Seven weeks on Sable Island

About 10 days ago I returned from a ~7 week trip on Sable Island, 10th Dec 2015 to 3rd February 2016. My Xmas, New Year and birthday was spent on the island with friends, work colleagues, seals and horses. The reason for the visit was, as usual, the work I do with grey seals, and they are plentiful on the island. It was, as usual, a thoroughly enjoyable trip with new sights and experiences.

Here is the first of several photo posts of the trip

Just before Xmas Day we were lucky to see this wonderful sunrise.

Not only were the colours brilliant but the shapes of the clouds were incredible.

Grey seal males are generally an ugly beast but they have a lot of character and they are as tough as nails.

Even though the island is made entirely of sand it has impressive landforms and scapes.

One late afternoon I spent a few minutes with this pair of seals on the South Beach. The female was a little annoyed with the male, likely due to the copious saliva leaving his mouth.

Females are very protective of their young, especially toward males that may injure pups during fights.

Sable Island horses with, as usual, heads down grazing on grass.

This day was an extraordinary day on Sable Island. We had high winds, bright sunshine, rain, snow, and overcast skies. The light was absolutely amazing; here you can see the waves of rain approaching the island from the south.

When I look around me, the one thing that excites me most is simplicity. This is Bald Dune, an area that is very beautiful and expansive. This image stopped me in my tracks…