If you like the seaside with crowded beaches, donkey rides, Punch & Judy and all the fun of the fair, then Horsey is not the place for you. But if peace and solitude is your thing, it’s heaven. The scene above was photographed there on a sunny morning in July. To right and left the beach stretched to infinity with hardly a human to leave a footprint on the tide-washed sands. A few bottling grey seals, bobbed up and down offshore, and a ringed plover kept an attentive eye on its fluffy chicks.

‘Bottling’ is the resting position adopted by seals when only the head is above the water - ideal for seals or humans on a day when gentle waves lapped the shore, and the blue of the sky, reflected in the sea, invited everyone to take a rest and enjoy the peace.

The sound of the surf will soon be pierced by voices of excited young holidaymakers as schools close down and Horsey swings into full summer mode. But there will still be space and quiet places for those who prefer their own company.

Even at the busiest time of the summer holidays, the action will be nothing compared to the life and death dramas which we anticipate on this beach when seals come ashore again to have their pups in about three months time.

Meanwhile, we hope they are making the most of generous stocks of local fish, and gaining condition to develop embryonic pups and lay down blubber to turn into rich milk when their pups are born.

The question of food for seals was raised recently at FoHS committee meetings. We were approached by scientists from CEFAS (Centre for Environmental, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science), based at Lowestoft about a research project to discover just what seals eat. This will be a comparative study and will help

to find reasons why seals on the east coast of Britain are prospering as seal births rise, while population numbers in some parts of the country are static or dwindling.

Not for the squeamish, this research will be built around the collection and examination of ‘poo’. It’s surprising what can be learned from the undigested bits! By examining fish ear bones, called otoliths, scientists can work out not only the species of the fish, but also the age of individual specimens. With this information, conclusions can be drawn about the breeding success of fish stocks in the area and the data can be compared with research results elsewhere in UK waters, to increase understanding of changing fish stocks. For example, if samples include a lot of young fish, it indicates successful breeding of those species. Data accumulated over time will show if there is movement of species within the North Sea. Information on the causes ands speed of change, is used by governments to implement conservation measures. Looking after our seas and our fish are important to mankind as well as to seals. Don’t just think ’Fish and Chips’ - however much you like it - a healthy marine environment is hugely important to the planet.

Take a look at any What’s On page at this time of year and you will be swamped with the choice of activities on offer in Norfolk. Festivals, fetes, , carnivals and open days of all kinds. It’s great. There’s lots to do and you don’t need to go far to join in something you like. Volunteers are the backbone of many of these events and the work they do in putting on these entertainments is phenomenal, as a group from Friends of Horsey Seals found out when asked to help at the RSPCA Open Day at East Winch Wildlife Centre near Kings Lynn, on 28th June.

Read on to find out more.

Friends of Horsey Seals Newsletter Spring 2015 Page 1

Newsletter

Volume 2 Issue 13 Summer 2015

Horsey in summer: fun but no fair

In this issue:

• Horsey in summer

• Open Day at East Winch

• Serendipity

• Pecking Order

• Little success for terns at Winterton

• Dunes in bloom

Friends of Horsey Seals Newsletter Summer 2015 Page 2

The Great British public turned up in force to find out what goes on at RSPCA’s East Winch Wildlife Centre on the Open Day on 28th June.

The centre holds an open day every second year to raise much needed funds to pay for their wonderful work of caring for sick and injured animals and birds. Every year the team at East Winch take in pups from Horsey and the centre is always available to us for advice and practical help when we need them. This year we were able to repay some of their kindness by giving a hand at the Open Day.

The extent of the preparations was immediately obvious when we arrived at the centre. A vast car parking area had been laid out at the rear of the site and and an army of volunteers were already on hand to carry out last minute jobs erecting stalls for the sale of cakes, jams and preserves, plants and soft toys and lots more. Norfolk Wildlife Trust and Norfolk Constabulary (Wildlife Crime Officers/rural crime) were among other organisations represented.

In spite of light rain throughout the early part of the day, visitors arrived in droves from 10am, filling up the car park and visiting a display of classic cars and the Peace Garden on their way into the centre.

A programme of events and talks was cleverly arranged to encourage visitors to the various aviaries and paddocks on the site, and draw people into the main building to watch seal feeds throughout the day. Short talks on the work of the centre, and the events

of the tidal surge of December 2013 were included. Animal and bird feeding went on throughout the day, but seal feeds proved a big draw.

Most of the brigade from Friends of Horsey Seals were stationed in the reception area overlooking the outdoor seal pools. We had a great time chatting to people about the seals in the pools, telling them about wardening, and explaining why we were there and how we are linked with East Winch. Others were stationed by covered pools where smaller young seals were still receiving treatment.

We were also in charge of ‘brass-rubbing’, which proved very popular with the children and produced some masterly works in coloured crayons. A display of nature pictures by students from local schools covered the long wall in reception and showed just how creative children can be. Their work bodes well for the future of wildlife artists in Norfolk.

By closing time at 4pm, stall holders had done brisk business. Thanks to brilliant organisation, the car park emptied quickly and stalls were dismantled expertly and just as fast.

While our group made for the pub and some food, staff and organisers were left to complete the day at the centre and count the takings. We learned later that the day had produced the magnificent sum of £7,000. We’ve already received our invitation to the next Open Day!

Open Day at East Winch

Pecking order

WANTED! and needed to help raise £7000 for East Winch Wildlife Centre

FoHS chairman, Peter, (that’s him, 4th from left in the picture above), witnessed this unusual behaviour in his garden recently:

A sparrowhawk ambushed a collared dove and had started to strip away feathers and begin its meal. A pair of red-legged partridges entered the garden walking towards the sparrowhawk. Seeing their advance, the sparrowhawk cowered over its victim, spreading its wings to hide it. The partridges stopped close by and one began to circle the sparrowhawk. Holding the dead dove firmly with its talons, the sparrowhawk rotated, carefully keeping watch on the circling partridge.

Unafraid, the partridge launched a vicious pecking

attack which lasted several minutes until the sparrowhawk flew off in a shower of feather, to find a quieter spot to eat its lunch.

Sparrowhawk - image courtesy of RSPB Images

Red-legged partridge - image courtesy of RSPB Images

Friends of Horsey Seals Newsletter Summer 2015 Page 3

A number of Friends of Horsey Seals seal wardens dedicate time in the summer months to look after nesting little terns at Winterton. These delightful birds return in May from the coasts of West and South Africa to nest in UK.

After a bumper breeding season at Winterton in 2013, followed by a failed year in 2014, RSPB wardens and volunteers were uncertain how they would fare this season. The terns arrived at Winteton on schedule in May, and by 18th, 120 courting adults were present. The first egg was laid 3 days later, and there were 72 nests by the end of the month. Predation became a problem early in June, but RSPB remained confident that the colony would have a successful season.

Shortly afterwards news of failure at other east coast breeding sites started to come in. Finally, serious predation by crows and kestrels set in as nests were abandoned or left unattended as the adults searched for food. The weather was harsh, windy and often wet for June. The count rapidly dwindled to none at all at Winterton by 10th June.

The reason for this failure was found to be caused by a lack of small fish close to the breeding site. Although fish and sand eels of a size suitable for common and sandwich terns were present offshore, smaller ones preferred by the little terns were not.

Little terns also nest at nearby Eccles, a short distance to the north east. This year Eccles became the prime local site. By mid June, 52 little tern nests were counted there, and now (in late July), with more than 65 chicks fledged and about ten more still to fledge, wardens hope for a final count of 75-80 successful fledgings.

All birds and animals are remarkable but their small size, courageous defence of eggs and young, and the vast miles they travel are qualities which endear this fragile bird. Like so many other species, little terns are at risk. The work of the wardens is a vital part of their survival in UK and you can read about it in a beautifully written and illustrated blog by warden team leader, Amy, by following this link:http://eastnorfolk-littleterns.weebly.com/blog

Little success for terns at Winterton this year With thanks to Daphne Rumball who helped with this item

Serendipity (adj: serendipitous)Serendipity: defined as, ‘the faculty of making fortunate discoveries by chance.’ This was surely the case when an unsolicited offer by a member solved a looming problem for FoHS some months ago.

Clive Mabey, FoHS member and now a seal warden, who had recently come to live in Norfolk, said in the course of conversation that he would be pleased to assist with IT work. Always grateful for offers of help, the information was noted. Within a few weeks we learned that eyesight problems were putting a great deal of pressure on Zoë King, the IT person who designed our website and IT needs when FoHS began in 2012. FoHS operates without a physical office and is dependant on the internet for all its communication and organisational needs. In fact we are almost virtual! With the help of IT we can be in instant touch with members and wardens at almost no cost by using email and by circulating information through newsletters and updates on the website. We store our records electronically, and organise duty rotas electronically. IT is indeed at the core of our existence.

Zoë’s situation forced her, reluctantly, to give up her work for us. We had been blessed with her services, voluntarily, for 3 years. We were hugely in her debt – where did we go from there? But wait! Who’s the knight in shining armour? It’s Clive to the rescue.

Seal warden, Clive Mabey, had retired from a career of IT in which he had worked with well-known international companies and taken part in the whole

technological revolution. Still a ‘techie’ at heart Clive was happy to keep his hand in by taking over as IT Guru for FoHS. Zoë, worrying about her own problems, breathed a sigh of relief, FoHS committee breathed several! In the last few months, Clive, working with his wife’s daughter, Melanie, a website designer with her own company, has overhauled the ‘platform’ on which FoHS IT is based. He and Melanie have redesigned the website to keep it in line with fast-changing fashion, and added new facilities including a video page. The forum used by our seal wardens is now integral to the website and is immediately available to them when they log on to the site. This year we move a stage further by making life easier for our seal wardens to book wardening duties online. Clive has trained a couple of committee members to carry out updates on the website, thus lightening the load on himself and making the committee more involved. Other improvements will surely follow. We were enormously grateful to Zoë for the years she devoted to FoHS. That gratitude also goes to Clive who came to us like a gift at precisely the right moment. Thank you, Zoë, and thank you, Clive. Serendipitous, or what?

If you have particular skills which could be helpful to Friends of Horsey Seals, why not let us know?

We are currently recruiting new seal wardens. If you are interested in becoming a warden, then please get in touch: fohsmembers@gmail.com.

Page 4Friends of Horsey Seals Newsletter Summer 2015

In summertime the sloping dunes at Horsey and Winterton, facing the rising sun on the seaward side, soak up its heat all day on their inland slopes.Wildflowers nestle among the marram attracting butterflies and pollinating insects and creating seeds. In turn birds, small mammals, and reptiles seek out the seeds and insects as potential food.

Butterflies and wildplants were once many and varied in UK, but loss of habitat, chemical sprays, and perhaps climate change, severely reduced the annual ephemeral display in recent times. Now there’s greater awareness of what we are losing, there is slow

change for the better. Wild places like the dunes, unaffected by most of these influences, are full of life and are a wonderful place to learn about our native flowers and insects.

The butterflies and flowers pictured below are just a taste of what you might see at Horsey. All of these photos were taken from the path inland of the dunes. Adders occur on the sandy slopes, so it’s wise to keep your dog under control rather than risk a bite. Look out for birds like linnets, stonechats, meadow pipits and swallows, and for kestrels which frequently hunt along the dunes.

Dunes in bloom.

Views expressed in this newsletter are those of the writer and might vary from the views of the committee of Friends of Horsey Seals.

Dark green fritillary

Common centaury

Southern marsh orchid

Harebell

Small skipper

Six-spot burnet