South Walney Nature Reserve records more than 500 grey seals

Drone surveys are carried out fortnightly between September and March

More than 500 grey seals have been recorded at a Cumbrian nature reserve for the first time.

Drones were used at the South Walney Nature Reserve in Barrow and 518 seals were counted between September 2020 and March.

It is a jump of 7% on the number recorded in 2019 when 483 seals were logged, and up 44% from 2018's number of 360, Cumbria Wildlife Trust said.

The grey seal is the largest of the two seal species found in the UK.

The other is the common seal.

Drone surveys are carried out fortnightly in the reserve between September and March to monitor the population from year to year.

Data is also gathered on their behaviour to assess how the animals - which can reach up to 8.5ft (2.6m) and weigh up to 47st (300kg) - are impacted by human disturbances such as watersports.

Beaches closed

South Walney Nature Reserve is the only grey seal colony in Cumbria.

Dr Emily Baxter, senior marine conservation officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: "This is very exciting news and is a five-fold increase in the population of grey seals during the nine years that I've been with the trust."

People can watch the seals on a special webcam set up by Cumbria Wildlife Trust

The seals spend most of their time out at sea feeding but "haul out" on to rocks, islands and secluded beaches during the winter months.

Females give birth in the autumn and their fluffy white pups stay on land until they have lost their baby coats and trebled their body weight.

To monitor the South Walney population by drone, conservationists needed special permission from Natural England and fly them high enough to avoid distressing the seals and other wildlife.

Dr Baxter said volunteers still manually count the seals, which involves them crawling along the shingle beaches watching the animals through binoculars, in order to compare the two data sets.

"Both methods are important, but the drone gives us more accurate numbers," she said.

Seal beaches are closed to the public in a bid to protect them from disturbance by people and dogs.

But during lockdown there were problems with people landing kayaks on protected areas, which scared some of the seals into the water.

"When seals are disturbed, they flee into the sea, using up important energy stores," Dr Baxter said.