Latest Observations and Reflections
On
this page you will find a chronological listing of seal
observation notes for the current seal watching season, as well as short
essays inspired by the people and creatures encountered on our nature
walks and outdoor adventures. We hope you enjoy these notes
and
essays. If you have any seal observations to pass
along or just want to say hello, contact us at romepointseals.org
2/19/12 - 53 seals hauled out, 40 degrees, wind N/NE 10, Clear 11:45
4 seals on far rock for 57 seals total. The north/northeast wind made for a chilly seal watch today but the optical conditions were much better than yesterday, allowing a steady stream of visitors to get good close-up looks at the seals. The seals had an unsettled spell for about 45 minutes before low tide, so we enjoyed observing a number of seal fights until the seals settled into rest mode at 12:15. The ill at ease seals were doing a lot of vocalizing which we could hear clearly with the wind carrying the seal's voices toward the shore; the sounds that harbor seals make always impress seal watching newbies who are expecting to hear a bark or perhaps a yelp. Most of the vocalizing that seals do when hauled out is for the purpose of expressing their displeasure with a neighboring seal and these guttural growls sound surprisingly ferocious and bear more resemblance to the roar of a big cat than any sound that a dog makes. Harbor seals may communicate over long distances when they are in the water, but not much is known about the seal's language capabilities or the level of understanding that these animals may possess.
2/18/12 - 76 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, wind W 10, Clear 10:30
6 seals on far rocks for 82 seals total. Fine seal watching was enjoyed by the many visitors to Rome Point today, but the bright mid-day sun did adversely affect the quality of the lighting for telescopic observation. However, most seal seeking families could not care less whether the spotting scope can be zoomed in to high magnification, as the view through the scope is far superior to binoculars even under less than optimum optical conditions. When we arrived an hour before low tide the seals were already dry and settled down; I'm sure many seals were hauled out as early as 3 hours before low tide on this sunny day with westerly winds. Soon after our arrival, we observed a most unusual seal fight on the right side of the flat rock in which a big male seal was driven from its resting place by a vicious tail bite delivered courtesy of a rival that emerged straight out of the water as if propelled by a pogo stick.
At 10:40 about 50 seals spooked off of the rocks over the course of 5 minutes. The initiating event was the seals on the ridge rock making their customary splashy departure; as in other recent past incidents of seals suddenly taking to the water, there was no apparent reason for the seals on the ridge rock to take a dive. There was a boat in the area observing seals from a distance but it did not appear that the seals were even aware of the boat's presence. When the first seals jumped in the water they did so without any advance warning and they did not appear to be upset or scanning frequently prior to taking to the water. These same seals have been exhibiting this behavior on a regular basis and when they hit the water with a loud splash this has been triggering a flight response among other members of the seal herd. This has been taking place from 1 1/2 hours to 1/2 hour before low tide and both the number of seals that spook and the number of seals that return to the rocks varies on each occasion. This behavior is interesting and does cause some follow-up territorial issues when the seal return to the rocks; nonetheless, it would suit me fine if the seals on the ridge rock would just stay put and not spook so many other seals. It will be very interesting to observe whether this behavioral pattern persists into March, when we see the greatest numbers of seals; if it does so, it will be necessary to arrive at Rome Point especially early in the ebb tide to see the big numbers of seals this spring.
2/13/12 - 60 seals hauled out, 40 degrees, wind SW 20 decreasing to 10, Clear 16:30
5 on far rock and 3 at Greene Point for 68 seals total. It was a pleasure just to get out of the house for a walk after a weekend of uncooperative weather and the seal watching today seemed all the better for the relief it provided from cabin fever. The good late afternoon light usually allows for close up views through the scope, so it is always a pleasure to go for a seal walk late in the day even though time may be short before darkness intervenes. About 30 seals were already hauled out when we arrived at 2:30, well in advance of low tide at 5:00 pm. The highlight of the afternoon was when the seals on the ridge rock became unsettled around 3:30; in the process of leaving one of the big seals perched up high knocked a much smaller seal right off the rock. The little seal barrel-rolled over into the water and this acrobatic pratfall was captured on video for a future best of 2012 seal highlight production. After 1 1/2 hours alone on the beach, a few late arriving visitors were treated to good views of the seals and I was treated to some pleasant company as daylight faded on this fine winter afternoon.
2/10/12 - 68 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, wind SW 15+, Clear 13:30
The fine seal watch today was good enough to hold my attention for almost 5 hours on the Rome Point beach. I watched the seal herd haul out, which is always interesting; but they did not cavort in the water as they arrived. The seals just picked a rock and flopped right into heavy resting mode, with little scanning. It appeared that the seals were really looking forward to a long rest after being disturbed yesterday and in anticipation of the stormy weather forecast for tomorrow. I don't know how they do it, but seals definitely show some ability to know in advance what the weather has in store a day ahead of time. I know from many observations that a nice day before a storm is a prime seal observation opportunity, as numerous seals will tend to haul out early in the ebb tide and will linger especially long as the water rises on the flood. The seals are perfectly happy with a southwest wind like today and with the pile driver that chased the seals away yesterday was thankfully silent this afternoon, so I expected that the seal watching was going to be interesting as the afternoon progressed.
The big seals that frequent the flat rock behaved much differently than the rest of the herd, and I was fortunate to get their unusual behavior on video. I have been wanting to get some better video of seals hauling out for awhile, so as the seals arrived at the flat rock I decided to let the video camera run while they hauled out. I usually shoot relatively short clips of video, as they are easier to review and edit, but today I let the camera run for 15 continuous minutes while the big boys hauled out. I was pleased with the footage I was getting and the rock was pretty full, but just as I was reaching for the camera to stop shooting there was a big splash in back of the rock and all of the seals on the flat rock suddenly lunged into the water. None of the seals on the other rocks showed any signs of distress; this is highly unusual, as the big seals on the flat rock are generally the last seals to flee unnecessarily. I figured the seals would return to the flat rock and decided to take advantage of the situation to get more haul out video, so I again left the camera running as the seals hauled out again. About 8 minutes into the second video, the seals that had hauled out bolted into the water again for no apparent reason; seeing the seals on the flat rock behave this way was a big surprise, as I had never witnessed such unsettled behavior from these dominant male seals before.
The third time the big seals hauled out, they finally settled down to rest for the afternoon. A fair number of seal seekers showed up in the early afternoon, and everyone was treated to good seal viewing under excellent lighting conditions. About 15 seals on the ridge rock area left those rocks at 1340, I am noticing that this seems to be a regular occurrence for this segment of the seal herd. I believe these seals usually take up stations on other rocks after taking a swim, as the total number of seals present was back up to 65 at 14:45. I heard the sound of a diesel engine starting up in the late afternoon and I was pleased to witness the departure of the pile driver. I lingered late into the afternoon to take advantage of the great light for photography and observation; life is going to get in the way of our leisurely seal watching pretty soon, so I was happy to take full advantage of the excellent marine mammal observation I enjoyed today.
When the light is good for high-magnification viewing, I always zoom in and give the seals a close inspection. Today I noticed that Linebelly had somehow got himself a bloody lip, giving this seal an even more bemused expression than usual.
The seal pictured below posed so handsomely in the evening light that I just had to post this image of such a fine specimen.
2/9/12 - No seals hauled out, 38 degrees, wind W/NW 10 to 15, Clear 13:45
8 seals on far rocks and 3 at Greene Point for 11 seals total. Prime conditions today but no seals hauled out on the Seven Sisters made today's seal watch a mystery to be pondered, if not solved. When I arrived almost two hours before an astronomical low tide, I was most surprised to see not a single seal on the exposed rocks. A half dozen seals were bottling and spy hopping in the area, but they would approach the rocks and then leave without hauling out. It was obvious that the seals had been chased from the rocks by some kind of disturbance before my arrival, but watercraft were nowhere to be seen. It was not an especially warm or calm day, and there are not usually any boats around to harass the seals on a Thursday in February. The point was sheltered from the wind and the sun was comfortable; as I sat for a while and watched the swimming seals I wished that I had arrived earlier to witness the seals being chased from the rocks. I did not expect that I would ever know what happened to the seals today, but I was not pleased, as today would otherwise have been a perfect day for seal observation. As I gathered my pack to leave, a steady metallic banging sound rang out from the northwest. A quick inspection with my binoculars revealed a pile driver at work driving big pilings for a dock about one mile away. I have no doubt that this was the reason that the seals were not around today; mystery solved, I left with some satisfaction that I was able to determine why the seals were not hauled out today.
2/5/12 - 26 seals hauled out, 32 degrees, wind NE 10 to 15, Clear 11:10
The cold NE wind kept the seal numbers down and chilled us quickly, resulting in a brief seal watch for us today. The seals that were hauled out did entertain for a short time, but the light for the telescope was poor and it was too uncomfortable to wait for the wind to shift. There were a couple of yearlings on the tall rocks, Linebelly was resting soundly on the pointy rock, and there were no seals hauled out on the mounds or the flat rock when we left about one hour before low tide.
As we were embarking on our seal walk, we noticed a large group of people and dogs assembling at the trailhead. This was apparently a dog walking group who found out about Rome Point and decided to take a hike with their pets. All well and good, but too much of a good thing is... well, maybe not such a good thing. We hustled ahead of the pack and as we hiked through the woods we could hear barking and shouted commands as the hounds were unleashed. We arrived at the point ahead of the dog walking group but we were only there for a few minutes before the peace and quiet of Rome Point was disturbed by at least 15 dogs; most of the carousing canines were running wild and groups of dogs barked repeatedly. While we like dogs very much and enjoy visiting with people walking their dogs; the sheer number of unleashed dogs in one place at one time today was, in our view, not appropriate for a marine mammal nature preserve. On this day with a NE wind and a small number of seals on the rocks, the presence of a bunch of barking dogs on the shore did not have any effect on the seal's behavior, but on days with different wind conditions and more seals around, we have seen dogs on the rampage disturb the seals and chase them from the rocks.
Readers of this journal know that we are protective of the seal's right to rest undisturbed. Dogs and responsible dog owners are always more than welcome; we are not animal control officers and do not mind at all if reasonably well-behaved pets are allowed to roam off lead, but when the seals start feeling uneasy because of dog activity on the shoreline, that will set me to growling at the animal's owners. We ask that if people want to let multiple dogs run free, with associated barking, that they do so down the beach to the south or in the back cove where the dog's barking will not disturb the seals. Everyone who visits Rome Point should be considerate to the seals that reside here; organized groups that let a number of dogs run off-leash would be well advised to get their animals under control before they arrive at the seal watching area, if they wish to retain the privilege to let their pets roam freely. Thanks to everyone for their continued consideration, we love the Rome Point dog show almost as much as we love seal watching, but at this special place, the seal's well-being takes top priority.
2/4/12 - 80 seals hauled out, 36 degrees, wind W/NW 10 to 15, Clear to high haze 10:40
4 seal on far rock for 84 seals total. Many seals were already high and dry when we arrived at 9:00, a full two hours before low tide. I suspect the seals did not have good wind conditions for hauling out for at least the past two days; when the seal numbers increase significantly and suddenly, this often happens following a couple of days of poor weather for hauling out. The local seal population was also boosted today by the arrival of about 10 first year seals; the yearlings usually show up in early January, but they took their time getting here this season. It was a relief to observe a good number of yearling seals, because a variant of the bird flu virus took a toll on young harbor seals last fall. The hauled-out seals were well settled until 10:45, when the seals on the center rocks became anxious for some indiscernible reason and most of the other seals also picked up their heads and started to scan more frequently. About 15 seals in the area of the ridge rock suddenly took to the water as though they were responding to a threat, but there was no apparent reason for the seals to be afraid. Within 5 minutes after these seals spooked, the wind picked up by about 10 mph and shifted direction slightly; perhaps the seals were responding to a blip in the weather that was imperceptible to human observers, as the seal's anxiety response seemed to be too closely coupled to the change in the wind to be a coincidence.
We had continuous good seal viewing until I left at 13:30, even then there were still about 50 seals remaining late into the flood tide. The seals enjoyed an unusually long rest period and certainly appeared reluctant to depart. While we did not see a great deal of interesting individual seal behavior today, this was nonetheless one of the better seal observations that we enjoyed so far this seal season.
1/29/12 - 46 seals hauled out, 38 degrees, wind SW10, Partly cloudy 16:30
A good late afternoon seal watch again, mostly because of all of the nice friendly people we met. The seals had about one half-hour of peak activity around 15:30, then they settled down quickly to a calm, restful state. There were a good number of first time seal watchers around late in the day, but judging by the parking lot and departing foot traffic we encountered on our hike, most people who visited Rome Point today arrived too early in the afternoon to enjoy good seal observation. Those who were fortunate to be out at the point between 3:00pm and 4:30 pm had very good seal viewing opportunities, especially for large adult seals on the flat rock and the right mound.
Late day seal tides allow us to enjoy other wildlife viewing opportunities earlier in the day, and we took advantage of the nice weather to take a couple of bonus nature hikes this weekend. On Saturday we headed out to Sachuest National Wildlife Refuge in search of the elusive Snowy Owl. Snowy Owls are creatures of the arctic realm, but they occasionally make their way south in the winter in search for a feeding ground with less competition for the available food. Snowy Owls have taken on a mythical aura in our family due to their uncommon appearance; when we venture off the beaten path on a Don Quixote-esque nature boondoggle, it is often referred to as "looking for a Snowy Owl". On this day, we were once more unsuccessful in our never-ending quest, as the owl departed a week ago after the snowfall. However, in seeking this rare creature we were treated to other nature delights, including a very good observation of a slinky mink and entertaining views of colorful Harlequin Ducks. We urge all seal seekers to take to the beaches, fields, and forests in pursuit of Snowy Owls as often your busy life will allow; you may never actually see one, but rest assured that your life will be all the richer for the effort.
1/28/12 - 40 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, wind S10, clear to cloudy 16:30
The seals were slow to show with the south wind holding the water up in the bay, but they came on strong about an hour before low tide and put on a good show for late afternoon seal watchers. The light for the scope was good and a steady stream of agreeable onlookers enjoyed fine seal watching right up until daylight faded. Highlights included porpoising seals and a late arriving small seal that scaled the pointy rock most frequently occupied by Linebelly. One seal had a distinct fresh wound on its belly that was almost a perfect semi-circle and on the inside edge of the raw flesh several ragged punctures were visible. We often see seals with wounds on their bodies but we can only speculate how the seals receive their injuries. We can't say for sure how the seal we saw today got that wound, but if ever there was a wounded seal that looked like it was the recipient of a shark bite, that would be the seal we saw today.
1/26/12 - 56 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, wind calm, cloudy 14:30
2 seals at Greene Point and 1 on far rock for 59 seals total. Excellent seal watching for January with calm, cloudy conditions. Calm, cloudy days are much favored for seal observation because the seals often swim and play more on the surface of the bay under calm conditions and overcast days usually provide optimal optical conditions for telescopic viewing. Both of these factors were in play today, making for active seals that could be closely observed with a zoomed-in scope. I managed to watch two seals porpoising repeatedly through the scope; I regularly see jumping seals through my binoculars, but it's a special treat (as well as a trick that takes some observational savvy) to watch these 200+ pound animals go airborne through a 55x zoomed spotting scope. A third factor that played into the breaching seal observations today was the fact that, for the second day running, I had Rome Point all to myself and was not distracted by the presence of other people. I have many opportunities to socialize with other seal watchers at Rome Point, but mid-week in January presents an opportunity of another kind: a chance to make close-up, detailed observations that I cannot conduct on weekends when seal watching takes a turn for the social. I am fortunate that my self-employment allows me the time to take advantage of both solo and group nature observation, and I have come to appreciate the positive aspects of each activity.
Just as I was concluding my seal watch, I spotted a seal frolicking on the surface and decided to shoot some video, taking advantage of the good lighting conditions. I was rewarded with a video of a pair of excellent, forceful tails slaps that resounded across the bay like the reports of a .22 rifle shot. When I got home and played back the video, it was pretty neat to hear that the sounds of the seal's tail slapping the water was clearly audible, providing another tangible reward for my solo seal watch: no conversation in the video soundtrack to drown out a rarely heard sound of nature.
1/24/12 - 45 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, wind variable SW10, to W10, to Calm, S/SE 10 to Calm to SW10, clear 14:45
Seal watching today was one of the most strange and interesting days ever from a seal behavior standpoint. I took an entire page of notes as the seals remained mostly unsettled for nearly all of the 3 1/2 hours I stayed at Rome Point. I can sometimes tell right away that the seals are going to behave unusually, and I got that feeling immediately when several seals hauled out then returned to the water within 5 minutes. The tide was an astronomical low tide so I expected that seals would be hauling out early in the ebb tide, but they seemed reluctant to take their stations on the rocks. By noon there were 31 seals on the rocks and another 5 swimming around; there were swimming seals visible most of the time I was watching seals today. Even the seals that were on the rocks scanned and fussed nervously for much longer that they usually do after hauling out, with occasional coming and going from the center cluster rocks causing sporadic, brief territory squabbles.
There were several characteristics of this day that may explain why the seals displayed such erratic, unsettled behavior. A weak cold front passed through the area, causing the wind to change speed and direction several times. Also, this was one of those days when sound carried exceptionally well; at times you could clearly hear a variety of noises from Quonset Point, Route 1A, Hamilton, and passing aircraft. It was obvious that the seals were responding to the sounds and several times a few seals left the rocks in response to some auditory stimulus; airplane noise does not usually affect the seals, but it did today on occasion. At 12:15 a helicopter buzzed the area at an altitude of only about 500 feet, this scared about 15 seals off the rocks. Finally, a south wind often makes the seals fussy, and when the wind was blowing it had a southerly component.
Of course, fussy seals are often active seals, and active seals are the most interesting to observe. Porpoising, spy-hopping, tail splashing and some social play behavior was observed fairly regularly through the afternoon. The seals on the center cluster had at least 5 vociferous quarrels, and seals on other rocks also seemed to be unusually loud-mouthed and short-tempered, especially considering that their was plenty of space for everyone with only about 40 seals hauled out. It seemed like every rock with two or more seals on it was the scene of at least one skirmish as the afternoon passed.
The best observation of the day was a seal that decided to seize a rock from one very large seal that was already well settled in. The aggressor took a swipe at the resting seal's tail, causing the seal on the rock to raise its tail to a near vertical position. The attacking seal then proceed to jump vertically out of the water again and again, trying repeatedly to deliver a tail bite. Six times the determined seal lunged from the water, several times jumping almost 2/3 of its length in an amazing display of aggression! The seal on the rock held on gamely, hoisting its tail higher to fend off every attempted bite; but in the end the big seal rolled off the rock, allowing its adversary to win the prized haul out rock. Some time later, the big seal returned to the rock and managed to gain a perch on one corner of the rock, ultimately sharing the spot with its vicious adversary.
One unusual aspect of today's seal observation was that, for the longest time, no seals hauled out on the most favored flat rock that attracts the dominant seals of this herd. This happens sometimes on a southerly wind, but not so much when the tide is at an astronomical low level which leaves this rock high and dry. Today, at 14:45 a couple of seals finally hauled out on the flat rock, when they did so, this brought the number of hauled out seals to 45. In almost 500 seal observations I can count on one hand the number of times when the peak number of hauled out seals for the day occurred as late as 45 minutes after low tide; this was an appropriate end to a most unusual day of entertaining seal observation that I will remember for years.
1/22/12 - 37 seals hauled out, 26 degrees, wind Northeast to east 10 decreasing to 5, cloudy 13:00
7 seals on far rocks for 44 seals total. When we arrived there were only about 10 seals hauled out despite the low astronomical tide and all of these seals were wet, indicating that they were swimming only minutes before our arrival. I suspected that the seals were disturbed before we showed up; the mystery was solved when three loud shotgun reports rang out, chasing a few of the seals back into the water. Over the next hour, the shooting gradually abated as every duck within miles was frightened away from the area and seals steadily commenced to hauled out. Today was the last day of waterfowl hunting season so the seals should not be disturbed by gunfire anymore this winter.
The light was very good for telescope observation and the seals posed nicely for several groups of seal seekers who treked out to Rome Point through the fresh snow. The seal count today was conducted by several young girls who were on a seal walk organized by the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Rhode Island. We enjoyed their company and I'm sure they enjoyed their seal watching adventure. We were all fortunate today that the wind died down as it shifted to the east, resulting in relatively comfortable conditions for seal observation that left me scrambling back to the parking lot at 14:30 to catch the kickoff of the Patriot's AFC championshop game.
1/19/12 - 63 seals hauled out, 25 degrees, wind North/Northeast 10, clear 10:45
5 Seals on far rock for 68 seals total. Coldest seal watch of the season with an ice cold easterly wind blowing right in your face. If the wind had been any stronger, it would have been intolerable; as it was I could only look through the scope for a minute at a time before the onset of ice cream headache symptoms. I stayed an hour and got to watch about 20 seals haul out. The seals were vocalizing and their growls could be heard easily with the wind carrying the sounds toward shore. Linebelly was hauled out high atop the pointy rock, seemingly oblivious to the cold wind. The somewhat entertaining seal show was not sufficient to make me oblivious to the cold, so my stay at Rome Point was unusually brief today.
1/9/12 - 21 seals hauled out, 38 degrees, wind South 10 decreasing to 5, clear 13:00
5 seals on far rock for 26 seals total. I was late to the seal party today because I went to check out a dead seal report down in Narragansett. I did located this unfortunate animal, which was not yet significantly decomposed; this medium sized harbor seal did not have any of the lesions characteristic of the recent avian flu outbreak. This makes twice in 3 weeks I have examined a dead harbor seal; hopefully this is one trend that will not continue as the seal season progresses.
By the time I got to Rome Point there were only about 20 seals hauled out, all of the seals were concentrated on the two southern-most rocks. I have no way of knowing if there were large numbers of seals hauled out earlier, but I do know that it is rare to observe large numbers of seals on the rocks for three days in a row, so I was not surprised by the low seal numbers compared to the 90+ seals we observed over the past weekend. I expected this seal watch would be very short, but mother nature had other entertainment in store. Hearing pronounced rustle in the trees behind me, I turned around to be greeted by an especially bold gray squirrel, who proceeded to harvest the berries that were hanging from the vines draped over the trees. All of the easy berries had already been taken, so the industrious tree rat had to perform some extreme gymnastics on flimsy branches to get at the remaining repast. The squirrel paid no attention to me even as I approached within 10 feet, so I shot some amusing video of "Romeo" the Rome Point squirrel for my granddaughter's entertainment. After the gray squirrel finished off the berries it attempted to scale a nearby cedar tree, but was denied access by a feisty red squirrel who laid claim to the cedar as his personal domain. Squirrels are commonly observed, but I must admit that the antics of Romeo and the red squirrel held my close attention for the better part of a half hour.
As I was watching the rowdy rodents, I noticed a number of northern gannets soaring and flapping high above Bissel Cove. The number of birds in flight quickly increased to an estimated 80 gannets; causing me to wonder if there was some reason that I was suddenly seeing all of these birds. I made haste to the shoreline on the back side of Rome Point; looking out over Bissel Cove, I was pleased to spot an immature bald eagle soaring nearby. As the eagle gained altitude and departed to the west, I silently thanked the squirrels; usually squirrels would only draw a passing glance from me, but today these common woodland denizens attracted my attention for some reason and I was rewarded with an excellent eagle sighting that I would not have seen if not for Romeo carrying on behind me.
1/8/12 - 90 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, wind Northwest 10, clear with thin high clouds 12:45
Very good seal observation today with plenty of seals hauled out in good locations for viewing plus much better lighting conditions for the spotting scope. There were 83 seals on the rocks at 10:00, a full 3 hours before low tide. At 11:20 the seals on the ridge rock spooked again very much like yesterday, and again this scared about 40 seals off the center rocks. However, unlike yesterday the big seals on the right mound and the flat rock did not leave. Within 20 minutes all of the seals that were swimming around returned to the rocks, unlike yesterday when a good number of seals left the area after they were disturbed. I am not sure why the seals on the ridge rock have been so jumpy lately, I thought it possible (but not likely) that the large group of observers on shore may have inadvertently spooked the seals yesterday, but I know that did not happen today. Is is also curious that all of the seals came back today, but only half of the swimming seals returned to the rocks yesterday after they were spooked. All of this somewhat unusual behavior is all well and good to observe, but it would suit me just fine if the seals stop spooking inexplicably so often and would settle down and stay put on the rocks for an uninterrupted rest period.
Seals being spooked is not without some benefit to observers on occasion and as luck would have it today was one of those days. Several of the seals that were swimming around decided they wanted to haul out on the already occupied flat rock; this resulted in the most intense territorial behavior that I have seen so far this season. The seals moving onto the the rock from the back definitely cramped the style of the seals already present and over about 5 minutes a contagious mood of discontent spread over the flat rock group. The ill contempt had to be resolved somehow and finally the seals started slapping and biting each other; at one point every seal on the flat rock (about 12 seals) was involved in the fracas. This seal skirmish ended the way most territory battles usually do when two seals had enough hassle and left the rock, making adequate space available for the remaining seals.
The past two days have been notable for the large contingent of seal watchers who hiked out to see the seals on this warm January weekend. It is fair to say that the past two days have seen the most seal seeking families ever to visit Rome Point on a single weekend, at least in my personal experience. Those families and groups who hiked out to Rome Point this weekend to see seals were treated to fine weather and very good seal observation opportunities, but as Rome Point becomes more well known and popular one might anticipate that issues related to parking and access may arise. The parking lot was filled beyond capacity on both days, and the on street parking is along the side of roadway where traffic travels at speed. We are happy to see so many nice families having such a good time on their seal walks, but when it comes to the traffic situation along the road on a busy weekend, we have some genuine concern and we urge everyone to be careful as they make their way to and from the Rome Point trails.
1/7/12 - 93 seals hauled out, 58 degrees, wind southwest 10 increasing to 15, clear 11:30
An interesting January seal watch today with unseasonably warm temperatures inspiring record numbers of seal seekers to make the trek out to Rome Point. 90 seals were hauled out high and dry when we arrived at 10:45, indicating that the seals had arrived in force earlier than usual considering the tide level. I had foreboding feeling that this seal watching was too good to be true on such a temperate January day; this instinctive intuition turned out to be accurate. Early bird seal watchers definitely had the best of the seal show but the large groups of people who showed up around 11:30 were treated to the sight of numerous seals hauled out all over the rocks. At 11:45 a half-dozen seals on the high center rock (hereafter designated "ridge rock" for our future reference) made a splashy entrance into the water. This group of seals has made a habit of doing this recently, and their noisy departure has been scaring other seals off the rocks in a domino effect. This happened big time today in front of about 80 witnesses; I do not believe the large crowd of folks on the shore had anything to do with the seals spooking. However the herd did spook pretty badly when the panic spread, ultimately, about 70 seals took too the water for no apparent reason, including the big seals on the flat rock that are usually unfazed by false alarms.
At noon there were only about 25 seals hauled out, and it took a surprisingly long time for the seals to return to the rocks after they were disturbed. A group of kayaks passed by close to shore, but they were conscientious paddlers who went out of their way not to scare the seals. Slowly, seals returned to the rocks; at the height of the resurgence there were about 60 seals hauled out, including a group that returned to the flat rock to give many observers a good view of large harbor seals. However, this second act of good seal watching was short lived, as a second group of kayakers passed through the area. These kayakers approached from the south and also made a commendable effort not to scare the seals; they were successful except for the big seals on the flat rock that were giving us the best views. After these seals spooked a second time the best of the seal observation for the day was over, but we stayed out to enjoy the beautiful day and the company of the numerous people who selected this day to take a hike out to see the seals. By the time we left at 14:15, there were about 25 seals still hauled out almost two hours after low tide.
There was not a lot of interesting individual behavior to observe today,but as a group the seal's overall behavior was fascinating to attempt to evaluate. There are many factors involved in dictating how many seals are hauled out at any given time, and this was an especially complicated seal watch today. First, the calm wind in the morning coupled with the fact that yesterday was not a good day for seals to haul out resulted in a large number of seals hauled out very early in the ebb tide, considering that the low tide level was not especially low today. The seals must have moved onto the rocks when the rocks were still submerged, as they will do on a calm day. This gave them a head start on their rest cycle; I suspect most of the seals were hauled out 3 1/2 hours before low tide this morning.
Over the course of the morning the wind velocity gradually increased from the southwest, not from the west as was forecast. I have often observed the seal's departure as a south wind builds and I believe the group on ridge rock that triggered the first seal exodus of the day had enough rest and that the increasing wind caused their departure. For some reason many other seals took off when this first small group jumped in the water and made some commotion; it seems that the more seals are hauled out, the more sensitive the entire herd is to being spooked by any perceived disturbance. About 35 seals returned to the rocks after the herd spooked the first time and about 35 left the area and did not return, this tells me that the seals that headed out probably had a satisfactory rest before they left, as there was no continuing threat to drive them away from the rocks. Then you mix in an unusually large group of humans on the shore as well as kayaks passing through the area three times in two hours and you have a recipe for a confused bunch of seals. Notwithstanding all of the strange goings-on today, the seals still obliged us with a good seal show, still, it could have been much better had most of the seals not spooked 1/2 hour before low tide.
1/6/12 - 10 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, wind south 10 increasing to 15, clear 10:45
The stiff south wind was too much for most of the seals today; the number of seals hauled out decreased as the wind speed picked up. The only seals left on the rocks at low tide were a half-dozen big seals on the flat rock. This day was interesting as it illustrated the contrast in seal behavior from last Friday, when the wind also blew hard from the south. Last week the wind was diminishing as the tide ran out and the seals that initially showed the same reluctance to haul out as today eventually took their resting positions as the wind died down. Today, on an increasing south wind, the seals never did settle onto rest mode and left the rocks after a relatively short time as the wind picked up.
It was also interesting to observe about 8 seals swimming in mid-bay in line with the "yellow house" on the Jamestown shore. Seals can usually be observed swimming in this spot, even on days when the weather is not conducive for seals hauling out on the rocks. The seals will often float there with their noses pointing up in the air (bottling) and then submerge periodically for 3 to 5 minutes as if they are pursuing prey. I have always wondered why the seals have frequented this exact location every year; the only thing I can surmise is that there must always be fish in that area to attract seals on a continuous basis year after year. Today I resolved to paddle my kayak out there some calm morning next summer to see if I can get a clue about what is so special about this spot in the bay that attracts swimming seals on such a regular basis.
12/30/11 - 46 seals hauled out, 50 degrees, wind south 15 decreasing to calm, partly cloudy 16:00
Seal watching got off to a slow start with a strong south wind holding the ebb tide up in the bay and generating choppy waves that made the seals uncomfortable. At 14:30 there were 19 seals hauled out, then about half of those seals left the rocks, leaving only a small group of seals on the right mound that, fortunately, were well positioned for viewing. At about 15:30 seal observation improved greatly, with diminishing wind and a late arriving group of about 25 seals providing entertainment for a steady stream of seal seekers. These late afternoon seals were most feisty, displaying a good deal of porpoising and splashing behavior before they settled down to rest. The first two hours of seal watching were not so special, but the last hour made up for the slow start and pleased the seal watchers who showed up late on this unusually warm December day.
12/29/11 - 80 seals hauled out, 32 degrees, wind west 10, clear 16:00
7 seals on far rock for 87 seals total. Excellent seal watching today with light west wind, plenty of seals, and the seals especially active for December. The swans spooked about 15 seals around 14:00 and these seals started carousing in the water after they were disturbed. Several seals were porpoising and tail slapping; one seal jumped out of the water 7 times. The action continued on and off all afternoon as more seals arrived to rest on the late-day low tide. At 1600 a couple of seals were still porpoising while other seals slapped their tails hard on the surface of the water. One seal finished off the day by leaping out of the water four times in rapid succession. The seals finally settled down just as the sun was setting, concluding the most interesting seal watch so far this season.
Today I noted a lot of tail-slapping behavior and made some close observations of this activity through the spotting scope. It appeared that on some occasions the seals were deliberately slapping the surface of the water as hard as they could with fanned-out tails and it seemed to me that this was a purposeful act. I can only speculate about the purpose that this behavior may serve, but it does not appear to be related to any perceived threat, as is the case with tail-slapping beavers. At times I got the vague impression that the seals may have been expressing frustration, especially when they slapped the water in close proximity to hauled-out seals as though they were upset with the resting seals for some reason. Other times the tail slapping appeared to be done in a less forceful, almost half-hearted manner. From now on I am going to pay a bit more attention to splashing seals to observe any clues as to why they sometimes slap the water so aggressively while other times the seals splash more casually.
12/28/11 - 36 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, wind west 15 to 25, cloudy 15:00
A much more interesting seal watch than yesterday, despite the lower than average number of seals hauled out. The seals were more active today, with several seals porpoising as they arrived to take up their stations on the rocks. I was taking a video clip of my favorite seal Linebelly when another seal jumped out of the water in the background; this is the second time I have been fortunate in capturing a jumping seal on video in the past three observations. The photo below shows the jumping seal behind Linebelly on the pointy rock; not the highest jump I have ever seen, but good style points for the nice profile.
In short order, the same swans that spooked some seals yesterday showed up again to work their mischief. Today they scared about 15 seals off of the rocks; the photo below shows the swans swimming past a group of uneasy seals that are eying the swans closely.
After the swans departed, a couple of the seals that were spooked and swimming around put on a brief but very splashy tail slapping display. As the seals settled in to rest mode, I was visited by some especially attentive seal watchers. Chris from Warwick and his two exceptionally polite and interested young seal watching companions kept me company for a half hour and kept a close watch on the seals.The two little girls each took a count of the seals and I was pleasantly surprised when one of girls proclaimed that she counted 36 seals, which I knew was very close to the actual number of seals hauled out. Sure enough, right after they left, I made a count and came up with 36 seals, just as I was told. Most inexperienced adults have a hard time mustering up the concentration to get an accurate seal count on the first try; I was most impressed by both of these young ladies who demonstrated a level of patience and interest in the subtleties of nature observation that I see only occasionally in children so young.
12/27/11 - 42 seals hauled out, 50 degrees, wind south 10 increasing to 15, cloudy 13:00
The south wind served to hold the outgoing tide in the bay and probably contributed to the low number of seals observed today. The best of the seal watching was early in the afternoon, when 3 mute swans approached the rocks and spooked about 20 of the seals. The displaced seals swam in the area for a while and one seal put on a brief porpoising show, but the seals that eventually did return to the rocks took up positions on low rocks where they were not prominently visible. Fortunately the big seals on the flat rock and right mound were not intimidated by the swans and remained for most of the afternoon, providing good views of harbor seals for families who hiked out to see some seals as part of their holiday festivities. The week between Christmas and New Year's Day is one of our favorite seal watching times, as many families visit Rome Point in search of the seals; we were pleased to have the opportunity to share our seal watch today with quite a few first-time seal watchers. Seal observation today was not especially interesting in terms of marine mammal behavior, but the friendly folks we met today more than made up for what was otherwise a below average seal watch.
12/25/11 - 70 seals hauled out, 34 degrees, wind calm to south 5, clear 14:00
4 seals at Greene Point and 12 on far rocks for 86 seals total. A very merry Christmas day seal watch with festive families and restive seals all meeting up at Rome Point for holiday cheer. Good lighting conditions and calm winds, coupled with a spring tide made for interesting seal observation as the seals took advantage of the extra-low tide to settle down for a long winter's nap. This yearling seal and its companion cormorant was perched high atop the white rock all afternoon; more young seals should be arriving over the next couple of weeks.
I was taking a short video clip of the seal pictured below for identification purposes when another seal jumped out of the water in the background.
The seal in the foreground above had a long rest on that rock, but later in the afternoon another seal arrived and attacked him. The resting seal spun around on the rock to fend off the aggressor, but was quickly out-maneuvered and driven from its resting place. The seal in the photo below is the victorious warrior enjoying the spoils of the battle.
There were about 60 seals remaining on the rocks at 15:00 when I noticed the big seals on the flat rock were suddenly alarmed by an intruder I did not immediately identify. Over the course of five minutes, 40 or more seals quickly departed; I finally determined that the guilty culprit was a log that floated past the rocks on the incoming tide. The log was oriented in the water so that two branches stuck up in the air like a pair of antlers so perhaps the seals thought they were under attack by a rogue reindeer; an appropriate end to a memorable Christmas day seal watch.
12/24/11 - 50 seals hauled out, 30 degrees, wind N 10-15, clear 11:45
The cold north wind made for a short but interesting seal walk today. Linebelly was perched high upon the pointy rock and some seals to the left of the center cluster took a high dive off their rock while we were observing them. It was too cold to linger at the point, but the fresh air and exercise was most welcome. We took a detour to check out a dead seal that has washed ashore south of the Rome Point preserve; this unfortunate creature is apparently a victim of the flu outbreak that has claimed a reported 162 harbor seal along the New England coast since September.
12/13/11 - 34 seals hauled out, 40 degrees, wind N/NE 10-15, clear 14:30
Stopped by for a quick seal observation sandwiched between Christmas chores, even though the chilly north wind did not bode well for a good seal watch. Fewer seals were hauled out than we are accustomed to seeing, this commonly occurs when the wind blows from the north. Nonetheless, I did get to visit with several groups of appreciative seal watchers and I enjoyed this brief brisk visit until the wind shifted more to the east; the cold wind in my face brought an end to my seal watch, which was for the best as I had other errands to accomplish. A seal walk for an hour or two is a good way to break up a busy day, and the convenient location of Rome Point makes it easy to fit some fresh air and exercise into a full holiday season schedule.
12/10/11 - 80 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, wind NW 10, mostly cloudy 12:30
The best seal watch so far this season with plenty of seals and lots of interesting behavior to observe. There was even a big male Grey seal bottling in the area for several hours, but this seal never joined his harbor seal cousins on the rocks. We watched as the seals converged on the rocks to haul out 2 1/2 hours before low tide and we observed many characteristic interesting behaviors, including territorial disputes, porpoising, and spy-hopping. The lighting for spotting scope observation was excellent so we were able to zoom in for close-up views; we determined that two seals sported "necklace" scars from encounters with fishing nets
The seal shown in profile below looks like it has a double-chin as a result of a net entanglement injury.
The photo above was taken in poor quality, hazy lighting conditions around 10:00; here is a photo of some other seals taken in better light to demonstrate how the quality of the light affects seal observation and photography.
One seal that showed up late in the ebb tide showed signs of the mysterious illness that has been taking a toll on harbor seals this fall. This seal had two unusual lesions on its left side, was panting, and appeared to be too weak to clamber up on an exposed rock. We will be watching closely for this animal in the future, but I suspect that this seal is in big trouble and we may not ever see it again. At 1315 the fishermen who are "conch" fishing in the area arrived to pull their traps. They have removed the traps that were closest to the rocks so I was hopeful that this activity would not disturb the seals; unfortunately, about 60 of the seals spooked, ending the best of the seal watching for this day. The fishermen did not approach the rocks particularly closely, so I was surprised that the seals were scared away. Only about 15 seals returned to the rocks after the fishing boat left the area, leaving 35 seals hauled out for late arriving hikers to observe.
12/4/11 - 60 seals hauled out, 55 degrees, wind calm, cloudy 9:45
An excellent morning seal watch with calm conditions allowing for good observations of seals swimming on the surface, as well as the hauled-out seals. The hazy optical conditions gradually improved, and some interesting behavior was seen as several late arriving seals were repelled from the already full to capacity flat rock. We encountered several of our long time seal watching friends on our walk, which always adds to the festive holiday atmosphere this time of year.
On a less festive note, there has been increased mortality of young seals documented along the New England coast this fall, with 146 dead seals found along the shore from Maine to Cape Cod thru early November. This is about three times the number of dead seals normally found during the fall migration, accordingly, NOAA has declared an unusual mortality event which allows resources to be directed to monitoring and scientific study of the unusual seal deaths. A dead seal was found down the beach at Rome Point last week; we have reported this sad event to the researchers at Mystic Aquarium. Stay tuned for more info on the seal deaths along the New England coast, we will be posting additional news here when we have a little more time to check out the latest reports.
11/15/11 - 72 seals hauled out, 68 degrees, wind W 10 decreasing to 5, cloudy 15:30
The best seal watch so far this year with many seals hauled out under calm, warm conditions. There was a fair amount of activity, including one large seal porpoising and some territory skirmishes and loud vocalizing in the center cluster area. There were only two other visitors during my time at Rome Point this afternoon, but this friendly mother/daughter couple were fortunate to get a great look at the most seals observed to date this season. There is some commercial activity in the vicinity of the rocks now, it appears to me that "conch" fishermen are setting traps for channeled whelks. The seals tolerated the fishing boat today as it set and pulled a few pots close to the rocks; we will be observing to see how the seals are affected by this activity. Conch fishing is usually discontinued sometime around mid-December, so we hope this potential seal disturbance issue will take care of itself within a month or so.
11/13/11 - No seals hauled out, 55 degrees, wind S 15-25, clear 14:30
For the second Sunday in succession there were no seals hauled out on the mid-afternoon low tide. Strong wind and the presence of a couple of kayaks in the area probably accounted for the lack of seals today; we did observe at least four seals swimming, but none were near the rocks. One seal swam close to the shore and spy-hopped repeatedly to check out the beach so at least we did get a good look at this seal, which briefly exhibited unusual curiosity behavior before departing to the south. Interestingly, there were no other visitors to the point in the 45 minutes we were there, despite the full parking lot. Seals and seal watchers were in short supply today, despite the warm temperature that we are not likely to experience again until spring.
Seal watching was disappointing, but several other creatures obliged us with their presence over the course of the day. On a morning nature walk at Fisherville Brook, we observed a pair of playful otters frolicking in the pond for a good fifteen minutes. Then after dark on our drive home from Jamestown, we spotted a great horned owl looming over some unfortunate prey along the side of the road. Any day which includes otter and owl sightings is a good day in our book; we were more than happy with the wildlife we were privileged to see. With the entire winter seal watching season yet to come there are many good seal days to look forward to; but otters and owls are not so frequently observed, especially both on the same day.
10/30/11 - No seals hauled out, 45 degrees, wind NW 15-20, clear 15:30
The strong north wind was too much for the seals today, we suspected as much before we embarked on our walk, but I was on a mission to gather Asian shore crabs for fishing bait. However, all we got from our walk was refreshing exercise, as the crabs that were under every rock only two days ago have departed to parts unknown. This does not bode well for the fishing prospects either as the tautog have likely followed their favorite meal to deeper water not accessible to me in my kayak. The walk was pleasant enough and most welcome after being shut in by yesterday's early season winter storm, we were fortunate in Rhode Island to be spared the heavy snowfall and associated power outages that befell several neighboring states.
10/28/11 - 45 seals hauled out, 48 degrees, wind NW 10, clear 15:00
Another good early season seal watch with plenty of adult seals lying about in similar positions and locations as earlier this week. Linebelly has returned to his customary perch atop the pointy rock; he was there on Wednesday as well, so it looks like that will be his territory again for this season. Yesterday, I took a close look at some photos from the last two years to review spot patterns and other characteristic markings; this allows me to tell whether specific seals have returned to the same rocks that they occupied in previous years. As I have become more familiar with the individual animals, I have determined that the same seals return to the same rocks year after year. In many cases certain seals show a marked preference for a particular location on a rock and can be found there day after day throughout the seal season. There were at least 10 seals I recognized from the photos hauled out today and observed in places where they have rested in years past. Thanks to Linebelly and his distinctive scar, I was able to discern this interesting behavior, which I have not found documented anywhere in my study of seals. I am going to pay much closer attention to identifying individual seals this year, particularly in the early season when the seals behavior is relatively subdued.
10/26/11 - 52 seals hauled out, 52 degrees, wind calm to SE10, cloudy 13:30
2 seals on far rock for 54 seals total. Good seal watch with well-settled seals in repose under very good lighting conditions. No one else ventured out to the point for the entire two hours when I was there, so it was a quiet, solitary seal watch today. There were light rain showers in the area, so no other visitors ventured so far from the parking lot. I usually appreciate a little company when I'm doing seal observation, but sometimes its nice to have such a special place to oneself. One benefit of having few other people and their dogs around is the wildlife watching in the woods is often enhanced when no one else is around to spook the critters. That was certainly the case today, as I spotted a whitetail doe on the main trail at the bottom of the hill from a distance of about 75 yards. I decided to stalk the deer using fox walking technique I have learned from books authored by renowned tracker Tom Brown Jr. to see how close I could get. The doe kept dropping her head to graze, allowing me ample opportunity to sneak up on her. When I got within 10 yards, I actually thought I might be able to get close enough to touch her; tagging a wild animal in this fashion is an elusive goal for tracking afficianados. Alas, she detected my presence at the last moment, but the deer just walked away calmly, apparently not sure what to make of the strange creature frozen like a statue only yards away.
Other creatures were out and about today, including some wild turkeys close to the point and numerous red and gray squirrels. The highlight of my walk was a close-up view of a great horned owl that silently swooped across the trail right in front of me; the ultra-quiet flight of the stealthy owl is always a treat to see and not hear. This was one of the most memorable walks I have ever had at Rome Point with regard to land mammal and bird observation; while I missed having anyone to shares the seals with today, the benefits of my solitary walk more than made up for the lack of social interaction on this particular occasion. There will be many days when there are lots of folks around to chat with, but a wilderness-type day in a suburban woodland is a special gift to be treasured and remembered for years to come.
10/23/11 - 44 seals hauled out, 60 degrees, wind N 5 to calm, cloudy 12:00 First Seal Watch for Fall 2011
I have been seeing seals on my fishing trips for at least a month, so today we decided to take a walk to see if any of our marine mammal friends would be hauled out to greet us on this fine autumn morning. We had low expectations for success as there still are a lot of recreational fishermen out on the bay on calm October weekend days and the seals haul-out rocks often attract fishermen. We could not have been more pleased to find numerous seals resting comfortably upon our arrival, with the fishing boats congregated in two groups far to the north or to the south of Rome Point. A few kayakers in the area thankfully took care to leave the seals unmolested, so we were able to get good views of over 40 seals settled in and snoozing at low tide under excellent lighting conditions. We recognized at least 8 returning seals from years past by their spot patterns, but I was a bit disappointed that my old buddy Linebelly had apparently not yet joined the party, as the pointy rock he favors was not occupied.
At 1145, a group of 3 kayakers passed through heading south, the paddlers deliberately stayed close to the shore to avoid scaring the seals (thanks again kayakers, whoever you are). The big seals on the flat rock were facing directly towards us and they observed the passing kayaks, this caused these seals to raise up their heads to get a better look in the manner typical of seals on the alert. As I closely observed these seals to see if they would flee, I noticed a scar on the belly of the seal on the left edge of the flat rock. Could it be? Yes it was... Linebelly had returned and chose to take up station on the flat rock where the dominant seals haul out. This year Linebelly has added considerable heft, so perhaps now he can hold his own against the other competitors for the prime flat rock territory. It will be most interesting to observe whether Linebelly chooses to try to make the flat rock his haul-out home this season, or whether he decides to beat a retreat to the pointy rock upon the return of aggressive competing seals, especially the most feisty Guardian who has claimed ownership of the left side of the flat rock for many years.
Out seal watching visit coincided with the noon hour today so not many visitors were around to share our seal watch, as most normal people are having lunch around that time. As we returned to the newly improved parking area (asphalt has been laid to alleviate the craters at the parking area entrance and exit), many visitors were just arriving; we wished we could have stayed longer, but we were determined to work in a kayak paddle of our own. After leaving Rome Point we went on a paddling tour of the Hunt River and were rewarded with an excellent sighting of an immature bald eagle, as well as several red tail hawks and a blue heron. It's hard to leave amazing wildlife to try to see more amazing wildlife and this tactic does not always work out well; on this fall day we were thankful to get in a kayak trip, as days for kayaking in 2011 are numbered, but the seal watching season has only just begun.
2/19/12 - 53 seals hauled out, 40 degrees, wind N/NE 10, Clear 11:45
4 seals on far rock for 57 seals total. The north/northeast wind made for a chilly seal watch today but the optical conditions were much better than yesterday, allowing a steady stream of visitors to get good close-up looks at the seals. The seals had an unsettled spell for about 45 minutes before low tide, so we enjoyed observing a number of seal fights until the seals settled into rest mode at 12:15. The ill at ease seals were doing a lot of vocalizing which we could hear clearly with the wind carrying the seal's voices toward the shore; the sounds that harbor seals make always impress seal watching newbies who are expecting to hear a bark or perhaps a yelp. Most of the vocalizing that seals do when hauled out is for the purpose of expressing their displeasure with a neighboring seal and these guttural growls sound surprisingly ferocious and bear more resemblance to the roar of a big cat than any sound that a dog makes. Harbor seals may communicate over long distances when they are in the water, but not much is known about the seal's language capabilities or the level of understanding that these animals may possess.
2/18/12 - 76 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, wind W 10, Clear 10:30
6 seals on far rocks for 82 seals total. Fine seal watching was enjoyed by the many visitors to Rome Point today, but the bright mid-day sun did adversely affect the quality of the lighting for telescopic observation. However, most seal seeking families could not care less whether the spotting scope can be zoomed in to high magnification, as the view through the scope is far superior to binoculars even under less than optimum optical conditions. When we arrived an hour before low tide the seals were already dry and settled down; I'm sure many seals were hauled out as early as 3 hours before low tide on this sunny day with westerly winds. Soon after our arrival, we observed a most unusual seal fight on the right side of the flat rock in which a big male seal was driven from its resting place by a vicious tail bite delivered courtesy of a rival that emerged straight out of the water as if propelled by a pogo stick.
At 10:40 about 50 seals spooked off of the rocks over the course of 5 minutes. The initiating event was the seals on the ridge rock making their customary splashy departure; as in other recent past incidents of seals suddenly taking to the water, there was no apparent reason for the seals on the ridge rock to take a dive. There was a boat in the area observing seals from a distance but it did not appear that the seals were even aware of the boat's presence. When the first seals jumped in the water they did so without any advance warning and they did not appear to be upset or scanning frequently prior to taking to the water. These same seals have been exhibiting this behavior on a regular basis and when they hit the water with a loud splash this has been triggering a flight response among other members of the seal herd. This has been taking place from 1 1/2 hours to 1/2 hour before low tide and both the number of seals that spook and the number of seals that return to the rocks varies on each occasion. This behavior is interesting and does cause some follow-up territorial issues when the seal return to the rocks; nonetheless, it would suit me fine if the seals on the ridge rock would just stay put and not spook so many other seals. It will be very interesting to observe whether this behavioral pattern persists into March, when we see the greatest numbers of seals; if it does so, it will be necessary to arrive at Rome Point especially early in the ebb tide to see the big numbers of seals this spring.
2/13/12 - 60 seals hauled out, 40 degrees, wind SW 20 decreasing to 10, Clear 16:30
5 on far rock and 3 at Greene Point for 68 seals total. It was a pleasure just to get out of the house for a walk after a weekend of uncooperative weather and the seal watching today seemed all the better for the relief it provided from cabin fever. The good late afternoon light usually allows for close up views through the scope, so it is always a pleasure to go for a seal walk late in the day even though time may be short before darkness intervenes. About 30 seals were already hauled out when we arrived at 2:30, well in advance of low tide at 5:00 pm. The highlight of the afternoon was when the seals on the ridge rock became unsettled around 3:30; in the process of leaving one of the big seals perched up high knocked a much smaller seal right off the rock. The little seal barrel-rolled over into the water and this acrobatic pratfall was captured on video for a future best of 2012 seal highlight production. After 1 1/2 hours alone on the beach, a few late arriving visitors were treated to good views of the seals and I was treated to some pleasant company as daylight faded on this fine winter afternoon.
2/10/12 - 68 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, wind SW 15+, Clear 13:30
The fine seal watch today was good enough to hold my attention for almost 5 hours on the Rome Point beach. I watched the seal herd haul out, which is always interesting; but they did not cavort in the water as they arrived. The seals just picked a rock and flopped right into heavy resting mode, with little scanning. It appeared that the seals were really looking forward to a long rest after being disturbed yesterday and in anticipation of the stormy weather forecast for tomorrow. I don't know how they do it, but seals definitely show some ability to know in advance what the weather has in store a day ahead of time. I know from many observations that a nice day before a storm is a prime seal observation opportunity, as numerous seals will tend to haul out early in the ebb tide and will linger especially long as the water rises on the flood. The seals are perfectly happy with a southwest wind like today and with the pile driver that chased the seals away yesterday was thankfully silent this afternoon, so I expected that the seal watching was going to be interesting as the afternoon progressed.
The big seals that frequent the flat rock behaved much differently than the rest of the herd, and I was fortunate to get their unusual behavior on video. I have been wanting to get some better video of seals hauling out for awhile, so as the seals arrived at the flat rock I decided to let the video camera run while they hauled out. I usually shoot relatively short clips of video, as they are easier to review and edit, but today I let the camera run for 15 continuous minutes while the big boys hauled out. I was pleased with the footage I was getting and the rock was pretty full, but just as I was reaching for the camera to stop shooting there was a big splash in back of the rock and all of the seals on the flat rock suddenly lunged into the water. None of the seals on the other rocks showed any signs of distress; this is highly unusual, as the big seals on the flat rock are generally the last seals to flee unnecessarily. I figured the seals would return to the flat rock and decided to take advantage of the situation to get more haul out video, so I again left the camera running as the seals hauled out again. About 8 minutes into the second video, the seals that had hauled out bolted into the water again for no apparent reason; seeing the seals on the flat rock behave this way was a big surprise, as I had never witnessed such unsettled behavior from these dominant male seals before.
The third time the big seals hauled out, they finally settled down to rest for the afternoon. A fair number of seal seekers showed up in the early afternoon, and everyone was treated to good seal viewing under excellent lighting conditions. About 15 seals on the ridge rock area left those rocks at 1340, I am noticing that this seems to be a regular occurrence for this segment of the seal herd. I believe these seals usually take up stations on other rocks after taking a swim, as the total number of seals present was back up to 65 at 14:45. I heard the sound of a diesel engine starting up in the late afternoon and I was pleased to witness the departure of the pile driver. I lingered late into the afternoon to take advantage of the great light for photography and observation; life is going to get in the way of our leisurely seal watching pretty soon, so I was happy to take full advantage of the excellent marine mammal observation I enjoyed today.
When the light is good for high-magnification viewing, I always zoom in and give the seals a close inspection. Today I noticed that Linebelly had somehow got himself a bloody lip, giving this seal an even more bemused expression than usual.
The seal pictured below posed so handsomely in the evening light that I just had to post this image of such a fine specimen.
2/9/12 - No seals hauled out, 38 degrees, wind W/NW 10 to 15, Clear 13:45
8 seals on far rocks and 3 at Greene Point for 11 seals total. Prime conditions today but no seals hauled out on the Seven Sisters made today's seal watch a mystery to be pondered, if not solved. When I arrived almost two hours before an astronomical low tide, I was most surprised to see not a single seal on the exposed rocks. A half dozen seals were bottling and spy hopping in the area, but they would approach the rocks and then leave without hauling out. It was obvious that the seals had been chased from the rocks by some kind of disturbance before my arrival, but watercraft were nowhere to be seen. It was not an especially warm or calm day, and there are not usually any boats around to harass the seals on a Thursday in February. The point was sheltered from the wind and the sun was comfortable; as I sat for a while and watched the swimming seals I wished that I had arrived earlier to witness the seals being chased from the rocks. I did not expect that I would ever know what happened to the seals today, but I was not pleased, as today would otherwise have been a perfect day for seal observation. As I gathered my pack to leave, a steady metallic banging sound rang out from the northwest. A quick inspection with my binoculars revealed a pile driver at work driving big pilings for a dock about one mile away. I have no doubt that this was the reason that the seals were not around today; mystery solved, I left with some satisfaction that I was able to determine why the seals were not hauled out today.
2/5/12 - 26 seals hauled out, 32 degrees, wind NE 10 to 15, Clear 11:10
The cold NE wind kept the seal numbers down and chilled us quickly, resulting in a brief seal watch for us today. The seals that were hauled out did entertain for a short time, but the light for the telescope was poor and it was too uncomfortable to wait for the wind to shift. There were a couple of yearlings on the tall rocks, Linebelly was resting soundly on the pointy rock, and there were no seals hauled out on the mounds or the flat rock when we left about one hour before low tide.
As we were embarking on our seal walk, we noticed a large group of people and dogs assembling at the trailhead. This was apparently a dog walking group who found out about Rome Point and decided to take a hike with their pets. All well and good, but too much of a good thing is... well, maybe not such a good thing. We hustled ahead of the pack and as we hiked through the woods we could hear barking and shouted commands as the hounds were unleashed. We arrived at the point ahead of the dog walking group but we were only there for a few minutes before the peace and quiet of Rome Point was disturbed by at least 15 dogs; most of the carousing canines were running wild and groups of dogs barked repeatedly. While we like dogs very much and enjoy visiting with people walking their dogs; the sheer number of unleashed dogs in one place at one time today was, in our view, not appropriate for a marine mammal nature preserve. On this day with a NE wind and a small number of seals on the rocks, the presence of a bunch of barking dogs on the shore did not have any effect on the seal's behavior, but on days with different wind conditions and more seals around, we have seen dogs on the rampage disturb the seals and chase them from the rocks.
Readers of this journal know that we are protective of the seal's right to rest undisturbed. Dogs and responsible dog owners are always more than welcome; we are not animal control officers and do not mind at all if reasonably well-behaved pets are allowed to roam off lead, but when the seals start feeling uneasy because of dog activity on the shoreline, that will set me to growling at the animal's owners. We ask that if people want to let multiple dogs run free, with associated barking, that they do so down the beach to the south or in the back cove where the dog's barking will not disturb the seals. Everyone who visits Rome Point should be considerate to the seals that reside here; organized groups that let a number of dogs run off-leash would be well advised to get their animals under control before they arrive at the seal watching area, if they wish to retain the privilege to let their pets roam freely. Thanks to everyone for their continued consideration, we love the Rome Point dog show almost as much as we love seal watching, but at this special place, the seal's well-being takes top priority.
2/4/12 - 80 seals hauled out, 36 degrees, wind W/NW 10 to 15, Clear to high haze 10:40
4 seal on far rock for 84 seals total. Many seals were already high and dry when we arrived at 9:00, a full two hours before low tide. I suspect the seals did not have good wind conditions for hauling out for at least the past two days; when the seal numbers increase significantly and suddenly, this often happens following a couple of days of poor weather for hauling out. The local seal population was also boosted today by the arrival of about 10 first year seals; the yearlings usually show up in early January, but they took their time getting here this season. It was a relief to observe a good number of yearling seals, because a variant of the bird flu virus took a toll on young harbor seals last fall. The hauled-out seals were well settled until 10:45, when the seals on the center rocks became anxious for some indiscernible reason and most of the other seals also picked up their heads and started to scan more frequently. About 15 seals in the area of the ridge rock suddenly took to the water as though they were responding to a threat, but there was no apparent reason for the seals to be afraid. Within 5 minutes after these seals spooked, the wind picked up by about 10 mph and shifted direction slightly; perhaps the seals were responding to a blip in the weather that was imperceptible to human observers, as the seal's anxiety response seemed to be too closely coupled to the change in the wind to be a coincidence.
We had continuous good seal viewing until I left at 13:30, even then there were still about 50 seals remaining late into the flood tide. The seals enjoyed an unusually long rest period and certainly appeared reluctant to depart. While we did not see a great deal of interesting individual seal behavior today, this was nonetheless one of the better seal observations that we enjoyed so far this seal season.
1/29/12 - 46 seals hauled out, 38 degrees, wind SW10, Partly cloudy 16:30
A good late afternoon seal watch again, mostly because of all of the nice friendly people we met. The seals had about one half-hour of peak activity around 15:30, then they settled down quickly to a calm, restful state. There were a good number of first time seal watchers around late in the day, but judging by the parking lot and departing foot traffic we encountered on our hike, most people who visited Rome Point today arrived too early in the afternoon to enjoy good seal observation. Those who were fortunate to be out at the point between 3:00pm and 4:30 pm had very good seal viewing opportunities, especially for large adult seals on the flat rock and the right mound.
Late day seal tides allow us to enjoy other wildlife viewing opportunities earlier in the day, and we took advantage of the nice weather to take a couple of bonus nature hikes this weekend. On Saturday we headed out to Sachuest National Wildlife Refuge in search of the elusive Snowy Owl. Snowy Owls are creatures of the arctic realm, but they occasionally make their way south in the winter in search for a feeding ground with less competition for the available food. Snowy Owls have taken on a mythical aura in our family due to their uncommon appearance; when we venture off the beaten path on a Don Quixote-esque nature boondoggle, it is often referred to as "looking for a Snowy Owl". On this day, we were once more unsuccessful in our never-ending quest, as the owl departed a week ago after the snowfall. However, in seeking this rare creature we were treated to other nature delights, including a very good observation of a slinky mink and entertaining views of colorful Harlequin Ducks. We urge all seal seekers to take to the beaches, fields, and forests in pursuit of Snowy Owls as often your busy life will allow; you may never actually see one, but rest assured that your life will be all the richer for the effort.
1/28/12 - 40 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, wind S10, clear to cloudy 16:30
The seals were slow to show with the south wind holding the water up in the bay, but they came on strong about an hour before low tide and put on a good show for late afternoon seal watchers. The light for the scope was good and a steady stream of agreeable onlookers enjoyed fine seal watching right up until daylight faded. Highlights included porpoising seals and a late arriving small seal that scaled the pointy rock most frequently occupied by Linebelly. One seal had a distinct fresh wound on its belly that was almost a perfect semi-circle and on the inside edge of the raw flesh several ragged punctures were visible. We often see seals with wounds on their bodies but we can only speculate how the seals receive their injuries. We can't say for sure how the seal we saw today got that wound, but if ever there was a wounded seal that looked like it was the recipient of a shark bite, that would be the seal we saw today.
1/26/12 - 56 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, wind calm, cloudy 14:30
2 seals at Greene Point and 1 on far rock for 59 seals total. Excellent seal watching for January with calm, cloudy conditions. Calm, cloudy days are much favored for seal observation because the seals often swim and play more on the surface of the bay under calm conditions and overcast days usually provide optimal optical conditions for telescopic viewing. Both of these factors were in play today, making for active seals that could be closely observed with a zoomed-in scope. I managed to watch two seals porpoising repeatedly through the scope; I regularly see jumping seals through my binoculars, but it's a special treat (as well as a trick that takes some observational savvy) to watch these 200+ pound animals go airborne through a 55x zoomed spotting scope. A third factor that played into the breaching seal observations today was the fact that, for the second day running, I had Rome Point all to myself and was not distracted by the presence of other people. I have many opportunities to socialize with other seal watchers at Rome Point, but mid-week in January presents an opportunity of another kind: a chance to make close-up, detailed observations that I cannot conduct on weekends when seal watching takes a turn for the social. I am fortunate that my self-employment allows me the time to take advantage of both solo and group nature observation, and I have come to appreciate the positive aspects of each activity.
Just as I was concluding my seal watch, I spotted a seal frolicking on the surface and decided to shoot some video, taking advantage of the good lighting conditions. I was rewarded with a video of a pair of excellent, forceful tails slaps that resounded across the bay like the reports of a .22 rifle shot. When I got home and played back the video, it was pretty neat to hear that the sounds of the seal's tail slapping the water was clearly audible, providing another tangible reward for my solo seal watch: no conversation in the video soundtrack to drown out a rarely heard sound of nature.
1/24/12 - 45 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, wind variable SW10, to W10, to Calm, S/SE 10 to Calm to SW10, clear 14:45
Seal watching today was one of the most strange and interesting days ever from a seal behavior standpoint. I took an entire page of notes as the seals remained mostly unsettled for nearly all of the 3 1/2 hours I stayed at Rome Point. I can sometimes tell right away that the seals are going to behave unusually, and I got that feeling immediately when several seals hauled out then returned to the water within 5 minutes. The tide was an astronomical low tide so I expected that seals would be hauling out early in the ebb tide, but they seemed reluctant to take their stations on the rocks. By noon there were 31 seals on the rocks and another 5 swimming around; there were swimming seals visible most of the time I was watching seals today. Even the seals that were on the rocks scanned and fussed nervously for much longer that they usually do after hauling out, with occasional coming and going from the center cluster rocks causing sporadic, brief territory squabbles.
There were several characteristics of this day that may explain why the seals displayed such erratic, unsettled behavior. A weak cold front passed through the area, causing the wind to change speed and direction several times. Also, this was one of those days when sound carried exceptionally well; at times you could clearly hear a variety of noises from Quonset Point, Route 1A, Hamilton, and passing aircraft. It was obvious that the seals were responding to the sounds and several times a few seals left the rocks in response to some auditory stimulus; airplane noise does not usually affect the seals, but it did today on occasion. At 12:15 a helicopter buzzed the area at an altitude of only about 500 feet, this scared about 15 seals off the rocks. Finally, a south wind often makes the seals fussy, and when the wind was blowing it had a southerly component.
Of course, fussy seals are often active seals, and active seals are the most interesting to observe. Porpoising, spy-hopping, tail splashing and some social play behavior was observed fairly regularly through the afternoon. The seals on the center cluster had at least 5 vociferous quarrels, and seals on other rocks also seemed to be unusually loud-mouthed and short-tempered, especially considering that their was plenty of space for everyone with only about 40 seals hauled out. It seemed like every rock with two or more seals on it was the scene of at least one skirmish as the afternoon passed.
The best observation of the day was a seal that decided to seize a rock from one very large seal that was already well settled in. The aggressor took a swipe at the resting seal's tail, causing the seal on the rock to raise its tail to a near vertical position. The attacking seal then proceed to jump vertically out of the water again and again, trying repeatedly to deliver a tail bite. Six times the determined seal lunged from the water, several times jumping almost 2/3 of its length in an amazing display of aggression! The seal on the rock held on gamely, hoisting its tail higher to fend off every attempted bite; but in the end the big seal rolled off the rock, allowing its adversary to win the prized haul out rock. Some time later, the big seal returned to the rock and managed to gain a perch on one corner of the rock, ultimately sharing the spot with its vicious adversary.
One unusual aspect of today's seal observation was that, for the longest time, no seals hauled out on the most favored flat rock that attracts the dominant seals of this herd. This happens sometimes on a southerly wind, but not so much when the tide is at an astronomical low level which leaves this rock high and dry. Today, at 14:45 a couple of seals finally hauled out on the flat rock, when they did so, this brought the number of hauled out seals to 45. In almost 500 seal observations I can count on one hand the number of times when the peak number of hauled out seals for the day occurred as late as 45 minutes after low tide; this was an appropriate end to a most unusual day of entertaining seal observation that I will remember for years.
1/22/12 - 37 seals hauled out, 26 degrees, wind Northeast to east 10 decreasing to 5, cloudy 13:00
7 seals on far rocks for 44 seals total. When we arrived there were only about 10 seals hauled out despite the low astronomical tide and all of these seals were wet, indicating that they were swimming only minutes before our arrival. I suspected that the seals were disturbed before we showed up; the mystery was solved when three loud shotgun reports rang out, chasing a few of the seals back into the water. Over the next hour, the shooting gradually abated as every duck within miles was frightened away from the area and seals steadily commenced to hauled out. Today was the last day of waterfowl hunting season so the seals should not be disturbed by gunfire anymore this winter.
The light was very good for telescope observation and the seals posed nicely for several groups of seal seekers who treked out to Rome Point through the fresh snow. The seal count today was conducted by several young girls who were on a seal walk organized by the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Rhode Island. We enjoyed their company and I'm sure they enjoyed their seal watching adventure. We were all fortunate today that the wind died down as it shifted to the east, resulting in relatively comfortable conditions for seal observation that left me scrambling back to the parking lot at 14:30 to catch the kickoff of the Patriot's AFC championshop game.
1/19/12 - 63 seals hauled out, 25 degrees, wind North/Northeast 10, clear 10:45
5 Seals on far rock for 68 seals total. Coldest seal watch of the season with an ice cold easterly wind blowing right in your face. If the wind had been any stronger, it would have been intolerable; as it was I could only look through the scope for a minute at a time before the onset of ice cream headache symptoms. I stayed an hour and got to watch about 20 seals haul out. The seals were vocalizing and their growls could be heard easily with the wind carrying the sounds toward shore. Linebelly was hauled out high atop the pointy rock, seemingly oblivious to the cold wind. The somewhat entertaining seal show was not sufficient to make me oblivious to the cold, so my stay at Rome Point was unusually brief today.
1/9/12 - 21 seals hauled out, 38 degrees, wind South 10 decreasing to 5, clear 13:00
5 seals on far rock for 26 seals total. I was late to the seal party today because I went to check out a dead seal report down in Narragansett. I did located this unfortunate animal, which was not yet significantly decomposed; this medium sized harbor seal did not have any of the lesions characteristic of the recent avian flu outbreak. This makes twice in 3 weeks I have examined a dead harbor seal; hopefully this is one trend that will not continue as the seal season progresses.
By the time I got to Rome Point there were only about 20 seals hauled out, all of the seals were concentrated on the two southern-most rocks. I have no way of knowing if there were large numbers of seals hauled out earlier, but I do know that it is rare to observe large numbers of seals on the rocks for three days in a row, so I was not surprised by the low seal numbers compared to the 90+ seals we observed over the past weekend. I expected this seal watch would be very short, but mother nature had other entertainment in store. Hearing pronounced rustle in the trees behind me, I turned around to be greeted by an especially bold gray squirrel, who proceeded to harvest the berries that were hanging from the vines draped over the trees. All of the easy berries had already been taken, so the industrious tree rat had to perform some extreme gymnastics on flimsy branches to get at the remaining repast. The squirrel paid no attention to me even as I approached within 10 feet, so I shot some amusing video of "Romeo" the Rome Point squirrel for my granddaughter's entertainment. After the gray squirrel finished off the berries it attempted to scale a nearby cedar tree, but was denied access by a feisty red squirrel who laid claim to the cedar as his personal domain. Squirrels are commonly observed, but I must admit that the antics of Romeo and the red squirrel held my close attention for the better part of a half hour.
As I was watching the rowdy rodents, I noticed a number of northern gannets soaring and flapping high above Bissel Cove. The number of birds in flight quickly increased to an estimated 80 gannets; causing me to wonder if there was some reason that I was suddenly seeing all of these birds. I made haste to the shoreline on the back side of Rome Point; looking out over Bissel Cove, I was pleased to spot an immature bald eagle soaring nearby. As the eagle gained altitude and departed to the west, I silently thanked the squirrels; usually squirrels would only draw a passing glance from me, but today these common woodland denizens attracted my attention for some reason and I was rewarded with an excellent eagle sighting that I would not have seen if not for Romeo carrying on behind me.
1/8/12 - 90 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, wind Northwest 10, clear with thin high clouds 12:45
Very good seal observation today with plenty of seals hauled out in good locations for viewing plus much better lighting conditions for the spotting scope. There were 83 seals on the rocks at 10:00, a full 3 hours before low tide. At 11:20 the seals on the ridge rock spooked again very much like yesterday, and again this scared about 40 seals off the center rocks. However, unlike yesterday the big seals on the right mound and the flat rock did not leave. Within 20 minutes all of the seals that were swimming around returned to the rocks, unlike yesterday when a good number of seals left the area after they were disturbed. I am not sure why the seals on the ridge rock have been so jumpy lately, I thought it possible (but not likely) that the large group of observers on shore may have inadvertently spooked the seals yesterday, but I know that did not happen today. Is is also curious that all of the seals came back today, but only half of the swimming seals returned to the rocks yesterday after they were spooked. All of this somewhat unusual behavior is all well and good to observe, but it would suit me just fine if the seals stop spooking inexplicably so often and would settle down and stay put on the rocks for an uninterrupted rest period.
Seals being spooked is not without some benefit to observers on occasion and as luck would have it today was one of those days. Several of the seals that were swimming around decided they wanted to haul out on the already occupied flat rock; this resulted in the most intense territorial behavior that I have seen so far this season. The seals moving onto the the rock from the back definitely cramped the style of the seals already present and over about 5 minutes a contagious mood of discontent spread over the flat rock group. The ill contempt had to be resolved somehow and finally the seals started slapping and biting each other; at one point every seal on the flat rock (about 12 seals) was involved in the fracas. This seal skirmish ended the way most territory battles usually do when two seals had enough hassle and left the rock, making adequate space available for the remaining seals.
The past two days have been notable for the large contingent of seal watchers who hiked out to see the seals on this warm January weekend. It is fair to say that the past two days have seen the most seal seeking families ever to visit Rome Point on a single weekend, at least in my personal experience. Those families and groups who hiked out to Rome Point this weekend to see seals were treated to fine weather and very good seal observation opportunities, but as Rome Point becomes more well known and popular one might anticipate that issues related to parking and access may arise. The parking lot was filled beyond capacity on both days, and the on street parking is along the side of roadway where traffic travels at speed. We are happy to see so many nice families having such a good time on their seal walks, but when it comes to the traffic situation along the road on a busy weekend, we have some genuine concern and we urge everyone to be careful as they make their way to and from the Rome Point trails.
1/7/12 - 93 seals hauled out, 58 degrees, wind southwest 10 increasing to 15, clear 11:30
An interesting January seal watch today with unseasonably warm temperatures inspiring record numbers of seal seekers to make the trek out to Rome Point. 90 seals were hauled out high and dry when we arrived at 10:45, indicating that the seals had arrived in force earlier than usual considering the tide level. I had foreboding feeling that this seal watching was too good to be true on such a temperate January day; this instinctive intuition turned out to be accurate. Early bird seal watchers definitely had the best of the seal show but the large groups of people who showed up around 11:30 were treated to the sight of numerous seals hauled out all over the rocks. At 11:45 a half-dozen seals on the high center rock (hereafter designated "ridge rock" for our future reference) made a splashy entrance into the water. This group of seals has made a habit of doing this recently, and their noisy departure has been scaring other seals off the rocks in a domino effect. This happened big time today in front of about 80 witnesses; I do not believe the large crowd of folks on the shore had anything to do with the seals spooking. However the herd did spook pretty badly when the panic spread, ultimately, about 70 seals took too the water for no apparent reason, including the big seals on the flat rock that are usually unfazed by false alarms.
At noon there were only about 25 seals hauled out, and it took a surprisingly long time for the seals to return to the rocks after they were disturbed. A group of kayaks passed by close to shore, but they were conscientious paddlers who went out of their way not to scare the seals. Slowly, seals returned to the rocks; at the height of the resurgence there were about 60 seals hauled out, including a group that returned to the flat rock to give many observers a good view of large harbor seals. However, this second act of good seal watching was short lived, as a second group of kayakers passed through the area. These kayakers approached from the south and also made a commendable effort not to scare the seals; they were successful except for the big seals on the flat rock that were giving us the best views. After these seals spooked a second time the best of the seal observation for the day was over, but we stayed out to enjoy the beautiful day and the company of the numerous people who selected this day to take a hike out to see the seals. By the time we left at 14:15, there were about 25 seals still hauled out almost two hours after low tide.
There was not a lot of interesting individual behavior to observe today,but as a group the seal's overall behavior was fascinating to attempt to evaluate. There are many factors involved in dictating how many seals are hauled out at any given time, and this was an especially complicated seal watch today. First, the calm wind in the morning coupled with the fact that yesterday was not a good day for seals to haul out resulted in a large number of seals hauled out very early in the ebb tide, considering that the low tide level was not especially low today. The seals must have moved onto the rocks when the rocks were still submerged, as they will do on a calm day. This gave them a head start on their rest cycle; I suspect most of the seals were hauled out 3 1/2 hours before low tide this morning.
Over the course of the morning the wind velocity gradually increased from the southwest, not from the west as was forecast. I have often observed the seal's departure as a south wind builds and I believe the group on ridge rock that triggered the first seal exodus of the day had enough rest and that the increasing wind caused their departure. For some reason many other seals took off when this first small group jumped in the water and made some commotion; it seems that the more seals are hauled out, the more sensitive the entire herd is to being spooked by any perceived disturbance. About 35 seals returned to the rocks after the herd spooked the first time and about 35 left the area and did not return, this tells me that the seals that headed out probably had a satisfactory rest before they left, as there was no continuing threat to drive them away from the rocks. Then you mix in an unusually large group of humans on the shore as well as kayaks passing through the area three times in two hours and you have a recipe for a confused bunch of seals. Notwithstanding all of the strange goings-on today, the seals still obliged us with a good seal show, still, it could have been much better had most of the seals not spooked 1/2 hour before low tide.
1/6/12 - 10 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, wind south 10 increasing to 15, clear 10:45
The stiff south wind was too much for most of the seals today; the number of seals hauled out decreased as the wind speed picked up. The only seals left on the rocks at low tide were a half-dozen big seals on the flat rock. This day was interesting as it illustrated the contrast in seal behavior from last Friday, when the wind also blew hard from the south. Last week the wind was diminishing as the tide ran out and the seals that initially showed the same reluctance to haul out as today eventually took their resting positions as the wind died down. Today, on an increasing south wind, the seals never did settle onto rest mode and left the rocks after a relatively short time as the wind picked up.
It was also interesting to observe about 8 seals swimming in mid-bay in line with the "yellow house" on the Jamestown shore. Seals can usually be observed swimming in this spot, even on days when the weather is not conducive for seals hauling out on the rocks. The seals will often float there with their noses pointing up in the air (bottling) and then submerge periodically for 3 to 5 minutes as if they are pursuing prey. I have always wondered why the seals have frequented this exact location every year; the only thing I can surmise is that there must always be fish in that area to attract seals on a continuous basis year after year. Today I resolved to paddle my kayak out there some calm morning next summer to see if I can get a clue about what is so special about this spot in the bay that attracts swimming seals on such a regular basis.
12/30/11 - 46 seals hauled out, 50 degrees, wind south 15 decreasing to calm, partly cloudy 16:00
Seal watching got off to a slow start with a strong south wind holding the ebb tide up in the bay and generating choppy waves that made the seals uncomfortable. At 14:30 there were 19 seals hauled out, then about half of those seals left the rocks, leaving only a small group of seals on the right mound that, fortunately, were well positioned for viewing. At about 15:30 seal observation improved greatly, with diminishing wind and a late arriving group of about 25 seals providing entertainment for a steady stream of seal seekers. These late afternoon seals were most feisty, displaying a good deal of porpoising and splashing behavior before they settled down to rest. The first two hours of seal watching were not so special, but the last hour made up for the slow start and pleased the seal watchers who showed up late on this unusually warm December day.
12/29/11 - 80 seals hauled out, 32 degrees, wind west 10, clear 16:00
7 seals on far rock for 87 seals total. Excellent seal watching today with light west wind, plenty of seals, and the seals especially active for December. The swans spooked about 15 seals around 14:00 and these seals started carousing in the water after they were disturbed. Several seals were porpoising and tail slapping; one seal jumped out of the water 7 times. The action continued on and off all afternoon as more seals arrived to rest on the late-day low tide. At 1600 a couple of seals were still porpoising while other seals slapped their tails hard on the surface of the water. One seal finished off the day by leaping out of the water four times in rapid succession. The seals finally settled down just as the sun was setting, concluding the most interesting seal watch so far this season.
Today I noted a lot of tail-slapping behavior and made some close observations of this activity through the spotting scope. It appeared that on some occasions the seals were deliberately slapping the surface of the water as hard as they could with fanned-out tails and it seemed to me that this was a purposeful act. I can only speculate about the purpose that this behavior may serve, but it does not appear to be related to any perceived threat, as is the case with tail-slapping beavers. At times I got the vague impression that the seals may have been expressing frustration, especially when they slapped the water in close proximity to hauled-out seals as though they were upset with the resting seals for some reason. Other times the tail slapping appeared to be done in a less forceful, almost half-hearted manner. From now on I am going to pay a bit more attention to splashing seals to observe any clues as to why they sometimes slap the water so aggressively while other times the seals splash more casually.
12/28/11 - 36 seals hauled out, 42 degrees, wind west 15 to 25, cloudy 15:00
A much more interesting seal watch than yesterday, despite the lower than average number of seals hauled out. The seals were more active today, with several seals porpoising as they arrived to take up their stations on the rocks. I was taking a video clip of my favorite seal Linebelly when another seal jumped out of the water in the background; this is the second time I have been fortunate in capturing a jumping seal on video in the past three observations. The photo below shows the jumping seal behind Linebelly on the pointy rock; not the highest jump I have ever seen, but good style points for the nice profile.
In short order, the same swans that spooked some seals yesterday showed up again to work their mischief. Today they scared about 15 seals off of the rocks; the photo below shows the swans swimming past a group of uneasy seals that are eying the swans closely.
After the swans departed, a couple of the seals that were spooked and swimming around put on a brief but very splashy tail slapping display. As the seals settled in to rest mode, I was visited by some especially attentive seal watchers. Chris from Warwick and his two exceptionally polite and interested young seal watching companions kept me company for a half hour and kept a close watch on the seals.The two little girls each took a count of the seals and I was pleasantly surprised when one of girls proclaimed that she counted 36 seals, which I knew was very close to the actual number of seals hauled out. Sure enough, right after they left, I made a count and came up with 36 seals, just as I was told. Most inexperienced adults have a hard time mustering up the concentration to get an accurate seal count on the first try; I was most impressed by both of these young ladies who demonstrated a level of patience and interest in the subtleties of nature observation that I see only occasionally in children so young.
12/27/11 - 42 seals hauled out, 50 degrees, wind south 10 increasing to 15, cloudy 13:00
The south wind served to hold the outgoing tide in the bay and probably contributed to the low number of seals observed today. The best of the seal watching was early in the afternoon, when 3 mute swans approached the rocks and spooked about 20 of the seals. The displaced seals swam in the area for a while and one seal put on a brief porpoising show, but the seals that eventually did return to the rocks took up positions on low rocks where they were not prominently visible. Fortunately the big seals on the flat rock and right mound were not intimidated by the swans and remained for most of the afternoon, providing good views of harbor seals for families who hiked out to see some seals as part of their holiday festivities. The week between Christmas and New Year's Day is one of our favorite seal watching times, as many families visit Rome Point in search of the seals; we were pleased to have the opportunity to share our seal watch today with quite a few first-time seal watchers. Seal observation today was not especially interesting in terms of marine mammal behavior, but the friendly folks we met today more than made up for what was otherwise a below average seal watch.
12/25/11 - 70 seals hauled out, 34 degrees, wind calm to south 5, clear 14:00
4 seals at Greene Point and 12 on far rocks for 86 seals total. A very merry Christmas day seal watch with festive families and restive seals all meeting up at Rome Point for holiday cheer. Good lighting conditions and calm winds, coupled with a spring tide made for interesting seal observation as the seals took advantage of the extra-low tide to settle down for a long winter's nap. This yearling seal and its companion cormorant was perched high atop the white rock all afternoon; more young seals should be arriving over the next couple of weeks.
I was taking a short video clip of the seal pictured below for identification purposes when another seal jumped out of the water in the background.
The seal in the foreground above had a long rest on that rock, but later in the afternoon another seal arrived and attacked him. The resting seal spun around on the rock to fend off the aggressor, but was quickly out-maneuvered and driven from its resting place. The seal in the photo below is the victorious warrior enjoying the spoils of the battle.
There were about 60 seals remaining on the rocks at 15:00 when I noticed the big seals on the flat rock were suddenly alarmed by an intruder I did not immediately identify. Over the course of five minutes, 40 or more seals quickly departed; I finally determined that the guilty culprit was a log that floated past the rocks on the incoming tide. The log was oriented in the water so that two branches stuck up in the air like a pair of antlers so perhaps the seals thought they were under attack by a rogue reindeer; an appropriate end to a memorable Christmas day seal watch.
12/24/11 - 50 seals hauled out, 30 degrees, wind N 10-15, clear 11:45
The cold north wind made for a short but interesting seal walk today. Linebelly was perched high upon the pointy rock and some seals to the left of the center cluster took a high dive off their rock while we were observing them. It was too cold to linger at the point, but the fresh air and exercise was most welcome. We took a detour to check out a dead seal that has washed ashore south of the Rome Point preserve; this unfortunate creature is apparently a victim of the flu outbreak that has claimed a reported 162 harbor seal along the New England coast since September.
12/13/11 - 34 seals hauled out, 40 degrees, wind N/NE 10-15, clear 14:30
Stopped by for a quick seal observation sandwiched between Christmas chores, even though the chilly north wind did not bode well for a good seal watch. Fewer seals were hauled out than we are accustomed to seeing, this commonly occurs when the wind blows from the north. Nonetheless, I did get to visit with several groups of appreciative seal watchers and I enjoyed this brief brisk visit until the wind shifted more to the east; the cold wind in my face brought an end to my seal watch, which was for the best as I had other errands to accomplish. A seal walk for an hour or two is a good way to break up a busy day, and the convenient location of Rome Point makes it easy to fit some fresh air and exercise into a full holiday season schedule.
12/10/11 - 80 seals hauled out, 45 degrees, wind NW 10, mostly cloudy 12:30
The best seal watch so far this season with plenty of seals and lots of interesting behavior to observe. There was even a big male Grey seal bottling in the area for several hours, but this seal never joined his harbor seal cousins on the rocks. We watched as the seals converged on the rocks to haul out 2 1/2 hours before low tide and we observed many characteristic interesting behaviors, including territorial disputes, porpoising, and spy-hopping. The lighting for spotting scope observation was excellent so we were able to zoom in for close-up views; we determined that two seals sported "necklace" scars from encounters with fishing nets
The seal shown in profile below looks like it has a double-chin as a result of a net entanglement injury.
The photo above was taken in poor quality, hazy lighting conditions around 10:00; here is a photo of some other seals taken in better light to demonstrate how the quality of the light affects seal observation and photography.
One seal that showed up late in the ebb tide showed signs of the mysterious illness that has been taking a toll on harbor seals this fall. This seal had two unusual lesions on its left side, was panting, and appeared to be too weak to clamber up on an exposed rock. We will be watching closely for this animal in the future, but I suspect that this seal is in big trouble and we may not ever see it again. At 1315 the fishermen who are "conch" fishing in the area arrived to pull their traps. They have removed the traps that were closest to the rocks so I was hopeful that this activity would not disturb the seals; unfortunately, about 60 of the seals spooked, ending the best of the seal watching for this day. The fishermen did not approach the rocks particularly closely, so I was surprised that the seals were scared away. Only about 15 seals returned to the rocks after the fishing boat left the area, leaving 35 seals hauled out for late arriving hikers to observe.
12/4/11 - 60 seals hauled out, 55 degrees, wind calm, cloudy 9:45
An excellent morning seal watch with calm conditions allowing for good observations of seals swimming on the surface, as well as the hauled-out seals. The hazy optical conditions gradually improved, and some interesting behavior was seen as several late arriving seals were repelled from the already full to capacity flat rock. We encountered several of our long time seal watching friends on our walk, which always adds to the festive holiday atmosphere this time of year.
On a less festive note, there has been increased mortality of young seals documented along the New England coast this fall, with 146 dead seals found along the shore from Maine to Cape Cod thru early November. This is about three times the number of dead seals normally found during the fall migration, accordingly, NOAA has declared an unusual mortality event which allows resources to be directed to monitoring and scientific study of the unusual seal deaths. A dead seal was found down the beach at Rome Point last week; we have reported this sad event to the researchers at Mystic Aquarium. Stay tuned for more info on the seal deaths along the New England coast, we will be posting additional news here when we have a little more time to check out the latest reports.
11/15/11 - 72 seals hauled out, 68 degrees, wind W 10 decreasing to 5, cloudy 15:30
The best seal watch so far this year with many seals hauled out under calm, warm conditions. There was a fair amount of activity, including one large seal porpoising and some territory skirmishes and loud vocalizing in the center cluster area. There were only two other visitors during my time at Rome Point this afternoon, but this friendly mother/daughter couple were fortunate to get a great look at the most seals observed to date this season. There is some commercial activity in the vicinity of the rocks now, it appears to me that "conch" fishermen are setting traps for channeled whelks. The seals tolerated the fishing boat today as it set and pulled a few pots close to the rocks; we will be observing to see how the seals are affected by this activity. Conch fishing is usually discontinued sometime around mid-December, so we hope this potential seal disturbance issue will take care of itself within a month or so.
11/13/11 - No seals hauled out, 55 degrees, wind S 15-25, clear 14:30
For the second Sunday in succession there were no seals hauled out on the mid-afternoon low tide. Strong wind and the presence of a couple of kayaks in the area probably accounted for the lack of seals today; we did observe at least four seals swimming, but none were near the rocks. One seal swam close to the shore and spy-hopped repeatedly to check out the beach so at least we did get a good look at this seal, which briefly exhibited unusual curiosity behavior before departing to the south. Interestingly, there were no other visitors to the point in the 45 minutes we were there, despite the full parking lot. Seals and seal watchers were in short supply today, despite the warm temperature that we are not likely to experience again until spring.
Seal watching was disappointing, but several other creatures obliged us with their presence over the course of the day. On a morning nature walk at Fisherville Brook, we observed a pair of playful otters frolicking in the pond for a good fifteen minutes. Then after dark on our drive home from Jamestown, we spotted a great horned owl looming over some unfortunate prey along the side of the road. Any day which includes otter and owl sightings is a good day in our book; we were more than happy with the wildlife we were privileged to see. With the entire winter seal watching season yet to come there are many good seal days to look forward to; but otters and owls are not so frequently observed, especially both on the same day.
10/30/11 - No seals hauled out, 45 degrees, wind NW 15-20, clear 15:30
The strong north wind was too much for the seals today, we suspected as much before we embarked on our walk, but I was on a mission to gather Asian shore crabs for fishing bait. However, all we got from our walk was refreshing exercise, as the crabs that were under every rock only two days ago have departed to parts unknown. This does not bode well for the fishing prospects either as the tautog have likely followed their favorite meal to deeper water not accessible to me in my kayak. The walk was pleasant enough and most welcome after being shut in by yesterday's early season winter storm, we were fortunate in Rhode Island to be spared the heavy snowfall and associated power outages that befell several neighboring states.
10/28/11 - 45 seals hauled out, 48 degrees, wind NW 10, clear 15:00
Another good early season seal watch with plenty of adult seals lying about in similar positions and locations as earlier this week. Linebelly has returned to his customary perch atop the pointy rock; he was there on Wednesday as well, so it looks like that will be his territory again for this season. Yesterday, I took a close look at some photos from the last two years to review spot patterns and other characteristic markings; this allows me to tell whether specific seals have returned to the same rocks that they occupied in previous years. As I have become more familiar with the individual animals, I have determined that the same seals return to the same rocks year after year. In many cases certain seals show a marked preference for a particular location on a rock and can be found there day after day throughout the seal season. There were at least 10 seals I recognized from the photos hauled out today and observed in places where they have rested in years past. Thanks to Linebelly and his distinctive scar, I was able to discern this interesting behavior, which I have not found documented anywhere in my study of seals. I am going to pay much closer attention to identifying individual seals this year, particularly in the early season when the seals behavior is relatively subdued.
10/26/11 - 52 seals hauled out, 52 degrees, wind calm to SE10, cloudy 13:30
2 seals on far rock for 54 seals total. Good seal watch with well-settled seals in repose under very good lighting conditions. No one else ventured out to the point for the entire two hours when I was there, so it was a quiet, solitary seal watch today. There were light rain showers in the area, so no other visitors ventured so far from the parking lot. I usually appreciate a little company when I'm doing seal observation, but sometimes its nice to have such a special place to oneself. One benefit of having few other people and their dogs around is the wildlife watching in the woods is often enhanced when no one else is around to spook the critters. That was certainly the case today, as I spotted a whitetail doe on the main trail at the bottom of the hill from a distance of about 75 yards. I decided to stalk the deer using fox walking technique I have learned from books authored by renowned tracker Tom Brown Jr. to see how close I could get. The doe kept dropping her head to graze, allowing me ample opportunity to sneak up on her. When I got within 10 yards, I actually thought I might be able to get close enough to touch her; tagging a wild animal in this fashion is an elusive goal for tracking afficianados. Alas, she detected my presence at the last moment, but the deer just walked away calmly, apparently not sure what to make of the strange creature frozen like a statue only yards away.
Other creatures were out and about today, including some wild turkeys close to the point and numerous red and gray squirrels. The highlight of my walk was a close-up view of a great horned owl that silently swooped across the trail right in front of me; the ultra-quiet flight of the stealthy owl is always a treat to see and not hear. This was one of the most memorable walks I have ever had at Rome Point with regard to land mammal and bird observation; while I missed having anyone to shares the seals with today, the benefits of my solitary walk more than made up for the lack of social interaction on this particular occasion. There will be many days when there are lots of folks around to chat with, but a wilderness-type day in a suburban woodland is a special gift to be treasured and remembered for years to come.
10/23/11 - 44 seals hauled out, 60 degrees, wind N 5 to calm, cloudy 12:00 First Seal Watch for Fall 2011
I have been seeing seals on my fishing trips for at least a month, so today we decided to take a walk to see if any of our marine mammal friends would be hauled out to greet us on this fine autumn morning. We had low expectations for success as there still are a lot of recreational fishermen out on the bay on calm October weekend days and the seals haul-out rocks often attract fishermen. We could not have been more pleased to find numerous seals resting comfortably upon our arrival, with the fishing boats congregated in two groups far to the north or to the south of Rome Point. A few kayakers in the area thankfully took care to leave the seals unmolested, so we were able to get good views of over 40 seals settled in and snoozing at low tide under excellent lighting conditions. We recognized at least 8 returning seals from years past by their spot patterns, but I was a bit disappointed that my old buddy Linebelly had apparently not yet joined the party, as the pointy rock he favors was not occupied.
At 1145, a group of 3 kayakers passed through heading south, the paddlers deliberately stayed close to the shore to avoid scaring the seals (thanks again kayakers, whoever you are). The big seals on the flat rock were facing directly towards us and they observed the passing kayaks, this caused these seals to raise up their heads to get a better look in the manner typical of seals on the alert. As I closely observed these seals to see if they would flee, I noticed a scar on the belly of the seal on the left edge of the flat rock. Could it be? Yes it was... Linebelly had returned and chose to take up station on the flat rock where the dominant seals haul out. This year Linebelly has added considerable heft, so perhaps now he can hold his own against the other competitors for the prime flat rock territory. It will be most interesting to observe whether Linebelly chooses to try to make the flat rock his haul-out home this season, or whether he decides to beat a retreat to the pointy rock upon the return of aggressive competing seals, especially the most feisty Guardian who has claimed ownership of the left side of the flat rock for many years.
Out seal watching visit coincided with the noon hour today so not many visitors were around to share our seal watch, as most normal people are having lunch around that time. As we returned to the newly improved parking area (asphalt has been laid to alleviate the craters at the parking area entrance and exit), many visitors were just arriving; we wished we could have stayed longer, but we were determined to work in a kayak paddle of our own. After leaving Rome Point we went on a paddling tour of the Hunt River and were rewarded with an excellent sighting of an immature bald eagle, as well as several red tail hawks and a blue heron. It's hard to leave amazing wildlife to try to see more amazing wildlife and this tactic does not always work out well; on this fall day we were thankful to get in a kayak trip, as days for kayaking in 2011 are numbered, but the seal watching season has only just begun.
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© 2011 Romepointseals.org