Day 18 of 30 Days Wild looks at my recent trip to Newburgh Beach in Aberdeenshire.

Newburgh Beach is famous for the seal colony that is resident on the Ythan estuary. As you can imagine it brings a great number of people to the beach to see them. I first saw the seals last year but couldn’t believe the sheer volume of them when I visited this year. There were literally a sea of seals all moaning and groaning.

Walking along the beach I could see them across the water lying on the sandy banks, so many seals including fluffy youngsters. The sound they made was quite haunting and eerie moans and cries that carried in  the wind. A few inquisitive seals were bobbing in the water and floating as near to us as they dared before swimming off to a safer distance.

As well as the seals I saw lots of Eider ducks. Sands of Forvie Nature Reserve which is right next to Newburgh Beach is the UK’s largest Eider duck colony. Lots of male and female Eider ducks were going about their daily business looking for food.

Other birds present at Newburgh Beach were the Sand Martins and the House Martins. A hut on the beach is home to quite a few House Martins which I watched darting back and forth to feed their young. I haven’t seen the Sand Martins here before but it was great watching them. They are so agile and quick soaring through the sky collecting insects for their young.

I also saw Terns hunting for food. They are amazing to watch as they dance in the sky. A hover followed by a swift diving manoeuvre as they pluck their unsuspecting prey from the water.

I also came across these two little guys….

But it is not only seals and birds I saw at the beach. Quite a few washed up Jellyfish and Crabs littered the sandy shore.

It is amazing how much wildlife you can see if you just take the time to stand and wait and look carefully. A great place to visit.

Camilla-Erika X

(All photographs were taken by Camilla-Erika Campbell)