Dropped off by Raymond at the Beach car park again on another freezing morning and arrived at the estuary at 09:00. No more snow but a temperature of -7 made what was lying crunchy underfoot. Another clear start with sunny spells but clouds soon rolled-in and the breeze got up a little too from the southeast which made it feel much colder.
Several hundred seals at the beach haul-out again, with the sanderling, cormorant, turnstone, crows and great black-backed, herring and common gulls for company. I sat once again on the side of the north-facing dunes just opposite the seals but changed to a more sheltered position after an hour or two once the windchill became even colder.
I started to sketch the seals once more, but my attention drifted to the line of wartime anti-tank cement blocks. They seemed to guide the eye toward the haul-out, an unexpected compositional element. I’m not much of a landscape artist, but this amazing place makes me want to try more.
It’s quite a unique situation at the estuary, as only the river Ythan’s width separates the mass of seals at the haul-out and the walkers, families and dog-walking members of the public on the beach opposite. So much so, that when the tide is at its lowest, you feel that you are just a few yards away from touching them! The Newburgh and Ythan Community Trust have used this unique situation of the seals, so that all can experience the haul-out by the recent construction of the access-for-all boardwalk (with a viewing platform at the end) from the beach car park to the foot of the dunes. The very difficult balance of the relationship between humans and nature is a delicate one and the area of the Ythan Estuary exemplifies this. You want people to experience and appreciate the natural world around them but, with ever-increasing numbers visiting these areas, at what cost?
As a way of trying to limit disturbance to the haul-out and educate the public of the effects of disturbances (which can have devastating consequences in the pupping season), a set of volunteers formed by Lee Watson in partnership with the staff at Fovie Nature Reserve and the local Wildlife Crime liaison Officer of Police Scotland regularly patrol the southern part of the reserve to try to intercept any members of the public that might either not see the signs advising to avoid the area of the haul-out or choose to ignore them. The signs also warn of prosecution if the haul-out is intentionally disturbed (as it has legal protection) and are placed on strategic places at points on the reserve and along paths etc. The staff of Forvie Reserve also regularly spend a morning at the seal watching platform to meet and talk to visitors to the beach about the seals. I can also keep an eye on the seals while sketching there and report any incidents of intentional disturbance.
No seal disturbances by members of the public today thankfully, only the one older couple who walked along the foot of the dunes behind the haul-out near the end of the day but they fortunately didn’t cause the seals to scatter into the sea.
It was absolutely freezing by early afternoon and I was regularly having to get up and walk around a bit to prevent ceasing-up altogether! I left at around 4pm, as Raymond was once again able to pick me up at the car park.
INNER THOUGHTS: There are no negatives to being here, it’s such a joy being in the company of all this wildlife – despite the cold weather. However, I still suffer occasionally with Imposter Syndrome; questioning am I deserving of this opportunity and what other artists would produce in this situation. I am now listening to podcasts on mindset and limiting beliefs to help try and reframe my thinking in a more positive direction going forward.
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Excellent, keep up the great work. I hope it’s appreciated.
Superb seal drawing Ian. All sounds very positive, despite the cold!! Hopefully warming up and making drawing a bit easier now. See you there sometime soon 🤞