Seven weeks on Sable Island, part 2

Here is the second post to the ‘Seven weeks on Sable Island’. A series of images from my winter (Dec-Feb) trip.

This rather large wooden mast appeared on the South Beach this year. It is a few 100m west from another shipwreck that remains partially buried in the dunes.

Female grey seal. Once females lose their mass from feeding their pup (a whopping 3.5 kg per day) their coat becomes lose and creates folds. The eye of this female holds the viewer.

Grey seal pup suckling from its mom on the South Beach at dusk. As females lose their mass, their hip also becomes more pronounced. Pups will gain ~1.5 kg/day and are weaned on average after 17 days.

We came across these Sable Island horses in a cove off the North Beach. They were drinking from a water hole they had dug within the seal colony.

This dune is called Highground Pass. It is a popular area for weaned pups to congregate, away from the adults in the breeding colony thus avoiding potential injury.

After strong storms, and particularly with high tides, the South Beach is often flooded. This photo was taken after one of these storms.

Male grey seal in icy pool.

Adult male grey seal coated in sand

Grey seal pup resting in a sand storm on the South Beach. The sand on South Beach is very different to that on the North” quartz, granite, tourmaline, magnetite. The mix of minerals creates a much darker coloured beach compared with the North Beach.

These two horses were standing on the top of this dune on South Beach during a strong wind storm. They appeared very majestic.