seal.watch / uk

United Kingdom · 2000—2026

Grey and harbour seals

Seals around the United Kingdom.

Follow public seal observations from the United Kingdom. Browse published records, explore the places and stories behind them, or share an encounter with the Seal Watch team.

Meet the grey seal → · Meet the harbour seal →

Total reports
764
Latest observation

Public reports · newest first

Public records archive

6 July—31 July

Reset filters

5 of 764 reports

Loading public records…

Explore by area

Markers represent named areas, never exact sighting positions. Circle size reflects report counts; numbers match the area list. Select an area to filter the archive.

3 of 5 reports mapped · 3 areas

N ↑Great Cumbrae Island · 1 report1London · 1 report2Dorset, England · 1 report3

Scroll the map sideways to explore the whole coast.

Mapped areas North to south

  1. Great Cumbrae Island1 report
  2. London1 report
  3. Dorset, England1 report

Areas without one map point

Broad country and coast labels, and places without a reviewed reference, remain filterable here.

Map: Natural Earth.

Reports over time

All dates

Select a year, then a month. Counts describe published reports; one animal may appear in several reports.

  1. 22000
  2. 42001
  3. 12002
  4. 12003
  5. 32005
  6. 22006
  7. 52007
  8. 12008
  9. 32009
  10. 92010
  11. 132011
  12. 72012
  13. 152013
  14. 82014
  15. 82015
  16. 92016
  17. 282017
  18. 212018
  19. 142019
  20. 212020
  21. 182021
  22. 152022
  23. 362023
  24. 302024
  25. 2482025
  26. 2422026

Months in 2024

  1. 7Jan
  2. 3Feb
  3. 1Mar
  4. 4Apr
  5. 3May
  6. 0Jun
  7. 5Jul
  8. 3Aug
  9. 1Sep
  10. 2Oct
  11. 1Nov
  12. 0Dec

Grouped by each record’s archive date. Approximate dates keep their original labels in the records below.

  1. River Thames at Limehouse London
    Unidentified r/london eyewitness video — https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comments/1ehbev0/

    The poster shared video of a seal surfacing at two points along the Thames in Limehouse. Species not recorded · 1 seal

  2. Poole Harbour Dorset, England
    Unidentified Durlston Country Park, Latest Sightings — https://www.durlston.co.uk/latest-sightings

    Source describes the seal as hunting, 18:30–19:30. Species not recorded · 1 seal

  3. River Thames near Thames Ditton Island, Teddington London, England
    Unidentified Teddington Town, 26 July 2024 — https://teddingtontown.co.uk/2024/07/26/new-sighting-of-seal-in-thames-near-teddington/

    A seal was seen swimming and diving in the Thames while a boat was delivered to Teddington. Species not recorded · 1 seal

  4. Great Cumbrae Island, Isle Of Cumbrae, Scotland Great Cumbrae Island
    Unidentified divyamp — iNaturalist

    Photographic observation identified on iNaturalist as grey seal (Halichoerus grypus). Grey seal

  5. Beaulieu River Hampshire, England
    Unidentified Wild New Forest, September 2024 — https://www.wildnewforest.co.uk/post/september-2024-newsletter

    A freshly born common seal pup was observed on the river. Harbour seal · 1 seal