A Lincolnshire Rookery

  This blogpost isn't about a Rookery of the feathered kind, more the blubbery kind :)
  It's November and so already a month into one of the best wildlife events you can see on the East coast.The Lincolnshire coastline becomes a nursery for Grey Seals.Upwards of 2000 seals take over the mudflats at Donna Nook, about 25 miles North of Skegness.

  The Cows arrive to give birth while the Bulls arrive in hope of mating and having their own offspring born on these sands next Autumn.The females will suckle their pups for less than 3 weeks with their fat-rich milk before once again being ready to mate.
  Hungry pups being fed.

  There is plenty of conflict within the nursery with females getting to close too each other's pups.

  The more violent clashes seem to happen when the Bulls get a bit too confident in their pursuit of a Cow before she has weaned her pup.In this case he will abruptly be told where to go.

  It's a fantastic place to get a glimpse into the lives of these marine mammals and be able to watch the interaction between Mum and pup.
 Pup Love

 Muuumm, I don't want a kiss!

Let's play Mum, can I chew your flipper?

  The Seal numbers are just reaching their peak but some Pups will be still around til early January so still plenty of time to make a trip to the Lincolnshire coast and view this amazing wildlife spectacle.
  I will leave you with a few photos of some of the cuties there this week ;)

  Many thanks for reading.Get out there and enjoy our Wildlife :)

Hog CRazy!!

  You know you are losing your mind when random things pop into your head. Earlier today I was thinking about doing a blogpost on last weekends Badger Trust Conference that I attended in Hertfordshire and how I unfortunately missed a talk by Hugh Warwick, Ecologist and Hedgehog expert and whilst thinking about this, the following sentence appeared in my head???

   "Twas through the leave the spikes did come"

  Except for the Hedgehog link I have no idea how that particular sentence was formed in my head. I wrote it down and as I was sat in the car doing nothing, thought of a few more lines to go with it lol

  It's now a part of the following poem I called - "A Hedgehog Year"
  ps I do not usually have random poetry coming out of my brain so this is a new thing for me ;)

                                  A Hedgehog Year by Stuart Pike

                       Twas through the leaves the spikes did come

                       To make my Hoghouse it's Winter home

                       Snuggled inside, sleeping among the leaves

                       In warmth and dry, avoiding the Big Freeze

                       For the months til Spring, she will hibernate

                       Then once again, will rise to find a mate

                       If successful, in Summer tiny Hoglets she will raise

                       Feeding and protecting them during the warmest of days

                       The young suckle, having Mum's milk pass their lips

                       Til 4 weeks later she takes them on real foraging trips

                       Into Autumn, food is plentiful and so they ate

                       Piling on the grams and so reaching their optimal Winter weight

 Well I won't be releasing a book a poetry anytime soon so don't worry ;)

 On a more serious note please do keep an eye out for young Hedgehogs that may be out during the day and need help to get through the Winter.

 We have a local Hedgehog hospital in North Lincolnshire so they will be more than glad to help if you are in the area.

                            http://www.andrewshedgehoghospital.org.uk/