Where are the Seals?
When are seals at Rome Point?
Seal Watching Tips
Watercraft and Drones
Contact RomePointSeals
Thursday April 3, 2025 We managed to fit in a pretty good seal hike yesterday afternoon, mainly because seal watching prospects for the near future are not encouraging. Warm fronts and cold fronts are going to be rolling through New England like waves on the Rome Point shore, with accompanying unsettled weather. We are hoping that the large numbers of seals we have been seeing recently will hang around until the next full moon tide, but right now we do not see any great opportunities to check out the seal situation, certainly none with the ideal weather and tide alignment we enjoyed last week. If a weather window opens up on short notice, we will try to let you know. We know from long experience that we can't take the exceptional seal days for granted, which is all the more reason why we are so grateful for last week's wonderful seal watching, which was the best continuous period of outstanding seal observation since 2018.
We have decided to remove the Recent Seal Observation Notes page from this website. From now on, only the most recent observation note will be posted right here on the Home page. We have had a recurrence of an issue pertaining to copyright security such that we cannot continue to make the body of our observational work so readily available. To everyone who enjoyed reading our observation report history we are sorry, but the best we can do to keep you informed about our latest seal sighting is the new Observation Notes section below.
Recent Seal Observation Notes:
Wednesday April 2, 2025 - 88 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, cloudy, SE 10 to 15+, 15:00 3 on far rock for 91 seals total. We powered through less than ideal wind conditions this afternoon to take a chance on a late afternoon low tide. In April 2024, afternoon low tides with a southerly wind were not good seal days, so we were curious whether that situation would persist this Spring. Fortunately, that was not the case and we enjoyed very good seal observation considering the conditions, with a good number of seals hauled out in good light for the scope. The seals were subdued because of the brisk south wind, but a couple of seals put on exhibitions of breaching that made up for lack of altitude with the number of consecutive jumps. A good assortment of seals including Big Red, some big-bellied expecting seal moms to be, and several juvenile seals were perched in positions that made for good viewing; however, in the two hours we spent on the beach no other visitors joined us. At 1500 about half of the seals flushed for no reason we could discern, which resulted in a bonus half hour of interesting observation as these seals returned to the rocks. Around 1600 the wind faded for a while, making the conditions more comfortable, and we almost went all in on an extended seal watch. However, the wind picked up again with gusts over 20 mph, so we called it a good day and departed.
Upon arriving at the parking lot we encountered a gathering group of hikers from the Appalachian Mountain Club and we left hoping that someone in that bunch had brought along a spotting scope, an important tool which makes a huge difference when observing wildlife at a distance. Lately the great seal watching we have been enjoying has been a more solitary experience than we would prefer, largely due to ill-timed wet or windy/chilly weather. Relatively few lucky people were privileged to see the wonderful seal show we have been enjoying recently, and we wished the AMC group had arrived a bit earlier, or that we had chosen to linger a while longer. Five years ago we likely would have joined then for an encore seal walk if no one in their group had brought a scope, but the mild infirmities we are dealing with at our age are telling us that those days have passed us by.
This time of year it is worth
the effort to try to be on the beach two to
three hours before low tide, as the haul-out
time is when the seals are usually most active.
In addition, it is a good practice to arrive
early in the seals' rest cycle to stay a step
ahead of marauding watercraft, which can spoil a
seal watch by chasing the seals from the area. When the seal count at Rome
Point exceeds the 100 seal benchmark, the
haul-out time seal show rivals almost any
wild animal observation you are likely to
see anywhere in North America. The big seal
show has come to town now, and there may
still be great opportunities to see the
seals before they leave town for the summer.
The links below connect to short
seal videos we posted on 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 former Rome Point kingpin climbing to the
top of his favorite pointy rock.
Video Links:
Tail Biting Jumps March 2020
Seal
Action March 2013
Linebelly
Rising
Big Seal Day 2011
Seal
Pup Follies
Rome Point Seals 2011