Aberdeen Marine Mammal Project - News

  After weeks of battling short daylight hours, we’ve finally turned a corner—longer days are returning and the promise of better weather on the horizon! While winter has its challenges, including tides that occasionally fell outside daylight hours! We pushed through and kept collecting data when we could. And now, with brighter days ahead, our work is evolving once again. Credit: Claire Stainfield, taken as part of a survey under licensed research drone usage permitted by NatureScot. A Major Milestone: 50 Flights and Counting! Persistence has paid off, and we recently hit a significant achievement—our 50th drone flight! This marks the continued effort in our research, capturing invaluable data on the seal colony throughout the seasons. Every flight represents hours of planning, teamwork, and dedication (in the office and in the field!), and we couldn’t have done it without the incredible support around us. To celebrate? Ice cream, of course! Because what better way to mark...

  The winter months are a magical yet challenging time for seal surveys. But for our team, the beauty of this season is just one side of the story. Winter also marks an exciting period in seal ecology—the birth of pups. While the snow and frost transform Forvie sand dunes into breathtaking landscapes, winter is far from ideal for fieldwork. The shortened daylight hours are the first hurdle, limiting the windows when we can fly our drones. On survey days, we work to make the most of the precious light, often starting  during sunrise or racing against the early sunset. Surveying at sunrise (photo credit: Charlotte Wood). Adding to the difficulty, winter storms sweep in with gusty winds and relentless rain. Both are enemies of drone flight. The high winds make it unsafe to launch, and rain can damage equipment. There’s no denying the frustration when a perfectly planned survey day is postponed because of bad weather. Snow covering on the new beach board walk at Newburgh SealB...

  If you've been following our blog, you might remember a previous post introducing Angela, who is working on thermal imaging technology to monitor seals in the Ythan Estuary. Recently, she ran another trial on the beach, continuing her efforts to optimize the deployment setup. During this trial, we teamed up to assist her with the calibration process. Angela's thermal imaging is effective at detecting seals when they're hauled out, but due to the seals gathering closely together, distinguishing individual seals becomes a challenge. In the images above, the left one shows a smaller, tightly packed group, while the right shows a larger, more dispersed group. (Thermal image credit: Angela Amlin) To help with this, my drone images provided a count of individuals and a clearer view of the haulout's density and shape. She hopes to use this data to help calibrate the heat images in her camera. During Angela's visit, the seals were cooperative, forming two distinct...

The PhD Project was awarded a generous grant from Sea-Changers, a marine conservation charity, to support our drone-based seal research at the Ythan Estuary. This funding is crucial for providing the on-the-ground assistance needed to ensure safe and effective drone flights, while safeguarding the delicate wildlife of the reserve. It's the people on the ground who make our research possible. I’m excited to introduce Iona, my first drone observer intern, who has been assisting me on the beach. Read on to hear her reflections of the role so far!  "Hello! I’ve been at Newburgh Seals Beach assisting Claire Stainfield with her PhD research as a “drone observer intern” and I’m thrilled to share some insights from my first month in the role! I recently graduated from SRUC, where I studied Wildlife and Conservation Management, with a particular interest in marine conservation. My honours project focused on bottlenose dolphins in Aberdeen Harbour, so I jumped at the opportunity to ge...

  Hey there! I’m a new PhD student at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) in Aberdeen, and I’m super excited to share my research journey with you. This year, I will be spending a lot of time at Newburgh Seal Beach, observing the seal colony that calls this place home. It’s been an exciting start, and I can’t wait to dive into the details with you. What’s the Deal with the Seals? So, what’s so special about these seals? Well, they’re grey seals, and they hang out on the beach all year round. But here’s the interesting part: their numbers change with the seasons. My mission this year is to gather all kinds of cool ecological data about them. I’m looking into how different age groups and gender of seals use the beach and where they prefer to rest. To do this, I’m using drones to snap aerial photos of the colony. From these bird’s-eye views, we can estimate the seals’ age by their size, determine their sex by the colour of their fur, and see exactly where they like to chill. Why Bot...

PhD student Angela Amlin from the University of St Andrews was up visiting Aberdeen last week to trial some new technology for monitoring seals. Fitted with a thermal imager, her Autonomous Camera Monitoring (ACM) system gave us a whole new perspective on the seals! Seals (and swans!) showing up on the thermal image (Image: Angela Amlin) Angela aims to develop and pilot a low-cost, low-impact system for seal haul-out monitoring in Scotland. Many of our coastal areas are quite remote or difficult to access, which is challenging for both monitoring and management. This is a particular issue given the many threats facing seals, so there is a real need to support managers by finding novel methods to provide useful, up-to-date information. Earlier this year, Angela and Sarah ran a stakeholder engagement workshop to tap into local knowledge and help focus ACM development. Attended by representatives from NatureScot, Marine Directorate, Newburgh and Ythan Community Trust, East Grampian Coasta...