Watch seals live - New sealcam launched at South Walney Nature Reserve

South Walney Nature Reserve, on Walney Island near Barrow is the main haul out site for grey seals in the North West of England. Seals can be spotted in the water around the reserve (usually at high tide). However, there is no access to the protected beaches on the reserve to see the seals. The new webcam installed by Cumbria Wildlife Trust now provides the perfect opportunity to watch these charismatic creatures up close as they haul out to rest.   

Sarah Dalrymple, reserves officer at South Walney said: “We are very excited to launch our new seal cam. Seals are fascinating creatures that mainly spend their time at sea hunting, so when they haul out on the beach at the nature reserve it is to rest and recuperate and also a great time for us to get a glimpse of them too.  However it is not possible to get close to the seals - the spit isn’t accessible and it is vital that the seals are not disturbed. The seal cam is a great way to see them more easily, while keeping both the animals and visitors safe.” 

She continued: “Last year we were delighted when we discovered the first ever grey seal pups to be born at South Walney Nature Reserve. We hope we may see more pups this autumn and the seal cam will mean even more people will be able to watch and wait with us over the coming months to see if it happens again!”

The seal cam can be viewed live now at www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/seal-cam

South Walney Nature Reserve is open to visitors, though there is no public access to the beaches. You can also see large wintering flocks of redshank, oystercatcher and other waders such as greenshank and dunlin, as well as twite, seaducks and merlin. You can observe the seals with binoculars from one of the hides, and watch the webcam on the screen at the entrance to the reserve.  For directions to the reserve, see www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/south-walney