Why haven’t I seen these big animals before?

Many wild animals can be seen in coastal environments, but some marine predators (such as seals, seabirds and sharks) spend much of their time flying above or diving below the sea surface in search of food. So they are not always obvious.

Some are nocturnal, and only come close to shore at night. Others usually come ashore only because they are sick or injured.

But many healthy animals feed in coastal waters and regularly come close to, or even onto, city and suburban beaches. Mostly, this is to have a rest and it is important to let them do this.

Most members of the public know little about our marine predators. This lack of knowledge can lead to a disregard for their conservation and welfare.

We all tend to take for granted what always seems to be there.

Everyone sees birds at the beach and many people call them all seagulls (which some of them are). But while we see them, we don’t necessarily understand them so we simply don’t notice.

When you know what a shearwater looks like, and have an appreciation of what it has to achieve to simply survive, you will start to notice them. And then a whole new fascinating world will be open for you to explore.