I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen birding friends in my local WhatsApp group post about the seals they’ve seen while birding around the Cardiff Bay Barrage. I’ve lived in this area for 10 years and it wasn’t until the Wednesday just past that I saw my first. I’d stomped down to the Bay between squally showers to try to see the Arctic tern that had blown in – and I did see that, distantly fishing on the other side of the Bay, but I was completely mesmerised when I spotted the seal.

It was very close to the Barrage sluice gates that control the amount of water in the Bay; the gates are opened to allow water that flows in to the Bay from the rivers Taff and Ely to flow out to the Bristol Channel. The outgoing water often contains fish, hence the frequent sight of Cormorants diving near the sluices for their lunch and the occasional visit from a hungry seal.

As I don’t see them very often, I don’t know much about seals but I do know this is a Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and, from its large size, most likely a male/bull. There is a breeding colony of Grey seals further down the Bristol Channel on Lundy, an island owned by the National Trust. From reading the information on their website, I’ve just learned why the seal kept disappearing for long periods, when I thought it should be surfacing to breathe. It turns out they can dive for up to 20 minutes at a time when searching for fish. I didn’t see this one with a fish, though I guess it could’ve gobbled down any it caught while still underwater. It was a joy to watch, between squalls.