01 Lost At Donna Nook
Uploaded on the fiftieth anniversary of the Anzio I disaster, this is the story of the Scottish ferry Lochinvar, which abruptly reached the end of its working life, grounded on the Lincolnshire coast, with the loss of the entire thirteen man crew, on 2 April 1966.
Further details at:
North Somercotes parish website
WreckSite (the largest online wreck database)
PortCities Southampton (Plimsoll / Public Library of Maritime Sources Online)
Seals ashore for breeding season at RAF Donna Nook, near North Somercotes in Lincolnshire
Seals come to RAF Donna Nook near North Somercotes in Lincolnshire each Autumn, to breed.
Breeding Seals at Donna Nook beach
The seals are back at Donna Nook in North Somercotes...
Wild grey seal birth (Donna Nook Nature Reserve, Lincolnshire)
Shot at the Donna Nook Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire.
We watched this female for a while as she was showing signs of labouring and sure enough about 15 minutes late she gave birth.
Cute baby Seals Pups in the Wild
Cute Baby Seal Pups in the Wild, filmed at Donna Nook.
The grey seal (Halichoerus grypus, meaning hooked-nosed sea pig) is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean.
It is a large seal of the family Phocidae or true seals.
It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus. Its name is spelled gray seal in the UK & US; it is also known as Atlantic seal and the horsehead seal.
Donna Nook is a point on the low-lying coast of Lincolnshire, England, north of the village of North Somercotes.
The area is salt marsh, and is used by a number of Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire for bombing practice.
The site was also made available to commercial organisations such as BMARC for firing tests. Wildlife seem to have become accustomed to regular aircraft bombing.[according to whom?]
The name is popularly supposed to be that of a ship called The Donna, part of the Spanish Armada, which sank off the Nook (a small headland) in 1588.
A 6 miles (10 km) coastal strip stretching from Saltfleet in the south, to Somercotes Haven in the north, is managed by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust as a nature reserve.
It is part of the land owned by the Ministry of Defence and used as a bombing range.
The Grey Seal population return to breed from October to December every year. In 2007, the seal colony had its best breeding season on record, with about 1,194 pups born to the 3,500 resident grey seal colony.
A double wooden fence was erected in 2007 to stop people touching the newborn pups.
The reserve, staffed by volunteer wardens, is accessible to the public. Media coverage of Donna Nook has led to a big increase in visitor numbers; it was visited by about 43,000 people in 2006. Surplus money collected through sales is used to further support the protection of seals.
Filmed at Nonna Nook in England by UncleEvey.
Grey Seal Colony - Donna Nook
Grey Seals with pups at Donna Nook, Lincs
Seals and pups at Donna Nook - Lincolnshire 2014
A quick peak at the seals and pups at Donna Nook on 29th November 2014.
Copyright V Sunkmanitu 2014
Seals at Donna Nook
It's two years since I made this video of the Grey Seals at Donna Nook in North Lincolnshire. Obviously the reserve took a hit with the tidal surge last year, but things are looking healthy again this year. Watching this makes me want to go back!!
Seal fight. Donna Nook.
Seals at Donna Nook Lincolnshire. November 2009
Cute Baby Seal Pups and Adult Grey Seals Fighting
Filmed at RAF Donna Nook in Lincolnshire UK October 2008.
Below is an article about Grey Seals taken from:
lincolnshirelife.co.uk/uploads/files/wildlife/wildlife2-1111.pdf
Atlantic Grey Seals
The seals come in their hundreds to the beach at Donna Nook to form birthing colonies called rookeries. Donna Nook is halfway between
Mablethorpe and Cleethorpes and during the week is an RAF bombing range. This doesn't seem to bother the seals and in some ways gives them the protection of a public free area.
The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust manages the nature reserve at Donna Nook. Visitors are able to see the colony including new born pups up close during the November and December months.
The seals and their pups can be within two feet of you, only separated by a waist high wire fence which doesn't obstruct your viewing, even for toddlers. The pups are very trusting, especially those left on their own for a short while; although very cute, it's important not to touch them as your scent could cause their mother to abandon them.
The Atlantic grey seal is also known as the grey seal and has the Greek name Halichoerus grypus - the literal translation is very unflattering: hooked-nosed sea pig.
Grey seals are larger than common seals and have a flatter head and wider nostrils.
The bulls weigh up to 350kg and can be up to two and a half metres long; the cows smaller at up to 250kg and two metres long. Female colouring is generally a silvery grey to brown with darker blotchy patches; the males are darker with lighter patches. Seals can dive for up to twenty minutes at a time and feed on a wide variety of fish, crustaceans and sand eels.
The seals begin to come onto the beach at Donna Nook at the end of October each year, starting with a few cows but building up to nearly 1000 by late November. At its peak it is estimated that the beach at Donna Nook accommodates more than 1000 cows, 1000 pups and more than 300 bulls.
The breeding cycle is very predictable: Cows give birth at Donna Nook between late October and December. They often become pregnant again towards the end of the four weeks they are feeding their pups and return to sea. They then come back to the Lincolnshire coast eleven months later to give birth and the cycle begins once more. By late December the seal population has returned to sea and the beaches are clear.
Pups are born with a thick soft white fur which is shed within a few weeks. The actual birth is a quick process, over in a few minutes. The pups need to be born on dry land and cannot swim for a number a weeks. Pups born too close to the sea can drown when the high tides come in.
They are born at around thirteen kilos and increase up to fifty kilos within the first three weeks due to the sixty per cent fat content of their mother's milk. The mothers stay on dry land for the three or four weeks that they are suckling their young, so as a consequence of not eating and giving milk its not uncommon for the females to lose a quarter of their body weight during this time - a fad diet in its extreme!
Females mate towards the end of suckling their pups and then return to sea. The pup stays at the rookery until fully moulted before going to sea alone, so it's not unusual to see the young pups crying on the beach wondering where the mother has gone.
When the cows enter the rookeries to give birth, the bulls will start to appear. Fights break out between males who try to assemble up to ten females to mate with.
Males and females also fight when the males attempt to mate either too soon with the female, or the bull is not the cow's choice of mate.
The lifespan of seals in the wild is up to thirty years for males and forty years for females. Their main predators are whales, sharks, fishing nets and man, although culling is now mainly restricted.
There are two car parks close to the viewing area, Donna Nook is just north of the village of North Somercotes on the A1031 and is well signposted. It is well worth a visit for all ages.
Music: Breaking Out By Mick Nolan
Grey Seal joining colony
Grey Seal joining colony on beach in Norfolk, UK
Donna Nook Lincolnshire seal fight 8th November 2014