Donna Greys,Coastal bits and Cov.......13.12.12.

A battle scarred Bull.

A gorgeously marked Pup.

Seal romance.

Courting couple.

Nature in the raw.

Redshank.

A full day out today,saw me heading to Donna Nook on the Linc's coast to see what avian delights were on offer and to hopefully get some photo's of the resident Grey Seals.So after an icy journey from Barnetby,i arrived just as the sun was rising and it was pretty cold with the temperature gauge on the car reading -4,so after putting on 6 layers of tops,woolly hat,scarf and two pairs of gloves,i was ready for action.To start with i walked along the viewing area for the seals and there was still quite a lot of pups present and two newborn babies,one of which i missed by twenty minutes.What i had really hoped for today was to get some shots of the big bulls and i wasn't disappointed,as they gave stunning close views with much interaction between the cows and other males.Lots of interesting behaviour was observed which i hadn't seen before and included the belly slapping and open mouthed hissing to other males when they approached too close,there were also several males which were battered,bruised and bloody from their fights and it all made for a fantastic spectacle too watch.After watching the seals i walked down towards Pye's and bird highlights included our winter visiting raptors,today of which included 2 Peregrines watched tag-team hunting a flock of Knot,1 Merlin and a stunning male Hen Harrier passed by along the developing foreshore.Overhead a small flock of 30 Dark-bellied Brents contained 2 Pale-bellied birds and a Lapland Bunting flew over with a small group of Skylark.A return back to the seals,saw me photographing a very confiding Redshank and better light conditions saw more pics of the Grey Seal pups.With two hours of light and calm conditions i made the short journey over to Covenham Reservoir.The gulls had already started to arrive for their afternoon bathe before heading to the coast to roost,but today sadly i couldn't find any Med. Gulls.Fine compensation was had in the form of 5 Knot,the first individuals of the species i had seen on the res and they gave great views.Also,nearby were a pair of our largest sawbill...Goosander and they also showed nicely.As the light started to deplete,i made my way back to the car and journeyed home after another cracking day out.