Wishing all the creatures of this world a successful 2017! Grey seal conservation success along Donna Nook in Lincolnshire, UK.

A baby seal born in November and quite well fed by its mother.

A good kind of fence ensuring the mother seals are not disturbed and the humans don’t get bitten by Mum.

The mature seals blend in well and are very laid back.

This is Ropeneck and her young pup. Ropeneck was rescued from some plastic strangling her neck. She made a full recovery and comes to the same place by the fence every year.

Extraordinary mammals. The mother seals give birth to their young here and remain for two months without food. They suckle their young and fatten them up for the trip back into the sea in January.

This was a wonderful experience that lifted my spirits. Donna Nook is a wide mud and sand beach south of Cleethorpes where my mother’s family came from. It was named Donna after a Spanish Armada ship went aground here in the 1500s.

Sunset over the flat rich lands of Lincolnshire.

I had never visited here but Trevor had with his son many years ago.  There was no fence then. But this fence is one of those good fences which help make good neighbours ( Robert Frost). Now humans can enjoy watching these wild animals close up and the fence prevents the seals from biting us! The mother seals are not too interested in the humans behind the fence. There are now many more seals here and it is a conservation success.Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, the RAF, who have an artillery range here, and support from the EU and others have all contributed to the increase in numbers giving birth here.

Wishing you all a happy and positive 2017 and hope we can continue to create success stories for the natural world.