Saturday February 23, 2019 - Yesterday started out as the best seal observation day since last spring, with the most seals on the rocks that we have seen this season. However, the arrival of a single kayaker at 1:40 put an end to the good seal watching long before low tide, which was unfortunate for the many seal seekers who came out on a sunny afternoon.

Saturday afternoon looks like a classic setup for the seals to be run off the rocks once again by watercraft, so anyone hoping to see seals on Saturday had better arrive early in the ebb tide. The seals' rest period should extend into the evening if they are left undisturbed by watercraft, but we would not count on that today. Weekend afternoons with light wind are the times when the seals are most frequently chased from their haul-out rocks, but sometimes we are surprised and the seals are left alone to bask in peace. Today is the last chance for good seal observation until next weekend, so we are going for a seal hike right around noon to see if we can stay a step ahead of the seal spooking watercraft, and to document yet another weekend seal harassment event should this misfortune occur,

Trail conditions are sloppy but improving, as most of the slush has turned to mud. When the going gets sloppy, we stick to the main straight road and the beach on our seal hikes for the best, least messy footing. We will be at Rome Point to share our spotting scope and seal stories with all interested visitors, so pack up the kids and make the trek to Rome Point if you care to join us for the last day what has been the best winter break school vacation seal show in many years.

Best regards to all of our seal watching friends and acquaintances, especially to some who we did not meet up with on the beach this year. We missed seeing a few of our long-time seal seeking compatriots this season; seasons of the seals move along, and friends come and go as time passes. 2019 marks our 19th year of seal watching at Rome Point, with just over 900 observations recorded, and many memories of special days shared with family, friends, and fellow seal seekers will always be ours to treasure.

Here is a link to video showing an incredible aggregation of Grey seals on Cape Cod at Monomoy. Grey Seals on the Beach at Cape Cod

Some of our seal watching friends have shown an interest in sharks; this website is dedicated to tracking sharks that have been tagged with GPS satellite transponders. Ocearch Shark Tracker  

We have posted some short seal videos to Youtube for your seal watching amusement.  Seal Pup Follies was recorded in Maine in June 2012 and Linebelly Rising is a short clip showing the Rome Point kingpin climbing to the top of his favorite pointy rock. 

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    Welcome to the Internet home of the Rome Point harbor seal colony in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay.  This web site is the place to learn where, when, and how to observe harbor seals from the shore of the John H.Chafee Nature Preserve at Rome Point, located in North Kingstown, RI.  Rome Point is the best place in southern New England to observe large numbers of wintering harbor seals from shore. Since 1999, I have had the pleasure of enjoying more than 900 seal walks and sharing close-up views of the seals through my spotting scope with at least 10,000 friends, neighbors, and seal seekers from all over the world.  Rome Point is one of Rhode Island's most spectacular natural treasures, and on a good day the seal watching experience using appropriate sport optics rivals any wildlife sightings you are likely to observe in most US National Parks!  

   This web site is a guide to having a successful and fun seal watching hike at Rome Point.  The information presented here will enable you to locate and responsibly observe the seals.  This site is published as a public service by amateur naturalists on a volunteer basis.  Thanks for visiting Romepointseals.org!