictures with their mobile phones, which was as ignorant as it was inexcusable and selfish…
It was also clearly upsetting for several of the larger seals…
However, my experience was one of sheer joy…
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