It’s a week earlier than last yearA seal pup at Donna Nook National Nature Reserve(Image: GrimsbyLive/Donna Clifford)

The first seal pup at Donna Nook nature reserve has been born.

The successful delivery was announced by the Donna Nook Warden this morning. On the Facebook page, a statement read: “The first grey seal pup of the season has been born, but is not within sight of the viewing area. This is a week earlier than last year. There are a few adult seals on the beach but none close.”

The arrival of the grey seal colony for its annual breeding season regularly attracts tens of thousands of visitors and puts it closely behind Hull Fair and Cleethorpes Armed Forces weekend as among the best attended events along the east coast of England.

The Lincolnshire colony is the most popular in the UK because visitors can walk along a designated footpath and be close up to cows and their pups. Other colonies are often on rocky shores around Scotland or in Cornwall.

The first pup arrival is not usually until the last week of October. Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust manage the nature reserve and erect warning signs for visitors.

Donna Nook covers more than six miles of coastline between Grainthorpe Haven in the north and Saltfleet in the south where it borders the Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe National Nature Reserve. Every late October until December, grey seals come to the Donna Nook coastline to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes.

The Trust stated: “Visitors should be aware that the Ministry of Defence still maintains part of the area as a bombing target range and under no circumstances should anyone enter the bombing area when red flags are flying. However, most of the dune area is accessible at all times.”

The Donna Nook seal colony is one of the largest in England. Last year between late October and December a total of 1,649 seals were born on the dunes. The first was October 29 and the last recorded was December 22. Sadly, series of storms caused a number of casualties among the colony last year.

Brian Stafford, secretary to North Coates flying club, spotted a number of seals on the shoreline last week when he flew an autogyro plane. He said: “It was impressive to see such a large number. They will soon be making their way up to the dunes.”

There were more than 2,000 pups born in 2020, which was a record-breaking year for the colony.