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A taster for Winterwatch - meet the Blakeney grey seals

Paul Deane

Web Producer

Last winter, a record number of grey seal pups were born at the spectacular Blakeney Point Nature Reserve in Norfolk. This unique habitat, a split of shingle and sand jutting out into the North Sea, is the second oldest National Trust reserve in Britain, and will be celebrating its centenary in 2013. The wardens there have been monitoring and researching the expanding seal colony for many years.

Winter is a critical time for these grey seals, as it’s their one opportunity to pup, and then mate. Intrigued by this growing colony, back in October, wildlife cameraman Richard Taylor-Jones set off to find out more about why numbers at Blakeney are on the increase, and to see if this winter the number of pups born might pass the historic 1000 mark. He also wanted to find out whether it would be possible to film a potentially intense situation – the moment when the final pups of the year are born just at the time the gigantic male bull seals start fighting for the chance to mate.

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Richard Taylor-Jones investigates the growing number of seal pups born on this reserve.

Hope you enjoy this prequel. Richard continued filming during winter, to capture the drama in the lives of the seals at this pivotal time. He’s managed to capture unique footage the like of which we’ve never seen before – and it’s all in his Seal Diary next week on Winterwatch.

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Winterwatch web show - 9-30pm Monday