Norfolk seal pupping season 2025: A wildlife Photographer’s field report.

Every winter, the Norfolk coastline transforms into one of the UK’s most dramatic wildlife arenas — the annual grey seal pupping season. It’s a place where new life, harsh weather, fierce rivalries, and tender moments collide in a way only nature can script. This year’s trip was no exception. What began with storm-lashed setbacks became one of the most unforgettable wildlife experiences I’ve had behind the lens.

⸻

Day One: Storm Claudia’s Unforgiving Welcome

The trip didn’t start the way anyone hopes.

Storm Claudia barrelled across the coastline, whipping the dunes with high winds and lashing rain that cut visibility down to almost nothing. Even with weather-sealed equipment and good waterproofs it was impossible and not comfortable to work on the beach. The sea roared, sand stung like needles, and seals hunkered down or disappeared entirely into the surf.

Losing the entire first day was frustrating, but the storm set the tone for the raw, unpredictable environment these animals call home. And as it turned out, the calm after the storm delivered something truly special.

⸻

Clashing Titans: The Brutal Reality of Seal Hierarchy

Mid battle between a male and female seal.

When the weather finally broke, the beach came alive.

Grey seals may appear slow and cumbersome at rest, but witnessing their speed on sand — and the tension between adults — is something else. Rival males patrolled the edges of the colony, testing boundaries, pushing closer to females with pups. And when a male stepped too close, the peaceful scene instantly erupted.

Mothers threw their weight forward, placing themselves between the threat and their pup.

Males responded with displays of dominance, roaring, lunging, rearing up on their powerful foreflippers.

I photographed several intense clashes — brutal, fast, and unforgiving. Sand flew, teeth snapped, and bodies collided with a force that echoed across the beach. Battle wounds are part of life here; every adult wears scars that tell a story of survival and parenthood.

Capturing these moments felt like documenting a wildlife battlefield where instinct and evolution take centre stage.

⸻

A Newborn’s First Moments: Life at Twenty Minutes Old

Among the chaos, nature offered an extraordinary moment of softness.

Early one morning, just after sunrise, a tiny seal pup entered the world.

Barely twenty minutes old, still coated in traces of birth fluid, it lay blinking against the cold wind. The pup’s first attempts to move were clumsy and beautiful — using its oversized flippers like paddles, wobbling and tipping over as it tried to stabilize itself on the wet sand.

The mother hovered protectively, nudging it gently, guiding it into its new life.

Very few people ever witness a pup so fresh to the world, and being there to document those first breaths, first movements, and first bonds felt like an immense privilege.

⸻

A Troubling Trend: Underweight Pups This Season

Sealpup, just 20 minutes old !!!!

Though the colony buzzed with new life, this year brought concerns too.

Many pups observed along the coast were under their normal birth weight — noticeably slimmer, with more pronounced bone structure beneath their white fur. Rangers and conservation teams suspect reduced food availability for pregnant females may be the cause. With fewer fish stocks in certain areas, females may be struggling to build the fat reserves necessary for optimal gestation.

It’s a subtle but worrying shift, and one that highlights how vulnerable these animals are to changes in their marine ecosystem.

⸻

Reflections on an Extraordinary Wildlife Encounter

Despite the storm-torn start, this trip to the Norfolk coastline was nothing short of remarkable. Between documenting violent clashes, witnessing the birth of a newborn pup, and observing the subtle signs of environmental stress, the experience offered a full spectrum of what it means to survive on this wild stretch of coast.

Grey seals move faster than anyone expects — powerful, agile, and always aware. Their behaviours tell the story of a species constantly adapting, defending, nurturing, and enduring.

For a wildlife photographer, few places deliver such raw authenticity. And this year, Norfolk gave me moments I’ll never forget.

Also a head’s up to my upcoming blog about my winter trip to scotland, should be out on the 1st December .

As always until the next time, see you out there .