A RECORD number of seal pups are expected to be born this summer in the backwaters of Walton.

The first two of the season arrived on June 12, with 45-50 pups expected by the end of July.

By the weekend there were six, with the birth of one arrival seen by tourists on Sunday morning.

The birthing season gives a boost to the wildlife trips business, operated by born-and-bred Walton resident Tony Haggis.

The 64-year-old former commercial fisherman has been running them for 18 years on his 21ft converted lifeboat Karina.

He takes visitors from Foundry Wharf along the Walton Channel, past Edge Island to Hamford Water, Oakley Creek and Bramble Creek- waters made famous in the book Secret Water, a 1930s children’s classic written by Arthur Ransome of Swallows and Amazon’s fame.

The Walton Backwaters are sited between the Colne and Stour estuaries, where the rolling cornfields of the Tendring Peninsula slide into the North Sea. They are enjoying a growing seal population.

A bad back forced Tony to leave fishing for the venture 18 years ago, using his knowledge of local wildlife he had built up over a lifetime.

“When I first started just eight seal pups were born that year. Last year was 40. I am expecting a record 45-50 this year,” he said.

This is because the total number of seals has grown, though some days there may only be 20-30 and other days, more than 200.

“There are animals coming from in from other areas for whatever reason. The backwater if a nice haven for them,” he said.

The Walton Backwaters is a protected 7,000 acres of mudflats, salt marsh and glittering creeks preserved as the Hamford Water Nature Reserve- a Special Site of Scientific Interest.

Walton and other seals in the Thames Estuary are the only ones to have a distinctive orange copper colour, caused by the iron oxide rust in the saltings.

On the trips, Tony tells customers he cannot go too close to them as this is against the law. It may also disturb the pregnant cows. However, a decent enough look is possible, with the seals watching you, as you watch them. Several will also jump in the water and swim towards the Karena for a closer inspection.

Sunday’s birth, just the third Tony has witnessed over the years, was spotted by the ‘giveaway’ of a gull feeding on afterbirth.

“It was an amazing sight. But the pup got stuck in the mud, but luckily its mum freed it and it was able to swim in the sea after a few minutes,” he said.

Seal pups are born 3ft long, with Cows growing to 5.5ft and bulls to 6.5ft. They live in the backwaters all year around, feeding in the open sea on fish and shellfish for 4-5 days at a time before returning. Pregnancy lasts 11 months with the pups born in June and July.

On Sunday, Tony attracted about ten satisfied customers for the 1pm trip who also witnessed birds including curlew, skylarks, terns and gulls. They were all tourists but Tony added many locals also enjoy seeing the wildlife, as it’s their backwaters too. The Wildlife Boat Trips run until October.