Isle of May Grey Seal colonies,, safe
Plenty of healthy pups across the colonies
Protected beaches on the west side of the island away from the storm

Wednesday 1st December comments: Storm Arwen delivered. As we head into mid-week we are still picking up the pieces and counting the cost of the deadly storm which ripped into the east coast on Friday night. Whilst damage can be repaired wildlife has suffered and it is no more evident than the Grey Seal colonies of the North Sea.

Across the Firth of Forth on the Berwickshire coastline, St.Abbs have had it extremely bad as National Trust for Scotland Ranger Ciaran Hatsell reported that from 2,048 seal pups on the colonies, at least 850 (42% of the total) have been lost to the ravages of the North Sea. Other colonies are slowly reporting in, with low lying islands on the Farne Islands are probably going to see a similar result (nature can be so cruel).

As a result of this, we have made a visit to the Isle of May to check the latest and see what has been going on. We are pleased to report, although we have damage to the buildings (more on that soon) the seal colonies are looking healthy. Those seals and pups which are on land, are well protected as the nurseries are well away from the sea, unlike the small beaches at St.Abbs which offered very little protection. Without doubt, we will have lost animals but the mortality rate will be lower due to the location of the seal colonies on the island, so we are very thankful for that.

It's been a difficult weekend with bad news pouring out, but at least we can bring some positives and hopefully no more repeat of Storm Arwen.