Tuesday 3/11/2025 -- 71 seal hauled out, 42 degrees, clear with high haze, S 15 to 25, 13:00
The south wind was blowing hard by the time we arrived today, and proceeded to build to a steady 20+ mph while we watched the seals for about an hour. This resulted in a seal watch that featured very little seal activity as the hauled out seals battened down the hatches in the face of a formidable wind. When the seals hauled out the wind was not nearly so strong, so some seals originally took up positions that were no longer tenable as wind driven waves became to splashy for comfort. One seal that did not have this issue was our long-time favorite Grey seal Big Red, who made a return appearance for the 10th consecutive year today. We will be keeping an eye... and an ear... on Big Red during our upcoming seal watches, as the distinctive B-flat wail of the Grey seal is one of our favorite wild animal vocalizations. Big Red is shown below perched today on one of his/her customary haul-out rocks.


Monday 3/10/2025 - 82 seals hauled out, 48 degrees, clear to partly cloudy, W10 to SSW 15 to 5. 12:45 5 seals on far rock for 87 seals total.
Today's seal watch had a number of interesting elements that combined to make it the most interesting seal observation so far this season. The weather was downright balmy and the seals were already settled in by the time we arrived on the beach. However, at 12:50 a boat approached the rocks to take a seal photo, which triggered a sudden seal flushing event that sent at least 65 seals into the water almost simultaneously, with a loud splash for dramatic sound effects. The boat quickly departed so most of the seals returned to the rocks, with associated territorial squabbling over several popular rocks and more seal snorting sound effects, that were clearly audible in the light wind. The seals never fully settled again after being flushed, but they remained on the rocks for the duration of the tide cycle with somewhat more scanning and gruff growling than usual.

We were joined on the beach by several groups of friendly seal watchers today, and with no better options for spending a lovely afternoon outdoors, we hung around late into the rising tide. I had remarked to one of the people sharing the scope that sometimes a few seals will seek higher ground as the tide rises and scale the tall rocks to the left in order to prolong their nap time, but his happens so rarely that I did not expect to see this today. Over the next half-hour, no fewer than 6 seals did exactly what I did not expect them to do and climbed up on tall rocks, and when I say climbed that is just what they did. One particular seal showed outstanding fortitude as it scaled the front face of the rock we call the "watchtower", while three other seals showed equal determination as they climbed to the summit of the "right twin". We may never know precisely what causes the seals to behave in a certain way on a certain day, but we are pretty sure that the mild temperatures and light breeze that persuaded us to remain on the beach all afternoon had something to do with why these seals chose this day to embark on a climbing expedition.



Sunday 3/9/2025  - 66 seals hauled out, 44 degrees, clear to cloudy late, W 10 to 20 to SSW 10, 10:00. 5 seals on far rock for 71 seals total.
This Sunday seal watch was most notable for all of the friendly seal seekers who made it to the beach today. When we arrived most of the seals were already hauled-out and there were somewhat fewer seals present than we had hoped on a perfect March day. Several of the later-arriving seals breached briefly, and there was a short scuffle over a rock adjacent to the pointy rock but for the most part the seals' behavior was subdued.

There is a new seal that has been hanging out on the flat rock for the past couple of days that has a pronounced dark copper coloration to the upper part of its body. This seal has a bit of a defensive personality such that we would describe this seal as "slap-happy" Seals regularly jostle for position as they settle in on the flat rock, but this new seal that we are going to call "Half-penny" has a proclivity toward throwing its flippers around freely at adjacent seals that have committed no real personal space invasion transgressions. It will be interesting to see whether Half-penny's neighbors on the flat rock will continue to tolerate this easily triggered seal, we think they might perhaps team up one day to put this new arrival in his place.

There were a lot of families on the beach today and it has been quite a while since we entertained young children with seal sightings thru the scope. We know from long experience that most 3 year olds can do OK looking through the scope if they can summon up the requisite calm attention. Without exception all of the little boys and girls did great with the scope today, and we met a family today who had a new scope with them and were out looking at seals for the first time. Their young daughter did fine using my scope at first but her attention quickly wandered, which is common for kids under 5. Later on, I watched as this family attached a cell phone to their scope with the basic adapter that came with their scope and managed to capture the little girl's attention by showing her the image on the phone screen, which was much easier for her to do than peering into a spotting scope eyepiece.

I was working with another family with little ones, and one three year old girl was making a great, focused effort to see the seals, but just could not get the hang of it. She patiently waited through several short line of kids to take another turn, but I could tell she was having no luck. I felt bad for such a patient, polite little girl who never showed any frustration, she just wanted to see the seals that all the other (bigger) kids were talking about. I had rigged my digiscoping phone setup earlier as practice for an upcoming trip out west, and it dawned on me that with my fancy phone adapter, I could show the little girl the seals just as I had watched the first-timers do  for with their daughter. In a flash I had my phone in position, and my little friend was very happy to finally see the seals and even to comment on their appearance, just as her older peers had done. After these families departed, I paused to consider how I learned a new trick today from a family of spotting scope, seal watching newbies; a trick that will surely be paid forward to more young children in the future. it never occurred to me to show people the seals on a phone screen before, as who doesn't have too much screen time already? But for little kids who would not see the seals otherwise this will be a neat trick that I am sure I will use again. In the end I was grateful that the family who was watching the seals on their phone schooled me on this technique... and also that I had sprung for the insurance policy on this new phone, which may come in handy if I regularly use my phone in this way.


Saturday 3/8/2025  - 86 seals hauled out, 34 degrees, partly cloudy, W 10 to 20 to WNW 15 to 30, 10:00. 5 seals on far rock for 91 seals total.
The recent windy weather continued today, but we were quick to take advantage of an unexpected break in the wind early this morning. When we arrived at the beach at 8:15 the seals were already hauled out and dry with a west wind that was only 10 to 15 mph. The light was very good for the scope and there were enough other visitors around to make seal watching well worth the effort, despite the fact that the seals were mostly sleeping soundly and buttoned down to resist the wind. By about 10;30 it was blowing a full gale on the bay but the seals hung in there gamely, and here were still about 50 seals hauled out when we left at noon.


Sunday 3/2/2025  - 26 seals hauled out, 32 degrees, clear, WNW 15 to 25, 14:30.
Today was not one of the better days for seal observation, as an overnight cold front gifted us with a chilly, gusty wind, and surprisingly poor light for telescopic observation. We knew right away this was not going to be a big seal day, so we set up around the corner south of the point, which sacrifices a bit of observational advantage for the sake of sunny, windless comfort; a worthy exchange on days when the seal show is unlikely to be compelling. The afternoon went just as we had hoped, with plenty of Sunday seal seekers to socialize with who enjoyed the sight of some well-posed seals on the tall "twin" rocks, but not much seal action. Those seals sometimes forego their higher perches on windy days, but they were accommodating to us today, which made seal watching for first time visitors a good deal more interesting than it would have been otherwise.

There are only a few times during each seal season when we manage to do seal hikes on three consecutive days, but it is even more rare to see three days that featured such a contrast in weather conditions and seal behavior... or perhaps lack of interesting behavior. Today in a cold gusty wind, the seals hunkered down and settled just like on Friday. But Friday was much warmer and the wind had no northerly component, so there were three times the number of seal on the rocks Friday compared to today. Saturday, with a southerly, relatively warm wind, there were 25% fewer seals than Friday, but their behavior was less settled and some seals were visibly agitated, with notable breaching behavior observed. Insights like this into the world of the seals can only be gained through repeated close observation, and this sort of thing is what keeps us interested in the lives of these fascinating marine mammals as the years go by.


Saturday 3/1/2025  - 67 seals hauled out, 47 degrees, clear, SSW to SW 15 to 25+, 13:00.
An interesting seal watch today in terms of contrast with yesterday, that illustrated how the wind direction and velocity may affect many of the seals' behavior. Yesterday, the seals invariably hauled-out, settled down, and went into sleep mode quickly upon choosing their haul-out rocks. The usual suspects were all on their favorite rocks and we observed almost no notable behavior on the surface by swimming seals. Today their behavior was markedly different, and we have long observed that the greater the southerly directional component of the wind, the more unsettled and unpredictable the seals seem to be. Today the seals took two to three time as long to get settled, and even after settled they were scanning more frequently than they did yesterday. Numerous seals were hauled-out on rocks that were not their typical resting locations, and the prized flat rock, which holds the same group of dominant male seals on most days, was occupied by a half-dozen random seals that we did not recognize. One of the flat rock seals displayed agitated behavior when it hauled-out and returned to the water 4 times in 20 minutes, only settling on the rock after its 5th haul-out.

Other seals also displayed uncharacteristic agitation as they hauled-out, with eyes wide open, nostrils flared, and heavy breathing seen for a minute or two before they gathered themselves. The new moon tide was running strong today so perhaps the seals were especially worn out from bucking the current on their swim up the bay to the rocks. The strong outgoing tide against the southerly wind, which was almost dead south for the first 90 minutes of our observation, made for choppy seas covered with whitecaps, which usually reduces the amount of seal activity we witness on the surface. That was both true and untrue today, as overall surface activity was minimal, but four different seals put on a briefly exuberant aerial exhibition, with each seal jumping out of the water at least three times.

Friday 2/28/2025  - 87 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, clear, W 10 to 20+, 12:30. 3 seals on far rock for 90 seals total.
Very good seal observation today, particularly for the first 45 minutes when we watched about 45 seals arrive and haul-out. The seals are almost always most active when they first arrive at the rocks, and that is especially true on windy days, when their activity at the water's surface is reduced and they tend to hunker down with eyes closed immediately after getting on their rock. We know that strong wind blowing on a seal's face must be uncomfortable, and we think they close their eyes to protect their eyeballs from drying out. In any event once they get settled with eyes closed, it's lights out and there is less interesting behavior to observe when the entire group is snoozing. But with great light for the scope, a steady stream of seal watchers coming and going, and the most seals so far this season today's seal watch was a fun way to spend three hours on the beach.

Sunday 2/23/2025  - 53 seals hauled out, 35 degrees, clear to mostly cloudy, W 5 to 10+, 10:30. 3 seals on far rock for 56 seals total.
We cautiously powered through an icy, treacherous hike to the beach today in anticipation of a good seal day, and we were not disappointed. A surprising number of other seal seekers did likewise on a sunny Sunday, and we enjoyed a sociable seal watch with seals well posed for all to see. The light for the scope was not so good for most of the morning, and the seals were well-settled by the time we arrived, so from the standpoint of marine mammal observation, his was one of the less interesting seal watches for us. However, we made a bunch of new friends while basking in the sun, so what's not to like about that? Around noon, a bank of clouds covered the sun, which greatly improved the optical conditions, so we zoomed the scope in to survey the situation. We were pleased to see, hiding all that time in plain sight, the black splotchy juvenile Grey seal pictured below. This served as a timely reminder that we should be mindful of making close observations even when we are distracted by the social aspect of wildlife watching, so we can share the subtle insights we may gain with everyone present.



Saturday 2/15/2025  - 55 seals hauled out, 33 degrees, cloudy, S 5 to 10, 14:30.

The most notable aspect of today's seal hike was the effort it took to get to and from the seal watching beach safely, due to remarkably icy trail conditions. We usually take the road straight to the beach so we can walk on the ice-free sand, but the road was so iced up that we tried the forest path on our walk out, which was not any easier. With trail conditions this poor, we did not expect to have many visitors joining us at the point, and that was true for the most part. However, today was the first day this season that the MV Coastal Queen graced us with her presence, carrying seal seekers on one of their tours that originate in Wickford. There were perhaps 20 people on board, and they were treated to good views of seals high up on the rocks. That is until they were spooked by the seal watching vessel when it made a turning maneuver north of the rocks. The seals today were never well settled and our experience is that a south wind makes the seals a bit fussy and nervous. Only about half of the seals flushed, but surprisingly, they left the area even though the seal watch vessel maintained a respectable distance from the rocks at all times. We like having the tour boat around because their presence has served to deter other seal-harassing water craft in the past, so we hope that today's flushing event was an aberration that will not be a regular occurrence.

We decided that today would be a good opportunity to try out the video setup though the scope using our new phone. The old phone was took notably good photos and video, but this new phone has it beat in all areas save one... ease of use. We fussed with our mounting arrangement for a good half hour before we managed to get it set up for video, but once we did, the image quality was spectacular. Cold fingers eventually ended our experiment for and we have a way to go to get this video arrangement set up to our liking, but we are sure that in time we will get the hang of it and be gifted with some memorable video clips.


Saturday 2/8/2025  - 44 seals hauled out, 35 degrees, partly sunny, NW 5 to 10, 12:00. 3 seals on far rock for 47 seals total.
A delightful mid-winter seal watch today, in the midst of a spell of wintry weather when good seal watching days have been hard to come by. Our seal hike today was enhanced by the presence of an intriguing new seal watching companion, and we always enjoy sharing the seal watching experience with someone for their first time and participating in their amusement as they observe these beautiful animals up close. The seals were posed in fine form in good light today, with seals perched high up on some of the taller rocks for the first time in a while. Curiously, the flat rock held only 3 seals today in near perfect conditions, signifying to us that some of the dominant male seals that usually haul out on that rock are hanging out elsewhere lately. The seals were mostly well-settled late in the ebb tide, but we were lucky to observe a couple of interesting territorial squabbles at the end of our seal watch that provided some entertainment for us just before we departed.


Monday 1/27/2025  - 54 seals hauled out, 37 degrees, mostly sunny, W 10 to 20+, 13:00. 3 seals on far rock for 57 seals total.
Another good seal watch today, with mostly mellow seals basking in the sun. We spotted a couple of juvenile seals today, but the view was obscured by rocks so we did not get a good look at them. We are accustomed to seeing yearling seals starting in early January, but in recent years, they young seals have been showing up later and in fewer numbers. Now we are only seeing between 5 to 10 first year seals in the Spring when there are a lot of seals around, when we used to see 15 to 20 juvenile seals on big seal days when there are over 100 seals on the rocks. We do not know what to make of this development and we try not to let it trouble us, for we come to the seal beach to leave troubles behind, secure in the knowledge that nature is going to adapt and evolve as it is meant to be.

On the subject of trouble, I rarely comment on personal matters in this blog, however, I am compelled to say that the camaraderie and conversations with the nice folks I have been hanging out with at Rome Point and Trustom Pond has made a troublesome time on the personal front much more tolerable for me recently. I have long known of the recuperative powers of nature observation, but some wounds are better mended by enjoying the fellowship of happy, friendly people. The wayfaring wanderers who make their way to the Rome Point shore have been a part of my life for 25 years, and to long time friends and first time acquaintances alike I say thanks for the kind words, smiles, and support. The fellowship of the seals is a loose affiliation, but it has meant more to me than I can ever express in mere words. So this inadequate, but heartfelt thank you will have to do I guess.

Sunday 1/26/2025  - 44 seals hauled out, 35 degrees, cloudy to partly sunny, SW 10 to 20, 13:15. 3 seals on far rock for 47 seals total.
We enjoyed a spirited seal watch on this Sunday afternoon, courtesy of the numerous enthusiastic seal watchers who joined us on the beach. Everyone had a great time observing the lounging seals with great light for telescopic observation allowing us to zoom the scope in for close-up viewing pleasure.

The seals were mostly settled in rest mode today, but around 12:10 a boisterous fight broke out among a pair of seals adjacent to the pointy rock. We did see not how this dust up got started, but by the time we picked up on the action these seals were going at it hot and heavy. One seal was ably defending a flat rock just to the left rear of the point rock, and its adversary was a determined foe. For 10 minutes was watched as the seal on the rock kept spinning around to prevent its attacker from getting a good shot at delivering a vicious tail bite. The seal in the water was adept and determined, keeping the pressure on until it got chances to lunge out of the water and bite the other seal's tail. These bite attempts mostly missed the mark, but finally a bite hit the tail target, driving the seal on the rock into the water. The seals both reappeared in a minute or two and one of them briefly took up station atop the pointy rock. That did not last long and soon both seals wound up perched on separate rocks beside each other, with neither seal on the rock they were originally fighting over.

Saturday 1/25/2025  - 23 seals hauled out, 31 degrees, clear, SW 5 to 10, 12:00. 2 seals on far rock for 25 seals total.
A cold January morning that gradually warmed after the sun emerged, setting the stage for a pleasant and mellow seal watch. The number of animals present has been declining for the past 10 days, and this was a small seal turnout for such a nice day. A small visitor turnout as well, as most people waited for the afternoon warmth to set in before they ventured out. This suited the character of this  lovely morning just fine, and we basked for several hours watching seals that barely moved. One seal put on a vigorous two-minute jumping show and there was a little jostling on the right mound, but this seal walk was most notable for the calm, clear, and solitary ambience that characterized this day.

Thursday 1/16/2025  - 47 seals hauled out, 32 degrees, cloudy, W 10, 14:30.
The first good day for seal observation in a couple of weeks proved to be a solitary but interesting seal watch. A cloudy, cool weekday always has less visitation at Rome Point, which we like sometimes as it provides an opportunity for us to conduct more thorough seal observation, with less distraction form socializing with other seal watchers. One thing we noticed today, was that about a half-dozen seals were sporting various scars on their backs and bellies that appeared to be recent wounds. We have noticed before that when the seals first arrive at Rome Point they are generally not sporting too many cuts and abrasions, but as winter progresses more seals seem to incur visible injuries of varying severity. When the seals are more sparsely distributed on the rocks, as they were today due to less seals being present, it is easier to see their entire bodies because the view is less blocked by other seals. Still, we would assert that over the past two weeks since we last looked at the seals, a notable number have managed to get cuts and scrapes somehow. We wonder if the recent windy conditions may have contributed to this observation, and if not, what other factors may be causing the seals to be injured.

We enjoyed several rounds of breaching behavior by a couple of seals, but the most interesting action by far was a seal territorial dispute involving the table rock. A small seal was perched on this rock and was fairly high out of the water at this stage of the tide. A larger seal arrived late and, despite a number of other resting rocks being available, decided that the table rock was the place to be. One large dark seal frequents this rock regularly, and this could well have been the late-arriving, aggressive seal. In any event, once the larger seal showed up, it was game on, and this seal put on a lengthy display of athletic tail-biting behavior the likes of which we have only seen perhaps once before. The seal on the rock was pretty agile, and kept close watch to track the movement of the attacker as it circled the rock awaiting an opportunity to lunge out of the water and deliver a big chomp to the tail. Because the rock was so high above the water, the lunges were spectacular to observe, with 2/3 of the seals body exposed as it repeatedly tried to drive the defending seal off its resting rock.

After about two minutes of this activity, the attacking seal hauled out on an adjacent rock and proceeded to do something we have never observed before. It looked like this seal was experiencing a bout of hiccups, as is it rapidly stretched and contracted its upper body with mouth opening and closing. We have seen seal coughing, sneezing, and trying to dislodge stuck food before, but nothing like this. The 'hiccups' occurred at about 2 second intervals and this rapid convulsing last about 90 seconds. The hiccups gradually subsided, and after a brief rest, the seal returned to the water and proceeded to mount another tail biting assault for a minute, then disappeared for a while. However, after we packed up the scope to leave, a last look revealed the big seal laying beside the little seal on the table rock, apparently deciding that a cease fire and sharing was the best course of action to get the resting spot it wanted.

Wednesday 1/1/2025  - 66 seals hauled out, 48 degrees, partly cloudy, W 10 to 15, 14:00. 3 seals on far rock for 69 seals total. Happy New Year to All!
We were expecting a windy wet washout today, but were surprised when the skies brightened enough around 10 am to convince us to recheck the forecast and radar. Turns out the forecast had changed and the new prediction was for cloudy skies and west wind... our favorite setup for seal observation. We hustled out the door and made it to the seal beach in time to watch the haul out activity, which was quite spirited for a brief time. We watched about a half dozen seals breach out of the water, and there was also a few territorial disputes to entertain us during the first solitary hour we spent watching the seals. After the lunch hour we were further entertained by a steady stream of visiting seal seekers, whose company we enjoyed well past our planned departure time.

Tuesday 12/31/2024  - 72 seals hauled out, 48 degrees, clear, W 5 to S 10, 12:30. 5 seals on far rock for 77 seals total.
When we arrived at the beach 3 hours before low tide, there were already 60 or more seals hauled out, so we knew we were going to be treated to a fine seal watch as long as the seals were left alone to rest undisturbed. For the next 2 1/2 hours everyone enjoyed an outstanding opportunity to observe wild marine mammals in their natural habitat, under very good viewing conditions for telescopic viewing. I would be remiss if I did not mention the outstanding group of young naturalists who came out to see the seals today, who all exhibited a level of interest and attention that we see regularly among the families that visit Rome Point, however. but it is not so often that a large group of kids will all be so pleasant and polite while actively engaging with nature. One young lady even gifted me with a hand-decorated gingerbread cookie... a kind gesture that never fails to win the gratitude of this crusty old seal watcher.

At about 12:25 the wind shifted to the south which brought a chill to the beach and made the scope shake a bit, so we moved to the shelter of the cedar trees to continue our seal observation. We continued to watch the seals take their rest until a single kayaker arrived at 13:15. We have seen this gentleman before, and this particular paddler always tries to keep from flushing the seals by staying very close to shore as he passes through the area. Unfortunately, this tactic, which is successful more often than not, was ineffective today and all but 10 of the seals flushed and left the area. We are inclined not to blame the kayaker in this case, as sometimes the seals seem overly sensitive to the most mild disturbance; in our opinion, these animals could stand to bear up and show a little more fortitude when a kayak passes by a quarter mile away from them within 20 yards of the shoreline. Nonetheless, this was our fourth consecutive seal watch that ended with the seals flushing, and it would please us greatly if this recent run of seal watching misfortune would come to an end.

Friday 12/27/2024  - 40 to 50 seals hauled out, 28 degrees, clear, Calm to SSW 10, 10:10. Bald eagle sharing the rocks with the seals!
When we arrived at the seal beach today, we immediately noticed that the seals were unequally distributed on the rocks, with no seals perched on any rocks north of the center cluster. At first we thought the seals must have been disturbed, and it turns out that they were, but not in the manner that we suspected. Closer inspection revealed the presence of the mature bald eagle in the photo above. We know that seals are wary of these airborne predators from years of observing seals interact with eagles in Maine, but in over 1000 observations this is the first eagle we have ever spotted on the rocks at Rome Point.

Unfortunately, this interesting situation was disrupted much too soon by a paddle boarding intruder who was not aware of proper behavior in an area where protected marine mammals are hauled out. This was a severe harassment incident, as the pernicious paddler closely approached and circled the haul out rocks, which drove all the seals (and the eagle) out of the area. There were no seals visible for quite some time after the paddle boarder finally departed, and when we finally spotted a few swimming seals they were not at all inclined to return to the rocks.

It was a beautiful morning, so we lingered to see whether any seals would return to the rocks and eventually we were rewarded by a single seal who bravely perched in fine form on the slanted rock. Over time the number of seals present slowly increased and a half dozen large seals took up stations on the flat rock. This was a fortunate development for the good number of seal seeking families who made their way out to the seal beach today, and in the end we were pleased to enjoy a pretty darn good seal watch in spite of the seals being spooked earlier. Nonetheless, as we departed we paused to consider how amazing the seal watching could have been today if not for the clueless intrusion of one wayward paddle boarder. With three days of rain in the forecast for the next several days, it is just a shame that the one good seal watching day was greatly diminished in quality by the actions of a single selfish individual.

Sunday 11/17/2024  - 49 seals hauled out, 61 degrees, clear, NW 15+ to 10, 12:45. 3 seals on far rock for 52 seals total.
The parking lot was nearly full when we embarked on our seal walk this morning, and we passed numerous family groups who were leaving just when the seals were arriving. Too bad for those folks that what appeared to be an organized group outing was not better timed, as these families missed a fairly good seal observation opportunity. The wind was whipping around the point fairly strongly when we first arrived, and the seals congregated on the lower rocks near the waterline today, as they often do on a windy day. We noted that the seal on the pointy rock was the same seal we saw perched there on Friday, which inspired memories of the long-time stalwart seal of the pointy rock Linebelly. Several different seals have taken up station on this rock since Linebelly departed about four seasons ago, and we can't help wondering if or when another seal will adopt the pointy rock as their own favorite haul out site.

There were a good number of recreational fishing boats on the bay, most of them likely Tautog fishermen taking advantage of the continued run of good weather. Several boats approached the rocks to take a look at the seals, but none came so close as to disturb them for the first hour we were there. However, we felt it was just a matter of time on this busy Sunday, and sure enough a small skiff with two guys on board had to drive right up to the rocks and flush half of the seals. We take these flushing events in stride for the most part, however, when one of these goofballs started throwing stuff at the seals, that triggered us to yell at the offender to "knock it off". They were apparently able to hear us, as they immediately looked around and departed hastily, leaving about 25 nervous seals on the rocks to resume their rest. We hope this does not prove to be a harbinger of future seal harassment events to come, and last season was markedly quiet insofar as the seals being chased from the rock.

Friday 11/15/2024  - 64 seals hauled out, 52 degrees, clear, NW 10 to calm, 11:45. 4 seals on far rock for 68 seals total. First Seal walk of the 2024-2025 seal season
Our first seal walk since April surpassed our expectations and whetted our appetite for an interesting and fun seal season at Rome Point. Numerous seals were well-positioned for observation and identification and we were able to recognize at least 8 seals that were present on the rocks last spring. The seals were well-settled high and dry on the rocks when we arrived two hours before low tide and showed unusually high tolerance for several boats that made close approaches to the haul-out rocks.

At 11:50 a boat got too close for comfort and spooked about 40 seals into the water, but the boat did not linger and most of the seals returned to resume their rest. As we have seen many times before, the seals that came back after being flushed do not usually haul out a second time on the same rock that they were resting on previously. This often triggers territorial disputes with other seals that did not flush, with associated vocalization as these property battles are resolved. The seals that hold the high ground on the rocks generally have the advantage, and will sometimes team up to keep wayward interlopers at bay. When the seals involved are evenly matched in size, sometimes these aggressive encounters can turn ferocious, and this happened when a seal on the left side of the flat rock was challenged by a worthy adversary. These two seals went at it chest-to-chest in a manner reminiscent of "beach master" elephant seals dueling for superiority, with the seal on the rock winning out by performing a lunging body-slam maneuver. There were several other incidences of rock defenders warding off intruders until the seals settled down about 20 minutes after the boat departed. There were 53 seals remaining on the rocks when we left, all in peaceful repose that belied the confrontations that had taken place just a few minutes earlier.

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Saturday 4/27/2024  - 0 seals hauled out, 55 degrees, clear, S 15+, 14:00.
Another day when there was not a single seal anywhere in sight for the 1/2 hour that we spent on the beach. Not exactly the way we would have preferred to end the Spring 2024 seal season, but cest' la vie. The past April will be remembered as a month when we had great expectations for good seal observation, but the weather and the seals just did not cooperate. 

Sunday 4/21/2024  - 42 seals hauled out, 52 degrees, cloudy, S 5+ to SSW 5 to 10, 12:30. 1 seal on far rock for 43 seals total.
We enjoyed the first good seal watch in 2 weeks, which is an unusual situation for this time of year. The large numbers of seals we saw in March are gone, but seal watching today was just fine, especially for the half-dozen families who had not previously experienced the pleasure of seeing wild marine mammals up close before. The seals were unsettled on the south wind, but after the wind shifted to the west about 30 degrees, the conditions became more comfortable for both seals and seal watchers. Notable observations today included a brief but feisty seal fight on the flat rock, and a big Grey seal that bottled in the vicinity of the pointy rock for a solid 45 minutes but never hauled out.

The seals were not doing much to hold our attention, so during a lull in visitation around lunch time we decided to occupy ourselves by trying to identify the spiders that were crawling all over the rocks. We downloaded a bug and spider ID app and proceeded to try to get good photos of the spooky spiders to submit to our AI-powered assistant. This proved to be a challenge at first, as the shy spiders were adept at sensing our presence before we could line them up in close-up camera range. We figured out that they were fleeing from our shadows right away, but we still could not get a good photograph before they scurried into the closest crevice. Our success was finally enhanced when we determined that the wary arachnids were picking up the sound of the crunching slipper shells as we approached them. After we employed the tactic of stepping silently on rocks instead of on the shells, we were able to get well-focused photos that we thought would be sufficient for the ID app to utilize. However, our hopes were dashed when the first ID result back came back as a wolf spider found only in Australia! Eventually we were able deduce that there were two different spider species sunning on the rocks, but the AI powering the app apparently still had some learning to do, as we never got a realistic result for our ID query.

Monday 4/15/2024  - 0 seals hauled out, 65 degrees, clear, S 15 to 25, 17:30.
A rare day when there was not a single seal anywhere in sight for the entire hour that we spent on the beach. The wind was forecast to be west 10, but instead we got a big south wind that held the tide up in the bay and kicked up some gnarly whitecaps while the outgoing tide was running hard. Whatever the reason, the seals were having none of it; however, this observation was notable for the absence of seals, which has been a theme for the past 6 days. It is said "absence makes the heart grow fonder", and we fondly anticipate the changeover to morning low tides later this week, which will hopefully improve our seal watching fortunes.

Saturday 4/13/2024  - 8 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, mostly cloudy with light rain squalls, W to SW to W 15 to 25+, 15:45. 1 seal on far rock for 9 seals total.
A day of wild weather made for an unusual seal watch that tested our patience but was worthwhile for some of the unusual behavior that we eventually observed. There were a few seals on the rocks when we first arrived, but a sailboat showed up at the same time and made a close pass that spooked these seals. The conditions on the bay were worsening as a squall line approached, and the seals lingered in the water while the boat remained in the area. The boat's captain saw the bad weather coming and headed for the harbor, but by then the wind was really whipping and the seals were not inclined to take their rest in the midst of the splashy turmoil. A couple of seals approached the beach and took a look at the more sheltered rocks just offshore, with one seal swimming within 30 yards of shore before it decided to head back out into the tempest.

The seals that were in the area did not leave, so we hung around to see what they might do after the rain squall passed. We spotted some seals far out in the bay at a spot where we often observe swimming seals, so we set up the scope to watch these more distant animals. A couple of these seals started cavorting in an amorous manner that we believe is characteristic of seal courtship behavior, which we have learned to distinguish from the more common playful interactions. Young seals at play tend to be more frantic in their escapades and their bodies do not touch as they jump and splash. However, seals that are really getting frisky tend to writhe with their bodies more entwined with one seal occasionally mounting the other from behind, pause their exuberant behavior while remaining very close to each other, and may even perform a nose-nuzzling seal kiss that surely signifies an affectionate bond. We got to see one of those seal kisses today, a rare and memorable sight.

The wind settled somewhat after the squall passed, and as we had hoped a few seals began to haul-out. At one point six large seals clambered onto the flat rock, but they did not remain there after the wind picked up again and splashy waves tormented them into leaving. The center cluster rock was more sheltered, and this rock drew the attention of a feisty smaller seal that we had first observed a few minutes earlier performing a back-scratching, rolling maneuver on some submerged rocks in the foreground. This seal got on the center cluster rock and proceeded to continue its back-scratching behavior by rolling onto its back and wriggling back and forth. We see seals doing this sort of behavior more frequently in Maine, where the rocks are covered with a thick layer of sea oats that would seem much preferable to bare rock for back-scratching. We are not sure if the seal we were watching planned to roll off the rock as its exit strategy, but that is what happened after about 30 seconds of vigorous squirming on its back. Seeing this once was amusing enough, but the seal quickly climbed back onto the rock and repeated this performance a second time. Then a couple of other seals hauled out on this rock, and when the seal we had been watching returned for the third time it was much more subdued as though it did not want to embarrass itself in front of the other, bigger adult seals. As the wind picked up and we packed up, we took a moment to consider how a few seals put on an entertaining exhibition of marine mammal behavior on a day when unsettled weather caused the seals to break out of their normal behavior patterns.

Wednesday 4/10/2024  - 0 seals hauled out, 48 degrees, mostly cloudy, SE 5 to 15, 12:45.
No seals in sight today when we arrived on the beach 2 1/2 hours before low tide, and with no seals swimming around we immediately determined that today was not going to be the big seal day we had hoped for. We felt the slightest tinge of regret that we were away the past couple of days for an eclipse viewing trip to Vermont, likely missing out on excellent seal watching; however, the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle of eclipse totality was an absolutely fantastic experience that was well worth the effort and opportunity cost. Our words could never do the total eclipse experience justice, so we will just post a cell phone eclipse photo here to commemorate this memorable experience on 4/8/2024.

Saturday 4/6/2024  - 71 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, mostly cloudy, N 15 to 20, 12:15. 2 seals on far rock for 73 seals total.
Our seal watch today had a wintry feel to it, with lead-gray clouds and and a harsh north wind kicking up white-capped waves on the bay. The wind was strong enough to penetrate the sheltering cedar trees, so we almost moved to our alternate observation point about 35 yards south on the beach. However, our customary viewing spot has some observational advantages, so we decided to tough it out there until the seals were finished hauling-out. We are glad we stayed, otherwise we might not have met up with a paddling party from the Kayak Centre, who beached at the point to check out the seals. These intrepid paddlers showed their mettle today touring on the bay in those conditions, and we are always eager to share our spotting scope with any paddlers who take precautions to avoid flushing the seals. The Kayak Centre has been a long-time friend to us and to the seals in this regard and we welcomed their sociable visit on a day when the weather deterred most visitors from hiking out to Rome Point.

Soon after the kayak group left, we made our move around the corner to a more comfortable location on the beach. A friendly couple joined us there for an enjoyable seal observation that benefited from excellent light for close-up views through the scope. Upon their departure the beach was bereft of seal seekers, and we considered leaving. After a few minutes of consideration we elected to enjoy an hour of alone time on the beach, motivated by the thought of a potentially busy and over-crowded eclipse viewing trip on Monday. We greatly prefer our encounters with the natural world to feature at most an unobtrusive, considerate human element, but we have some trepidation that the circumstances surrounding our eclipse watching trip may fall well outside our comfort zone for nature activities combined with neighborly socialization.

Friday 4/5/2024  - 101 seals hauled out, 37 degrees, mostly clear to cloudy, W 15 to 20, 11:15. 6 seals on far rock and 2 seals at Greene Point for 109 seals total.
Another windy day that was very similar to last Saturday in many respects. Once again, the seals were weary after several days of bad weather and were quick to settle with lots of sleeping and little scanning. A few seals were a little bit more active however, particularly the big seals on the flat rock who took a while to get their territorial claims sorted out. One seal put on a belligerent show of aggression at the Pointy rock, where it lunged out of the water to deliver a tail bite to the big seal balanced on the rock. The seal on the Pointy rock immediately entered the water in pursuit of its nemesis, and in time they must have settled the dispute underwater, as the seal that was bitten took its place on the rock once more. However, the aggressive seal was not finished stirring up trouble, as it soon picked a fight with a seal on an adjacent rock and again employed the tail biting tactic. The outcome was the same in this second instance, with the seal on the rock taking a swim and reappearing five minutes later to resume resting on its chosen rock with the aggressive seal repulsed and not to be seen anymore today.

There was a brief period of energetic breaching behavior about 1 1/2 hours before low tide, when the wind-driven current was still moving at a fair clip. We spotted a pair of younger seals cavorting in the channel between Fox Island and the haul-out rocks, so we zoomed in with the scope to watch them closely. We were glad that we did, because both of these seals commenced to put on a short jumping exhibition that was both unusual and interesting. Most of the time, Harbor seals jump out of the water in an arc flight path that suggests a rainbow. The height and distance of the arc will vary, generally becoming a smaller arc on successive jumps as the seal tires. Another common jumping style is a more vertical lunge wherein the seal's body may or may not rise completely out of the water, then returning to the water with either a belly flop or tail first. A variation on this theme is "spy hopping", which curious seals use to gain an elevated vantage point on their surroundings. Today however, both of these smaller seals performed a couple of jumps in a style that we rarely observe. Swimming hard into the oncoming ebb tide, they managed to rise almost straight up out of the water, performed a gymnastic flipping turn in midair, and dove into the water nose first with only a small splash. We gave these seals a score of 10 for this entertaining show, and one jump in particular will remain etched in out memory as as the highest scoring single jump in Rome Point history.

Sunday 3/31/2024  - 53 seals hauled out, 57 degrees, mostly clear, NW 10 to 20 17:00.
We spotted 16 seals perched on the exposed taller rocks when we first arrived bright and early 4 hours before low tide. We knew we were early, but on nice Spring weekends we occasionally time our hikes to align better with peak visitation as opposed to the expected late afternoon seal peak numbers. We are glad we employed this tactic today, as we were privileged to share the spotting scope with a steady procession of families on an Easter seal hunt. At 1415 a small skiff approached the rocks and while they maintained a suitable distance from the rocks, the presence of a dog on board spooked about half of the seals into the water. No harm done from this brief encounter, but it  reminded us to be grateful that this seal season, so far, there have been few days when the seals were harassed by intruding watercraft.

We had high hopes for a big seal show today, but oddball wind conditions that blew SW along the coast and NW in the bay, coupled with an astronomical neap tide, apparently threw the seals off schedule. The flat rock was barely exposed an hour before low tide, and splashy conditions had seals coming and going from several prominent haul-out rocks, in sharp contrast to the well-settled seals we watched yesterday. We saw this situation developing but elected to stay as long as we could to see how many slowly arriving seals showed up before we had to leave. This proved to be a good decision, as some of our long-time seal watching friends joined us late in the afternoon and several seals put on brief displays of their aerial acrobatic prowess. All in all this was a fine day at the seal beach, but we had hopes for bigger seal numbers today as we enter the last month of the seal watching season.

Saturday 3/30/2024 - 102 seals hauled out, 54 degrees, clear, W 15 to 20+; to SW 10, 16:15. 4 seals on far rock and 1 at Greene Point for 107 seals total.
We watched about 80 seals haul-out today and immediately noticed how quickly the arriving seals were settling into their deep rest mode. Seals hauled-out on the rocks with minimal fanfare, and we observed little breaching or splashing behavior as they calmly chose their resting locations. It was a bit windy, which seems to reduce the amount of energetic seal behavior we see at and above the surface of the bay, but we think the wind was only part of the story. As we watched the seals arrive, it occurred to us that the two prior days featured downpours and gale force wind, which no doubt kept the seals from getting sound sleep on the rocks. When weather conditions are unsuitable for hauling out, seals sleep in the water, but our observations indicate that they do not get the same quality of rest when they sleep in the water as they do when they lie in repose on a comfy rock. Someone asked us today if we were seal experts, we think perhaps not, but we like to think we have gained some insights into their behavior after 20+ years of seal observation.

Mellow seals aside, this was an excellent seal watch with well-posed seals all over the rocks, and around 1530 the light for the scope improved greatly allowing for zoomed-in, crystal clear views of the seals. The good number of fortunate seal seekers who were out for a walk today got close-up looks at a large aggregation of sleeping harbor seals, and it has been a while since we enjoyed such pleasant conditions on a weekend. Many of the seals we observed today were hauled-out in the same spots they occupied on Wednesday, including Copper, the harbor seal with the showy red/chocolate coat shown in the photo below.

Wednesday 3/27/2024  - 127 seals hauled out, 55 degrees, cloudy, NE 5 to calm, 14:00. 7 seals on far rock and 1 at Greene Point for 135 seals total.
Favorable weather conditions had us hustling from an unexpected work assignment to get to Rome Point as soon as we could, but unfortunately, we arrived too late to observe the haul-out action. We are sure we missed out on a bunch of entertaining behavior with so many seals hauled out on a calm day, but we were not disappointed as the seals continued to skirmish with their neighbors and the NE breeze carried the sound of their frequent vocalizations to our waiting ears. The seals were especially noisy today and several groups of seals had a hard time reaching agreement on their personal space requirements, which caused so much growling and grunting tat we wished we had some suitable recording gear with us. We noted numerous seals that we recognized including Big Red, a seal with double necklace scars, and a seal we have seen in past years that we call "Copper". Our first recorded sighting of the seal that looks like a shiny old penny when it is wet on a sunny day was in January 2017. Color variations are not that uncommon in harbor seals, but most of these seals have fur that is tinted only on their upper torso, neck, and head. Copper, however, is a reddish shade of chocolate all over; this is so uncommon that we are certain we are seeing the same seal today (at least 100 lbs heavier) that we observed  7 years ago.

Sunday 3/24/2024  - 40 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, partly cloudy, NNE 15 to 25, 12:30.
We missed out on the good seal days last week due to a business trip, and with a bunch of sketchy weather in the forecast for next week we took a chance on a day when we knew the stiff north wind was going to affect the seal watching. The seals were up to the challenge, and some of them braved breaking waves on the flat rock that gave them repeated soakings. Big Red the resident Grey seal took up station in a position that placed the wind at his back on the ridge rock, which was only filled to about 50% capacity. No additional seals arrived during our brief visit, which ended early due to our low tolerance for viewing the seals through a spotting scope that is shaking in the wind. With no prospects of finding shelter from the wind and a relatively low number of seals hauling out, we departed much sooner than we would prefer on the first sunny Sunday of Spring 2024.

Wednesday 3/13/2024  - 57 seals hauled out, 58 degrees, clear, S 5 to 10, 15:00. Today was very similar to yesterday except the young seals that put on the best show yesterday were much more subdued. We had hoped to see more seals, but a building south wind in the afternoon during haul-out time served to quell the size of the seal turnout once more. Big Red made a brief appearance on the Ridge rock, but this seal did not hang around long and Red's departure was the first clue that the seals were in a fussy mood. Once the flat rock was exposed and no seals hauled out on this prime real estate, we knew that this was not going to be a big seal day. No worries though, as a good turnout of visitors and well-posed seals in good light made for a fun seal watch on a nice late winter day.

One thing that was not so nice about our seal observations today was the presence of a seal with a net entanglement around its neck. We regularly spot seals with tell-tale "necklace" scars that are caused by rope or netting that has rotted away, leaving a distinctive circular mark. The seal shown below still has the net cord around its neck, and the strands flapping in the breeze seem to cause the poor animal some distress. We watched this seal closely, and it finally settled down and seemed able to nap after it found some shelter from the wind behind a neighboring seal. This maneuver alleviated the irritating rope flapping, and provided some relief for a seal that is going to have a hard time until that netting comes off.

Wednesday 3/13/2024  - 58 seals hauled out, 52 degrees, clear, S 5 to 20, 14:30. The 5 mph wind speed lasted about 5 minutes after our arrival on the beach and the south wind quickly built to a gusty 15 to 20, which sent us scurrying to the shelter of the trees. A big wind during the time when seals are arriving to haul out usually results in fewer seals on the rocks, and that pattern held true today. Nonetheless, seal observation was quite good for a while, with a pair of yearlings on the white rock, Big Red atop the ridge rock, and about 50 other seals well positioned under good lighting conditions. There were a couple of rounds of aerial acrobatics, courtesy of several feisty young seals who were undaunted in the face of a stiff breeze. The rising wind eventually daunted some of the seals as well as the seal watchers and when about 10 seals departed 1 1/2 hours before low tide, we took a cue from those seals and headed for the parking lot ourselves.

Sunday 3/10/2024  - 93 seals hauled out, 50 degrees, clear to partly cloudy, WNW 10 to 20, 14:00. 4 seals on far rock and 1 at Greene Point for 98 seals total. A more comfortable day at the beach today with the seals' behavior during the two hour haul out period even more energetic and entertaining than yesterday. There was a lot of breaching and flipper slapping  as mildly frustrated seals waited for the rocks to become available during the dropping tide. When the bay surface is choppy and wind driven wave splash hard against the rocks, the seals will wait to take up their rest stations until the splashing and sloshing level becomes acceptable. Some seals will calmly bottle and drift, while other seals act out in an manner that visibly demonstrates their impatience. There is sometimes an interval of about 40 minutes before additional rocks become sufficiently exposed to provide a suitable resting place when the surf is up, and we often observe some of the most interesting behavior while the seals are waiting for the water level to drop.

A number of large transient seals have taken over the taller rocks where the smaller seals in the group that wintered here have been perched for the past 3 months, leaving those seals with less desirable resting rock choices that only become available later in the ebb tide. These small seals are often the stars of the haul out show, as they are more prone to jumping or pairing for some splashy playtime or courtship role playing. When the time came for the flat rock to be occupied, this rock that is favored by the dominant large seals became a veritable battle zone for almost 1/2 hour, as transient and local seals battled for supremacy. Additional entertainment was provided by Big Red's return appearance and by the seal on the pointy rock, who performed a slow-motion 360 degree pivot that took 1 1/2 hours to complete.

It took the better part of 2 hours for the seals to settle down, and we decided to hang out to share the spotting scope with the anticipated arrival of more seal seekers on a Sunday afternoon. Interestingly, after 1:00 more than half a dozen small groups of two or three people showed up at the seal beach, but no one approached us or showed an interest in our presence. We are not inclined to be overly assertive in asking people if they want to get a close-up look at the seals, as our mentors have coached us to be respectful so as not to intrude upon the nature experience of others. On most days, we find a happy medium and in some cases we will approach families with children so the kids can see the seals, but today we went for almost two hours on a fairly busy Sunday without showing the seals to anyone. This has happened before on a few occasions over the years, and we wonder why there are times when the social flow on the seal beach seems to be more distant than usual. We know that socialization can be contagious, and when people see other folks checking out the seals through the scope they are more likely to partake in the fun themselves, but the reason why once in a while everyone seems more inclined to keep to themselves remains a mystery to us. We are not troubled by this, but this aspect of public wildlife observation puzzles us every time that we have this experience.

Saturday 3/9/2024  - 91 seals hauled out, 38 degrees, cloudy, SE 10 to 15+, 11:00. 1 seal on far rock for 92 seals total.
We were not deterred by the chilly sea breeze today, so we powered through the cold fingers to enjoy the most interesting seal behavior show so far this season. We watched most of the herd haul out, with plenty of breaching and flipper slapping behavior to entertain us. Big Red the Grey seal was perched high atop the ridge rock, and numerous other seals put on a good show with all manner of the interesting mannerisms that make the seal so much fun to observe. Crystal clear light for close-up observation was a bonus, and we had enough company in the woods to help the time pass quickly. The weather has not been the best outdoor activities lately, but when the seal watching is this good, we will tolerate a couple of hours of mild discomfort for the sake of the high quality wildlife observation we enjoyed on our last two visits to Rome Point. 

Wednesday 3/6/2024  - 126 seals hauled out, 48 degrees, cloudy with light fog, SSE calm to 15, 10:30. 6 seals on far rock for 132 seals total.
The first day in 2024 with over 100 seals on the rocks was a welcome harbinger of Spring in the midst of a run of unsettled weather that looks like it will persist for a while. We paid no heed to the sketchy weather conditions after the ever-handy Rt 138 webcam for the Jamestown bridge showed us the visibility was adequate for seal observation despite low clouds and light mist. By the time we arrived at the beach 125 harbor seals plus 1 Grey seal (none other than Big Red) were hauled out and, for the most part, sleeping soundly. However, with this many seals present there are ongoing territorial skirmishes and associated vocalization throughout the tide cycle, today mostly on the right mound and center cluster. At 1100 the southerly wind picked up and we retreated into the trees for the final 1/2 hour of a solitary seal watch on a dreary morning, gratified that the large number of seals that we predicted would arrive in early March showed up to gift us with the notion that we might have a slight understanding of these animals' behavior after observing them for all these years.

Tuesday 2/27/2024  - 62 seals hauled out, 47 degrees, clear with haze, S 10 to 15, 13:30. 3 seals on far rock for 65 seals total.
We have enjoyed a lot of seal watching lately, as our newly semi-retired status has given us the precious gift of bountiful free time to spend enjoying our favorite recreational activities. During the winter months and into the spring, seal watching is at the top of our to do list on days when the observation opportunity looks promising. Today we would likely have chosen another way to spend the afternoon, had we not been aware of the weather and tide predictions for the next 7 days, which look to be anything but promising as far as seal watching is concerned. So, in the spirit of not taking a good enough seal day for granted,  we made the trek out to the seal beach, and as usual the seal show was worthy of the time invested. The seals were stirred up by the unsettling south wind, and this made them interesting to watch for the hour we spent sheltered among the trees. Only a few other visitors joined us, but one group was absolutely thrilled to see the seals, and we were glad for the company on a typical seal day when we found ourselves anticipating the outstanding springtime marine mammal observation opportunities that will be coming soon to Narragansett Bay

Monday 2/26/2024 - 54 seals hauled out, 51 degrees, clear with some haze, SW 15+ to 10, 14:00. Warm and lots of people for a Monday, with good light and well-posed seals for everyone to enjoy. We saw seal with the double necklace scar for the first time in a couple of months, this seal looks healthy but we wonder where it has been hanging out. We observed one lengthy fight on the left mound among two frenemies who usually share this rock without issue. We recognize this pair of seals as regular occupants of this rock that has room for just two seals, and the same two seals use this rock time and again with no consternation. This was not the case today however, and after their long dispute was resolved they remained positioned on the rock tail-to-tail in opposite directions in a manner that suggested the behavior of a human romantic couple after a spat.

We moved closer the shoreline to stay in the sun, as the beach was sheltered from the southwest wind and we found a few beachcomber treasures. We have been watching the gulls catch and eat sea stars, and today we spotted the first live sea star at the waterline that we have seen in eight years. We left this fine specimen in the water with best hopes that it would not become a meal for a herring gull. Thinking back to the days before the big mortality event when sea stars were much more common, we do not recall the gulls engaging in this feeding on sea stars behavior, which is so interesting and common this season that we wonder how we could not have noticed it in years past. In any event, our sea star find inspired additional beach combing effort from my partner, who then found a large intact tail from a horseshoe crab, which we have learned is properly named a "telson".   

Sunday 2/25/2024 - 50 seals hauled out, 35 degrees, clear, NE 5 to E5 to SE10+ to SSW 10, 14:00.
A Sunday "fun-day" seal watch that was made more enjoyable by the pleasant company we kept with all the friendly seal seekers who came out to Rome Point on a day where we had to deal with a chilly SE wind in the afternoon. We enjoyed some good haul-out action with a nice couple who shared our fascination with wildlife watching as a hobby early in the tide, as seals showed some consternation in sorting out resting positions on the right mound and flat rock. Around 1:00pm the wind shifted to SE and picked up which sent us seeking the shelter of the cedar trees to continue our observations. Fortunately, this chilly wind shift coincided with the arrival of a steady procession of eager seal seekers, and we enjoyed a couple of hours of seal show and tell, which we enjoy almost as much as observing the interesting antics of the seals.

Friday 2/23/2024 - 80 seals hauled out, 43 degrees, cloudy to light rain, calm, 14:00. 4 seals on far rock for 84 seals total. 
The weather took an unexpected turn for the better in the middle of the day, so we hustled out to Rome Point for a quick observation to take advantage of our favorite seal weather conditions: cloudy and calm. In stark contrast to yesterday, we only encountered one other visitor during our hour on the beach. We put this seal watching alone time to good use to make close careful observations of the individual animals. The cloudy calm conditions created an excellent opportunity for photographic documentation, with good light for close-ups and seals posed prominently with no wind to bother them. We use the photos to help us identify seals and to create a record of the haul-out rocks that individual seals may prefer. Of course, the photos are often amusing as well as is the case with the stretching seal shown in the photo below.

The red ball which this seal appears to be balancing on its nose is actually a buoy floating in the background. Today was an excellent day for photography because heavy cloud cover inhibits optical distortion created by infra-red absorption (shimmering mirage-like "heat waves"), allowing for clear telescopic images. When we refer to "good light" for the scope this is what we are talking about, and good light makes a big difference in image quality for viewing and photography. Sun angle, humidity, and wind all interact to create the lighting conditions on any given day, and we are always pleased when the light is favorable for clear close-up viewing as it was today. We downsize the photos we post due to file size considerations, but the 3+mp versions of some pictures we take are clear enough to be suitable for framing.

Thursday 2/22/2024 - 46 seals hauled out, 38 degrees, clear, S 10 to 15+ to 5+, 11:00. 4 seals on far rock for 50 seals total. We enjoyed the most sociable seal watch of the season today as a fine turnout of seal seeking families took advantage of the winter school break and came out in search of seals. The seal searchers who made their way to the point were certainly not disappointed, as they discovered numerous seals handsomely posed on the rocks under good light for zooming in with the spotting scope. A fresh south wind kept us up in the shelter of the cedar trees all day, and when the breeze picked up around noon, about 20 seals decided that they had enough splashing and left the rocks.  The wind was sufficiently strong to penetrate the sheltering cedars, and we considered leaving during the lunchtime visitor lull. However, our refresher course in patience that we  were gifted with on Tuesday, served us well, as the wind soon abated and a steady procession of families kept us occupied on the beach until 3:30. Near the end of our visit, we watched one feisty small seal leap from the water 9 times over the course of 2 minutes, while the other onlookers present remained oblivious to this spectacular seal behavior. We spent 5 hours on the Rome Point shore today, and while the seals were not especially entertaining, all the well-mannered friendly families we met today were the reason why the time flew by in the blink of a seal's eye.

Tuesday 2/20/2024 - 29 seals hauled out, 32 degrees, clear, N to NE <5 to 15, 13:00. 3 seals on far rock for 32 seals total.
The seals and the weather seemingly conspired to try our patience today, but in the end we were rewarded with an interesting, worthwhile seal watch.  Our morning got off to an inauspicious start as we left our phone on the charger and the binoculars in the car, which signified our distracted mindset from the get go. When we arrived at the beach, we were greeted by a chilly NE breeze, crappy light for the scope, and a small group of 17 fidgety, unsettled seals. The next few hours we shivered and sniveled mostly alone on the beach and became more unsettled ourselves as the time passed, which is highly uncharacteristic of our usual disposition when we are wildlife watching. Several times we pondered our sanity and considered leaving, but the promise of diminishing wind and some afternoon seal watching company was barely sufficient to keep us on the beach. The most entertaining event of our first two hours at Rome Point was the single loud call of a nearby loon, which startled us, but turned out to be a sign that our seal watching fortunes were about to change.

Our mood was bolstered by the arrival of Dorian, Michaela, and Isabella, which coincided with a change in the seal activity on the rocks. Suddenly a full 1 1/2 hours after low tide, a fresh contingent of seals arrived and brought with them enough interesting behavior to vastly improve the seal watching. The flat rock which was previously bereft of seals was eventually occupied by 8 large specimens, who hauled out clumsily and jostled each other for our viewing pleasure. Additional big seals hauled out on other rocks as well and these additional 12 seals gave our afternoon seal watching friends something interesting to see and talk about. As the tide rose, we were amazed to see the seals settle for the first time all day. Then, when the water level became high enough to cause seals to leave their resting rocks, these big seals elected to climb onto higher ground instead of heading out to sea. This is a rare occurrence, so we were thrilled to see the largest harbor seals awkwardly clambering up on high perches such as the right twin and the ridge rock for the purpose of extending their nap time. As we finally packed up to leave to prepare for a birthday celebration, we took a moment to consider the value of persevering in our seal watching quest today, and vowed to remember this day for motivational purposes the next time our wild animal observation outing is a bit uncomfortable and gets off to a slow start

Monday 2/19/2024 - 39 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, clear, WNW 5 to 15 13:00. 4 seals on far rock for 43 seals total.
We enjoyed a sociable Washington's Birthday seal watch with a number of holiday seal seekers joining us on the beach for the fun. The highlight of the day was the presence of Big Red, our favorite visiting Grey seal, whose appearance today marked the ninth year we have spotted this distinctive red-headed seal on the rocks. Big Red was hauled out on his favorite perch on the left tall rocks, posed in a profile position that allowed us to take the photo shown below.

Grey seals are not a big deal at many locations but it is unusual to see them at Rome Point. Harbor seals and Grey seals do not commonly haul out together, but Big Red is known to get in among the cluster of Harbor seals and make himself (or herself?) right at home. We did not hear Big Red pipe up with the mournful wail of the Grey seal today, but  we are hoping that with several days of east wind forecast Big Red will hang around and we may yet be treated to a concert performance by one of our favorite vocalists.

Monday 2/12/2024 - 51 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, partly cloudy, SE 10 to 15 14:30. Sometimes when we have nothing more pressing to do, we like to walk out to Rome Point on days when the conditions are less than ideal for seal observation. The exercise and fresh air always make the walk worthwhile, and we are interested to see how the seals behave under a variety of weather conditions. Today was one of those days, as we knew before we left the house that the brisk SE breeze is not the seals' favorite, or pleasant for seal watchers and hikers who are exposed to the chilly sea breeze. Fortunately for us, the cedar trees provided an ample windbreak when we set up the scope 8 feet back in the woods, and the seals were hunkered down in a settled resting mood. On windy days when there are choppy waves we have noted that the seals will frequently settle and begin to nap more quickly after hauling out than they generally do under calmer conditions. Our seal watch today was brief, but satisfying in that we acquired an additional observation for our consideration under less than optimal conditions.

Sunday 2/11/2024 - 72 seals hauled out, 43 degrees, cloudy, NW 10+ 15:00. 4 seals on far rock for 76 seals total. Good seal action today as we arrived early enough to watch the seal herd haul out on the rocks. There was plenty of jumping and tail slapping activity that was sufficiently spectacular to evoke oohs and ahhs from the onlookers, myself included. The seals were on all the rocks and well posed for viewing, considering the NW wind which sometimes causes the seals on exposed rocks to turn their backs to the beach. The wind seemed to keep the seals on edge more than usual, but by 1430 they finally settled into their rest mode.

We have recently been observing some interesting herring gull behavior at Rome point. The gulls are diving in osprey-like fashion to capture sea stars for a meal, which we have never observed on any kind of regular basis. Watching the gulls procure their snack and then drop the sea star on the beach repeatedly in an effort to break off the legs is entertaining to watch, if perhaps a less successful breaking technique that the gulls would prefer. Sea stars apparently have more bounce to the ounce than crabs or mollusks and are not easily shattered even when dropped on rocks from a considerable height. The frustrated gulls are often compelled to pick their prey to pieces, which takes more effort but works well enough until they get down to the last two legs. Two adjacent legs are oriented such that often, the gulls can't get sufficient leverage to break them apart, which presents a problem to the hungry birds. It is very amusing to see the gulls resolve this issue by turning the "V" in their beaks and consuming a "V" pair of sea star legs point first, which invariable causes them some consternation when the seat star gets stuck halfway down their gullet. The gulls have several techniques to deal with this issue, including craning their distended necks straight up into the air while flapping or jumping. They will also sip seawater to lubricate the passage down the hatch. We would not wish to see these birds suffer, and fortunately after a period of apparent discomfort all the gulls we have observed have flown off none the worse for the experience.

It is also notable that the once plentiful sea stars are making a comeback after an extensive mass die off event some years ago. Its good to have them back so today's generation of children can enjoy the wonder of finding them cast upon the shore by waves, and experience the heroic satisfaction of returning living specimens to the water, as my granddaughter once did at Rome Point.

Saturday 2/10/2024 - 80 seals hauled out, 48 degrees, sunny to cloudy, SW 10 13:00. 4 seals on far rock for 84 seals total.
There is a first time for everything, and today in the confusion caused by switching vehicles around we neglected to bring along our spotting scope for the first time in over 1000 seal observations. I would rather forget my pants than forget my scope on a fine warm seal day, but once you get to the parking lot and realize the pack in the trunk is not the scope pack, there is nothing to do but keep calm and seal on. So seal on we did, with enjoyable success using our trusty Pentax 10x50 binoculars. The seals put on a pretty good show, which would have been even better had we arrived earlier, as there were more than 40 seals already hauled out 2 1/2 hours before low tide. We were fortunate to find a good location to sit, as extended attentive viewing using binoculars benefits greatly from having a stable platform to minimize optical shake. We use binoculars frequently when observing wildlife and it is a perfectly satisfying way to watch seals, especially when they are active, as they were for our first hour on the beach. However, we missed using the scope for close-up observation and identification after the seals settled and wished we had brought it along to share with the good turn out of seal seeking families. With no scope to share we decided to depart during the lunchtime lull in arriving visitors, with best hopes that another 1000 seal watches will pass before we forget our spotting scope again.

Thursday 2/1/2024 - 37 seals hauled out, 36 degrees, cloudy, SW 10 to 15 16:00.2024 - 37 seals hauled out, 36 degrees, cloudy, SW 10 to 15 16:00. We managed to work in a quick seal hike as part of our dog walk today, mainly because bad weather and poorly timed tides made for minimal seal observation opportunities in January. We enjoyed a real good run of seal watching in December, and we have learned to be grateful for those days when mother nature bestows her blessings upon us. We know that the natural world is constantly changing and the weather will eventually come back around to favor wildlife observation. Other changes, such as the effects of beach erosion we have seen all along the South County shoreline from storms are this winter, will likely be more long-lasting. Great or small, slow or fast, change is the way of the natural world and we are always pleased just to be along for the ride. Today may have been a nondescript seal watch with poor light and lazy seals, but it was still a fine way to enjoy a gray, damp, mid-winter afternoon.
 
Monday 1/16/2024 - 49 seals hauled out, 28 degrees, cloudy, SSW 10 to 15 15:00. 2 seals on far rock for 51 seals total.
Good seal watching today, in spite of conditions that challenged our patience on a holiday afternoon. The walk on the beach was unusually hard on our aging knees, as recent storms have erased the hard-packed footpath and replaced the good footing with loose sand and uneven rocks. We noted several families who found this walk too challenging for younger kids, so we had a more solitary seal watch than we expected on a school day off. The light for the scope was only fair at best, and the more blustery wind gusts were chilly, but we enjoyed a half hour of worthwhile seal observation as the seals breached and splashed upon their arrival at the rocks. As the clouds thickened, the lighting improved and a few later arriving seal watchers got good close-up looks at well-positioned seals on the ridge rock and 'twins' rocks. By 3 pm we were shivering and alone on the beach so our seal watch ended with a hint of disappointment at the light turn-out and sore knees that were the most notable aspects of this M.L.K. holiday afternoon at Rome Point.

Friday 1/12/2024 - 90 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, clear to high thin clouds, NW 5 to NE 5 13:30. 4 seals on far rock for 94 seals total. A big seal turnout today, on a nice day sandwiched between a couple of nasty storms. We have long noted the seals' ability to predict the weather, and when they get a respite from a storm that has passed, they usually haul out in good numbers, especially when there is more unsettled weather on the way. The seals were out early on an astronomical low tide, and with numerous seals competing for good resting rocks there were nearly continuous territory skirmishes for the first hour of our observation. Light wind and loud seals created a cacophony of grunts and growls that were apparent to everyone who visited the beach before the seals finally settled down around 1:15. We noted the presence of a single Grey seal on the center cluster rock, who remained silent to our mild dismay, as the mournful wail of the Grey seal is always a welcome addition to the any seal watch. The light for the scope was great, many seals were perched in picturesque poses, and the good number of visitors who came out to enjoy a winter walk this afternoon were treated to an excellent marine mammal observation experience.
 
Monday 1/1/2024 - 42 seals hauled out, 38 degrees, mostly cloudy, N5 to NE10 14:30. 3 seals on far rock for 45 seals total.
A happy, New Year's day seal watch for the steady procession of families who chose to take a hike to see the seals on the first day or 2024. A good number of seals were perched on taller rocks, which provided good views for the eager observers of all ages. The seals were out early in the ebb tide, which was fortunate for seal seekers who arrived a full 3 hours before low tide, such as myself, on a day when the astronomical tide was fairly high. Active seals breached occasionally, and it took a long time for the seal herd to settle into deep resting mode. A fresh northeast breeze kicked up at about 1430, which kept the seals unsettled; the arrival of a boat at 14:45 flushed about half of the seals and kept the herd on edge for another hour. By 1345, most of the seals that flushed had returned and the sun broke through the clouds to cast it's golden light on the seals, who were now resting soundly while basking in the afterglow of the best seal watching day so far this season.

Saturday 12/30/2023 - 37 seals hauled out, 43 degrees, Cloudy, NW10+ 15:00. 3 seals on far rock for 40 seals total.
An interesting seal watch with late arriving seals that were stirred up due to an oncoming cold front. The seals showed marked impatience waiting for the tide to drop sufficiently to permit them to rest comfortably in the presence of splashy, unsettling waves. Some of the seals burned off their nervous energy by jumping repeatedly out of the water during several fine displays of breaching behavior, while a few other seals were engaged in disputes over the prized rocks that were suitable for hauling out, and some of those disputes were fairly emphatic. All of this activity made for an hour and a half of entertaining marine mammal observation this afternoon, which pleased the fortunate seal seeking families who chose this day for a seal hike at Rome Point.

Friday 12/29/2023 - 48 seals hauled out, 48 degrees, Cloudy, calm to SW5 15:00. 3 seals on far rock for 51 seals total.
We were glad for a break in the dreary weather today, as seal watching this Christmas holiday week was adversely affected by damp foggy weather. The seals were in a serene, sleepy mood on this warm, calm winter day, and the light was not especially good for observation with the spotting scope. We took note of the calm conditions today because the wind has been uncharacteristically still during all of our recent seal watches. A review of 25 years of seal watching weather records revealed that we have never before seen such a lengthy period of calm, warm weather in December (or Jan., Feb., or Mar. for that matter). The weather pattern for the past month has featured a 24-hour storm each week or so, followed by days of unseasonably calm and mild weather. We are weather watching enthusiasts, and are pleased that our past observations were useful for revealing this weather anomaly.

The seals were not active at all by the time we arrived, save one seal who attracted our interest initially by coughing repeatedly. We watched this seal as it had several coughing fits while bottling, raising its nose vertically every time it coughed. The large seal would then swim for a bit in a somewhat agitated fashion, with some tail slapping and less-than-energetic breaching. Occasionally the afflicted animal would pause to pick a brief fight with two seals on the right side of the flat rock, and at one point it managed to dislodge the smaller of those seals and take its resting spot. This seal was not yet ready for a nap however, and it resumed its strange coughing and swimming behavior for another 20 minutes, with some more energetic breaching that was pleasing to observe for the seal watchers present to see this highlight of today's seal show.

Tuesday 12/26/2023 - 55 seals hauled out, 47 degrees, Mostly heavy fog to cloudy, calm to NE5 14:00. 4 seals on far rock for 59 seals total.
This seal hike was all about the weather, as a highly unusual thick winter fog persisted much longer than forecast. There are foggy days on the bay of course, but rarely in late December and typically fog will burn off by late morning. Today the humidity, air temperature, water temperature, and lack of wind combined to sustain a consistent layer of heavy fog that seemed as though it would never break. We could barely discern the faint outlines of the seal rocks for the first hour we spent on the beach, and had to occupy our time listening for occasional coughs and grunts that signified the presence of seals on the rocks. We remained on the beach hoping the fog would eventually lift and grace us with an opportunity to show the seals to the holiday week seal seeking families who braved the fog and made the hike all the way to the point.

By 1320, we had almost given up, as the highest angle of the sun has passed and the mist showed no signs of abating. Our spirit was raised by the timely arrival of friendly and enthusiastic Jen, who brought her spotting scope gift from Santa that she was eager to play with. As we enjoyed a pleasant chat, I detected a slight improvement in the visibility, such that I could make out the vague forms of seals resting on the rocks. Over the next 10 minutes the optical conditions gradually improved, in a manner suggesting the opening of a Christmas gift. Much to our delight, the seals slowly became clearly visible and the clarity of the air continued to improve, to the point where the conditions were excellent for telescopic viewing. We enjoyed a 30 minute window of opportunity to make close observations of the seals, before the fog returned and ended our seal watching for this afternoon. Our one-of-a-kind seal watch today will be long remembered for the unique way that our window into the habitat of the seals opened and closed over such a short time, in a way we never experienced at Rome Point before.

Sunday 12/24/2023 - 54 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, cloudy with occasional mist, calm 12:30. 1 seal on far rock for 55 seals total.
A good time on the beach with a fair number of seal seeking families joining us for a Christmas eve nature show. Seals were perched on the taller rocks today which makes for interesting viewing, and lately some especially handsome seals have been hauling out on and adjacent to the table rock. The seal with the double ring net scar was spotted with head and tail hanging off both ends of the slanted rock, always a striking pose that pleases onlookers of all ages.

The light for the scope was exceptional for a while so we took a few photos for identification purposes. A comparison of one of these pics to a photo taken in 2021 confirmed that the spotted seal on the pointy rock is the same seal I have been seeing at that spot semi-regularly for the past two seasons. This seal is not yet as fully invested in this haul out hang out as was the former resident of the pointy rock... the legendary Linebelly, as sometimes a different seal may take the pointy rock. Nonetheless, the more recent arrival looks like a promising successor to the regal Linebelly's throne, and time will tell whether this newcomer develops the charismatic personality, agile balance, and royal demeanor of the seal that was once a Rome Point favorite.

Saturday 12/23/2023 - 43 seals hauled out, 34 degrees, clear, NE to SE 5 11:30. 1 seal on far rock for 44 seals total.
A delightful seal hike today, with plenty of activity to keep us engaged for a 3-hour observation period. As we walked out to the beach we were greet by the sound of shotguns firing from Bissel Cove, which generally signifies two things: unsettled seals, and fewer people making the trek to the point. Waterfowl hunting season is in until January 21, and every year there are days when hunters enjoy their chosen pastime, using decoys and full camouflage to entice ducks and geese in the cove to venture within shooting range. We have no quarrel with responsible hunters who are following the regulations, and the hunting usually ends by mid-morning before most hikers are out and about. There were also about 10 people digging for quahogs in the cove and we were surprised that these two groups managed to share the cove in peace, as these two activities are not especially compatible. As expected, the occasional gunfire, muffled somewhat by the easterly wind, got the seals attention but did not spook them. As for people, we had no other visitors on the beach with us until after the hunters departed.

The seals were determined to take their rest today, undeterred by the sounds of gunshots or by a couple of motorboats who ventured close to the rocks to get some seal photos. We took advantage of the nice weather and lack of other seal watchers to make close observations for an extended time, which for us is a treasured and pleasurable exercise in mindful, present practice. Today was the first time in a while that we were really on our attentive observation game, and as subtle details of nature revealed themselves our enjoyment of each moment intensified. A swooping belted kingfisher was revealed by a short clicking call, the the faint call of a loon drew our attention to a distant pair who were interacting using their customary neck and wing gestures. As for the seals, we observed the first yearling of the season, as well as a grey seal who was well concealed among the tightly pack group on the cluster rock. There was one brief territorial squabble which featured a bout of frantic flipper flapping, and a large seal who tried to get to the flat rock by climbing the steep front face at low tide 5 times before giving up and moving to the more gently sloped back of the rock. Seal watching sessions take a variety of forms and we were left grateful for this gift of a day, which was not social at all, however, the lack of people and dogs allowed us to immerse ourselves in nature to a depth that we have found to be more elusive in recent years.

Saturday 12/16/2023 - 3 seals hauled out, 52 degrees, clear, SW 5 14:30. 3 seals on far rock for 6 seals total.
We were not too surprised that the seals had been disturbed by watercraft and spooked off the haul out rocks before we arrived today, as a day this nice in December with a late afternoon low tide is the perfect setup for the seals to be scared away. However, as we reviewed the upcoming tide and weather forecast, we took heart in the realization that the upcoming Christmas holiday week seal watching has the potential to provide exceptional opportunities for everyone to enjoy a memorable seal hike with their family and friends.

Saturday 12/2/2023 - 27 seals hauled out, 54 degrees, partly cloudy, NW calm to 10 15:00. 4 seals on far rock for 31 seals total.
A mellow Saturday late afternoon seal hike today, with no other seal watchers on the beach when we arrived at 14:45. The seals were well settled two hours before low tide, and no additional seals arrived during the hour we were there. We were able to identify a half dozen seals today that we recognized from the past several years, which is sometimes easier to do when there are fewer seals present obstructing our view. Having no other people around also allows us to pay close continuous attention to the seals, and when the seals are not active, the best use of the observational opportunity is to do some identification checking.

At about 1525, the activity level picked up with the arrival of a sailboat on the scene. We know from past observation that quiet sailing vessels are viewed with suspicion by the seals, and they wanted no part of this solo sailor, who made a close approach with phone in hand hoping for close-up photos. The seals all flushed rapidly and watched from the safety of the water as the sailboat came about, apparently bumping onto a few rocks in the process. As the sailboat departed, the seals moved toward the haul out rocks and most of them would likely have hauled out again had another boat not showed up. This camouflage-colored john boat pulled right up to the white rock and one of the occupants actually climbed up on top of the rock to pose for a photo. This signaled to all seals present that stupid humans were in the house, and put an end to any chance for the seal herd to extend their rest period today. We took this performance in stride, knowing that soon enough colder temperatures would serve to help protect the seals from silly behavior by foolish people. We left wishing some of the folks out on the bay in boats today had the wisdom of the Barred Owl that we observed perched prominently on a tree limb as we hiked back the car.

Friday 11/16/2023 - 50 seals hauled out, 62 degrees, clear, SW 5 to calm 13:30. 5 seals on far rock for 55 seals total.
A brief and enjoyable seal hike for us today, once again accompanied by our dog Rayla the blue-eyed beauty. Shortly after our arrival on the beach, we were joined by a group of about 25 URI students, who were on a field trip with their professor. This group was well equipped with sport optics gear, and were clearly going to spend some time surveying the seals and checking out other bay shore ecology as well. All was well and good, but having this many people in close proximity was unsettling for our enthusiastic puppy, so we departed earlier than we would have if Rayla not been with us.

Friday 11/10/2023 - First seal walk of Fall 2023 seal season. 61 seals hauled out, 55 degrees, cloudy, calm 11:15. 4 seals on far rock for 65 seals total.
A very good early season seal watch today, with calm cloudy conditions that made for crystal clear telescopic optical conditions. The seals were napping pretty hard when we arrived, and a surprising number of seals were perched high atop the taller rocks. At about 1215 the seals on the tall rocks flushed for no apparent reason, but these seals all assumed new positions on lower rocks and continued to lounge after a brief swim.

This was the first seal walk for our new seal watching companion Rayla, who is a spirited sweetheart of Husky/Great Pyrenees lineage. She could not have been better behaved, but our feisty puppy is a handful to handle by myself, which affects my ability to conduct detailed close observation of the seals. On days when I am on a solo seal walk accompanied only by Rayla, my notes here will be brief, but, as anyone who has met Rayla will attest, her canine companionship is well worth the distraction and disturbance that comes with dog ownership. She is part of our Rome Point saga from this point forward, and we will surely have more to say about the dog/nature interaction in the future.

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Monday 3/20/23  110 seals hauled out, 52 degrees, SW 5 to 10+, clear, 1300. 3 seals on far rock for 113 seals total.
It was with great pleasure that we resumed our seal hikes with our friends from the Blackstone Academy Charter School this morning, and fortunately the seals cooperated nicely with a big turn-out of fat happy harbor seals for all to see. The Covid years quelled our participation in organized seal walks, so we were grateful to head out with a group of enthusiastic kids and their chaperones on a final day of winter that had a welcome Spring feel to it. Sure enough, some of our favorite harbingers of Spring were there to greet us, including sprouting Skunk Cabbage and singing frogs. The seals were settled by the time we arrived so their behavior was not so active, but we did get to see a couple of rowdy territory skirmishes, including one where a copper-colored seal that we have seen here for the past four years received a vicious bite on the tail from a rival.

It will be interesting to see whether the number of seals at Rome Point increases as we move into April, or whether the peak seal population for this Spring has already passed. Our seal observations opportunities for the past several months have been greatly curtailed due to other obligations, and we feel unusually out-of-touch with the rhythms of nature in general this year, let alone the specifics of seal migration staging. The best thing we can do is spend more hours out and about in the natural world, but our schedule remains unusually busy such that good times outdoors, such as today, will be more infrequent than we would like for the foreseeable future.

Saturday 3/18/23  105 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, Calm to NW 5 to 10+, cloudy, 1130. 5 seals on far rock for 110 seals total.
Our first seal watch in 6 weeks turned out to be an outstanding wildlife observation outing. When we arrived there were already over 80 seals hauled out, and the arrival of more seals triggered an hour and a half of on and off territorial squabbling. Once the seal count exceeds 100 of seals, the feuding over prime resting rocks really gets going, and these gruff interactions and associated vocalization are interesting crowd-pleasers for experienced seal watchers and newbies alike. Of course, the sight of so many seals splayed about all over the rocks is equally amazing especially when the seals are posed handsomely in good light for telescopic viewing, as was the case today. All of these factors, combined with a confirmed sighting of Big Red the long-time visiting Grey seal and the presence of several sporty seal-seeking families served to make today's seal watch the best one so far this season.

Saturday 1/21/23  61 seals hauled out, 44 degrees, Calm to NE 5 to S 10+, cloudy, 1530. 1 seal on far rock for 62 seals total.
A fine seal watch this afternoon, with plenty of seals well-posed for observation and good light for close-up viewing. We were distracted somewhat by a good number of other visitors, so our notes for today's observation are sketchy, but our recollection is that a good time was had by all who turned out for another good weekend seal watch.

Sunday 1/8/23  41 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, SW 5-10, partly cloudy, 1330. 7 seals on far rock for 48 seals total.
Not many notes for today, but the Grey seals we spotted yesterday did not return for another visit. Taking their place were a pair of whitetail deer that we spotted on Fox Island; in all our years of seal watching we have seen surprisingly few interesting nature observations on Fox, and certainly no deer. We are well aware of the whitetail deer's swimming ability and we have seen them swimming from Jamestown to the mainland before. We are always amazed by the swimming skills of hoofed mammals and by their willingness to take to the water when motivated to do so.

Saturday 1/7/23  65 seals hauled out, 44 degrees, Calm to NW 10+, cloudy, 1230. 6 seals on far rock for 71 seals total.
More good seal watching today as we continued to enjoy the interesting seal observation in good light conditions that has been entertaining us and all the lucky seal seekers who have joined us on the beach since Christmas. So far this winter the seals are being left undisturbed even on calm weekend days, which is a seal watching blessing that we never take for granted. When we arrived around noon, the bay was flat calm and many seals were scattered about on all but the tallest rocks. Our hiking party today included some guests, so after a quick count I turned the scope over to them so they could see the seals before some wayward kayaker showed up and spoiled the show. In my haste to share the scope, I had not noticed the pair of Grey seals that had hauled out on the center cluster rock, so my seal watching partner was the first to notice these unusual visitors to the Rome Point haul-out rocks. 97% of the seals we observe here are harbor seals and Grey seals do not commonly intermingle with their harbor seal relatives, but after an east wind sometimes a Grey seal or two will grace us with their presence. One of the Greys was positioned where we could see it particularly well, so we took the photo below to document the blotchy pattern on its skin for future ID purposes.


There was another Grey seal present, but the second Grey was facing away from us and we could not get a good look at it. However, we were able to see that the fur around the head and neck area of the second Grey seal was a pronounced rusty red color, so perhaps this was the Grey seal we seen here before that we call Big Red. Unfortunately, we could not positively identify this seal as Big Red due to the obscured view, but we hope that Big Red has returned to Rome Point for a ninth consecutive year. After a while the wind came up a bit which disturbed the seals slightly and got them moving a bit. This disruption perturbed the Grey seal in the photo, which signaled its displeasure by letting out the mournful "siren song" wail that is the characteristic vocalization of the Grey seal. Hearing this sound always makes our day, as we hold the cry of the Grey seal in highest esteem among the calls of the wild that we have been blessed to appreciate, right up there with the howl of the wolf and the call of the loon. After the wind shifted more than half of seals gradually departed, so we called it a day as well, grateful for another fine nature observation experience on the Rome Point shore.

Monday 1/2/23  46 seals hauled out, 47 degrees, SW 5, cloudy, 1300. 5 seals on far rock for 46 seals total.
A classic holiday seal watch today featuring well-positioned seals with crystal clear light for the scope, a continuous procession of eager seal seeking families, and warm calm conditions that are rare for early January. The seals were  settled in heavy rest mode early in the ebb tide, and literally all of the seals stayed on the rocks for as long as they could as the water level rose. Three hours after low tide there were still about 30 seals laying about on submerged rocks in the banana pose, a behavior that is much more common when the bay is flat calm as it was today. The seals' extended rest cycle extended our own outing at Rome Point to five hours, which passed in the blink of an eye as we enjoyed the fellowship of all of the courteous and kind seal watchers that we were privileged to share our spotting scope with. Good fortune smiled upon everyone as the seals were left undisturbed by watercraft on a nice holiday, which was a new year gift that made this seal watch a memorable experience for all who visited the seal watching beach today.

As we departed, we took a moment to consider how blessed we were to share this wonderful nature observation experience with everyone once again. It has been almost three years since the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic, and for much of that time our social interactions... and those of most others... have been derailed, curtailed, and altered in ways that we never imagined as the new year began back in 2020. Last winter at this time we were spending our days in a hospital that was overwhelmed by sick Covid patients as we attended to the last living days of a beloved family member. Our holiday season of sadness one year ago was recalled as I stood alone on the beach at the end of a joyous day of hope and renewal, as it dawned on me that the dark days of the pandemic time have finally passed, at least for now. The seasons of life truly ebb and flow, as do the tides that rise and fall on the Rome Point shore; and our own sunny or stormy affairs are as unpredictable as the weather, but here we stood once again awed by nature and fulfilled by fellowship of our companion seal watchers, grateful to stand once more right where we were meant to be.