Seals
6 places to see and hear seals in the wild, in 5 countries from Denmark to Mauritania: when each one peaks, where to go on your own, what it costs and what you will hear. Wild animals only, no zoos.
Best time, place by place
| Spectacle | Country | Peak | On your own? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seals at Hvide Sande and on the Wadden Sea sandbanks | Denmark | 15 Jun – 31 Aug and 20 Nov – 15 Jan | You can go on your own |
| Grey seal pupping | United Kingdom | 10 Nov – 15 Dec and 10 Sep – 20 Oct | You can go on your own |
| Helgoland migration falls and grey seal winter | Germany | 5 Oct – 5 Nov and 20 Nov – 10 Jan | You can go on your own |
| Baie de Somme: harbour seals & wader roosts | France | 15 Jun – 15 Sep | You can go on your own |
| Iroise: grey seals of Molène and Sein dolphins | France | 15 Sep – 15 Dec | Partly on your own |
| Mediterranean monk seal colony, Cap Blanc | Mauritania | 1 Sep – 30 Nov | You can go on your own |
Where to go, north to south
Seals at Hvide Sande and on the Wadden Sea sandbanksHarbour seals are quiet — snorts, splashes, pups bleating on a haul-out; grey seal bulls moaning and roaring in winter; with a hydrophone, seal vocalisations and the tide; oystercatchers and the surf.
Grey seal puppingEerie wailing 'singing' of cows, bawling pups and bull snarls, with the surf.
Helgoland migration falls and grey seal winterNocturnal flight calls of thrushes (redwing 'seep', song thrush, blackbird) in the thousands over the island, goldcrests in every bush at dawn; on the Düne, grey seal pups wailing and bulls roaring in December.
Baie de Somme: harbour seals & wader roostsSeal pups bawling and adults grunting from the sandbanks at 300 m, oystercatcher and curlew roosts, and spoonbills clattering in the Marquenterre heronry.
Iroise: grey seals of Molène and Sein dolphinsSeal moans and pup calls from the reef islets, a resident bottlenose pod around Sein and Molène, and the Iroise swell — France's most oceanic soundscape.
Mediterranean monk seal colony, Cap BlancThe world's largest monk seal colony (around 300 animals) in a few sea caves and cliff-foot beaches: barks, snorts and pup bleats over surf — but mostly heard from above, at a distance, on the viewing platforms.