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...