On 17th January, together with a group of other people, we watched the seal again and we can confirm it was a Grey Seal (now reidentified as a Common Seal). It was in the low-water channel up towards the hide and often it was only the tip of its nose that was visible.

At one point it was about 80 feet from the shore and through binoculars you could clearly see its whiskers. It eventually came up with a small flat fish and it played with it: diving, tossing it about and eventually eating it. Later it reappeared with another small fish and went through a similar routine.

Presuming it is the same seal, it is good to know that the river is clean enough to sustain it. Our only hope now is that it will eventually make its way safely out of the river and back to the sea where it belongs.

The Pickerings Pasture Seal CAC