Country diary: We are standing on shifting sands

Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk: It's a day where I need to cry at the sea, but a bobbing seal provides the perfect comic offset to my moment of grief and fearLast time I was here, the beach was packed with grey seals, and fluffy white pups were strewn in the dunes. It was bittersweet: amazing to see the thriving colony but painful to observe a group of people walking close to a youngster positioned on the path, as if an inconvenient traffic bollard had blocked their way. The seal looked distressed, thrashing, big-eyed.Today, the beach is all mine. No seals and hardly any people. The seals are mainly out at sea now, although the wardens who protect the breeding colony still have plenty to do, rescuing those trapped or injured by rubbish. Perhaps worst are the seals "necklaced" by flying frisbee rings, suffering from severe lacerations. Continue reading...