The Dorset wildlife Trust has highlighted the need to document seal sightings following a recent one in Christchurch Harbour.

The female seal was snapped by Stanpit Marsh volunteers Jackie Smith and Scott Usher , who are also members of the Echo Camera Club, on Saturday morning.

Jackie, who has lived in the Somerford and Mudeford area all her life, was made aware of the seal’s presence by one of her fellow wardens via a WhatsApp group for nature and bird enthusiasts in the Christchurch and Stanpit area.

She said: “Scott was already out there and put a message on our group chat about the seal so I got ready, picked up my camera and got out there as soon as I could.

“When we initially saw the seal, we said that it was in Christchurch harbour because we didn’t want too many people coming and disturbing it, as it looked like the seal was resting.”

Although common seals, or harbour seals, can be found all year round in UK, they are more often seen around the coasts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and eastern England.

It is thought that this particular seal had swam into Christchurch Harbour to ‘haul out’, to digest their food and have a bit of respite before entering back into the water.

As a volunteer warden, Jackie’s main job is monitoring the area, making sure people have dogs on leashed and are not dropping litter and sticking to the paths.

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Jackie added: “If we have lovely animals like seals coming to our shores, we want people to come out and see them, but it is important that dogs are kept on leads

Common seals, along with Grey seals, are regularly spotted in Dorset according to the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

However, they are appealing to nature enthusiasts to help them compile a seal photo identification catalogue to learn more about the seals and find out whether any are resident, regular visitors or just passing through the area..

Coastal Centres Assistant Sarah Hodgson said: “These wonderful photos are of a female common seal. It’s difficult to determine the age as I have no size reference, although it’s not a very young pup.

“If anyone encounters a seal we would urge them to keep their distance and follow our seal watching code of conduct. We would also like people to get in touch with us if they have seen a seal so that we can add the details to our records.”