Where are the Seals?
When are seals at Rome Point?
Seal Watching Tips
Watercraft and Drones
Contact RomePointSeals
Seal Observation Forecast:
Monday April 28, 2025 We wrapped up our seal watching season over the past couple of days, as most of the seals that have been hanging out for the winter have moved on, and we are now directing our time and attention to all manner of Spring activities. Spring brings many opportunities to enjoy nature in a variety of ways, but at the end of each seal season we are ever so grateful to be able to share this wonderful nature experience everyone all winter. We have received an extraordinary number of positive comments about the Rome Point Seals website this season, another reason we are brimming with gratitude as we conclude our 25th year of seal watching at Rome Point.
This time last year, we had no idea how events yet to come in 2024 and 2025 would affect our life, but through the joy and sadness, we could always rely on a day of wildlife watching to keep us grounded, invigorated, and aware of our place in the grand scheme of nature. This is the gift that mindful nature observation blessed us with long ago, and it is out fondest hope that in some small way our time on the beach and words on this website may pass this gift on to others, even if only for a moment. We hope to see you again in the Fall, and we wish everyone fair winds, calm seas, and safe journeys. Good Luck to All!
We are posting only the most recent observation notes now, right here on the Home page. A picture is worth a thousand words, so scroll down to check it out!
Recent Seal Observation Notes:
Monday April 28, 2025 Last seal watch of the Spring 2025 season. 28 seals hauled out, 70 degrees, Clear, N5 to SE 10+, 14:30. 2 seals on far rocks for 30 seals total. We found ourselves in the North Kingstown area on this beautiful afternoon, so we decided to take our last seal walk of the season. As it turned out, the seal watching was nothing special, and there were no other visitors to socialize with during our time on the beach, but we enjoyed a relaxing picnic in summer-like conditions. The seals were scattered about the shorter rocks on an astronomical low tide and we did not recognize a single seal, which is a sure sign that the Rome Point winter residents have moved on to their summer habitats. At one point when the wind had calmed and the sun was bearing down most warmly, a number of seals took to the water and then hauled out again, in a manner suggesting they were taking a dip to cool down.
We noticed that a lot of the seals were small, so we took a closer look and counted 13 yearling harbor seals plus one Grey seal pup. It was good to have such a sizable yearling count, as these first year seals have become uncommon among the wintering population. We have known for years we were seeing fewer yearlings than we used to see, and we long suspected they may have been over-wintering in more southerly waters. Our juvenile seal count today tends to support that theory, but we can't even venture a guess as to why this is happening. It's great to see a good showing of harbor seals that were born in 2024, and this observation made an otherwise nondescript seal watching day well worth the time invested.
As we concluded our last seal watch of the season, we paused in our customary manner to look back at the seal season in retrospect. This season of the seal ranks as best seal observation we have enjoyed in recent years. There were consistently a lot of seals around, harassment events were infrequent, and we enjoyed outstanding seal watching from mid-March through early April... the best since 2018. The only downside to this season was the poor weather on the weekends during the 3 weeks when the seal watching was at its best, which robbed many seal seeking families of their opportunity to see the big seal show.
As we departed today, our gaze fell upon the red chair that mysteriously showed up back in November and miraculously remained intact and available for us to use all season. And use it we did, as it is a good quality, comfortable camping chair... so good in fact, we took the photo below when we endeavored to purchase one just like it for our personal use. It turns out that it is a Kijaro brand chair, and we now own one that will be making its debut on our upcoming camping trip to Yellowstone. The days when we could stand on the Rome Point shore for 5 hours on a good seal day without a respite have passed us by, so the red chair stands as a symbol of the gratitude we feel for all the blessings, the great, the small and the comfortable, that were bestowed upon us over the course of our 25th seal watching season at Rome Point.
Sunday April 27, 2025 - 38 seals hauled out, 54 degrees, mostly cloudy, NW 15 to 25, 13:00, 3 seals on far rock and 2 at Greene Point for 43 seals total.
Saturday April 19, 2025 - 35 seals hauled out, 63 degrees, mostly clear, some high haze, SW 15 to 20+, 17:30
Thursday April 17, 2025 - 66 seals hauled out, 57 degrees, clear, W 10 to 20 15:30 1 seal on far rock for 67 seals total As we expected, a lot of seals moved out of the area during the weekend full moon tide cycle, but seal observation at haul-out time today was still pretty good. Fewer seals means a lot less territorial behavior, and the west wind had a chilly bite to it that seemed to mellow out the seals and other wildlife as well. A sign that the seals are on the move is that juvenile seals and expecting moms-to-be take center stage, and we spotted well-posed representatives of both of these seal categories this afternoon. When the light improved, we could not resist taking a few photos for posterity as this seal season approaches its end.
First up are the yearlings, who traditionally gather on the tall rocks just to the right of the white rock. The young seals shown below have been in these same spots for the past three weeks, mainly because these rocks are less desirable for larger seals who can choose to displace the small seals if they wish. There were more juvenile seals gathered here earlier, but we think the brisk wind and abundance of available rocks enticed some of them to move to more comfortable spots.
One of the young seals that moved off the tall rocks ended up on the pointy rock today, displaying good balance as it maintained this position on a windy day.
The haul-out rocks looked like a harbor seal maternity ward today, as many expectant moms were in clear view with no crowd around them to block the view. Take a look at these big-bellied beauties! We have long wondered whether the offspring of the pregnant seals we see here make Rome Point their winter home when they grow up.
We have noticed that certain seals favor particular positions on their rock, and the seal shown below is one that likes to assume the same profile as the rock. This seal is well camouflaged when it lays in this position, invisible to the unaided eye and hard to see even with good 10x binoculars.
Monday April 28, 2025 We wrapped up our seal watching season over the past couple of days, as most of the seals that have been hanging out for the winter have moved on, and we are now directing our time and attention to all manner of Spring activities. Spring brings many opportunities to enjoy nature in a variety of ways, but at the end of each seal season we are ever so grateful to be able to share this wonderful nature experience everyone all winter. We have received an extraordinary number of positive comments about the Rome Point Seals website this season, another reason we are brimming with gratitude as we conclude our 25th year of seal watching at Rome Point.
This time last year, we had no idea how events yet to come in 2024 and 2025 would affect our life, but through the joy and sadness, we could always rely on a day of wildlife watching to keep us grounded, invigorated, and aware of our place in the grand scheme of nature. This is the gift that mindful nature observation blessed us with long ago, and it is out fondest hope that in some small way our time on the beach and words on this website may pass this gift on to others, even if only for a moment. We hope to see you again in the Fall, and we wish everyone fair winds, calm seas, and safe journeys. Good Luck to All!
We are posting only the most recent observation notes now, right here on the Home page. A picture is worth a thousand words, so scroll down to check it out!
Recent Seal Observation Notes:
Monday April 28, 2025 Last seal watch of the Spring 2025 season. 28 seals hauled out, 70 degrees, Clear, N5 to SE 10+, 14:30. 2 seals on far rocks for 30 seals total. We found ourselves in the North Kingstown area on this beautiful afternoon, so we decided to take our last seal walk of the season. As it turned out, the seal watching was nothing special, and there were no other visitors to socialize with during our time on the beach, but we enjoyed a relaxing picnic in summer-like conditions. The seals were scattered about the shorter rocks on an astronomical low tide and we did not recognize a single seal, which is a sure sign that the Rome Point winter residents have moved on to their summer habitats. At one point when the wind had calmed and the sun was bearing down most warmly, a number of seals took to the water and then hauled out again, in a manner suggesting they were taking a dip to cool down.
We noticed that a lot of the seals were small, so we took a closer look and counted 13 yearling harbor seals plus one Grey seal pup. It was good to have such a sizable yearling count, as these first year seals have become uncommon among the wintering population. We have known for years we were seeing fewer yearlings than we used to see, and we long suspected they may have been over-wintering in more southerly waters. Our juvenile seal count today tends to support that theory, but we can't even venture a guess as to why this is happening. It's great to see a good showing of harbor seals that were born in 2024, and this observation made an otherwise nondescript seal watching day well worth the time invested.
As we concluded our last seal watch of the season, we paused in our customary manner to look back at the seal season in retrospect. This season of the seal ranks as best seal observation we have enjoyed in recent years. There were consistently a lot of seals around, harassment events were infrequent, and we enjoyed outstanding seal watching from mid-March through early April... the best since 2018. The only downside to this season was the poor weather on the weekends during the 3 weeks when the seal watching was at its best, which robbed many seal seeking families of their opportunity to see the big seal show.
As we departed today, our gaze fell upon the red chair that mysteriously showed up back in November and miraculously remained intact and available for us to use all season. And use it we did, as it is a good quality, comfortable camping chair... so good in fact, we took the photo below when we endeavored to purchase one just like it for our personal use. It turns out that it is a Kijaro brand chair, and we now own one that will be making its debut on our upcoming camping trip to Yellowstone. The days when we could stand on the Rome Point shore for 5 hours on a good seal day without a respite have passed us by, so the red chair stands as a symbol of the gratitude we feel for all the blessings, the great, the small and the comfortable, that were bestowed upon us over the course of our 25th seal watching season at Rome Point.
Sunday April 27, 2025 - 38 seals hauled out, 54 degrees, mostly cloudy, NW 15 to 25, 13:00, 3 seals on far rock and 2 at Greene Point for 43 seals total.
Saturday April 19, 2025 - 35 seals hauled out, 63 degrees, mostly clear, some high haze, SW 15 to 20+, 17:30
Thursday April 17, 2025 - 66 seals hauled out, 57 degrees, clear, W 10 to 20 15:30 1 seal on far rock for 67 seals total As we expected, a lot of seals moved out of the area during the weekend full moon tide cycle, but seal observation at haul-out time today was still pretty good. Fewer seals means a lot less territorial behavior, and the west wind had a chilly bite to it that seemed to mellow out the seals and other wildlife as well. A sign that the seals are on the move is that juvenile seals and expecting moms-to-be take center stage, and we spotted well-posed representatives of both of these seal categories this afternoon. When the light improved, we could not resist taking a few photos for posterity as this seal season approaches its end.
First up are the yearlings, who traditionally gather on the tall rocks just to the right of the white rock. The young seals shown below have been in these same spots for the past three weeks, mainly because these rocks are less desirable for larger seals who can choose to displace the small seals if they wish. There were more juvenile seals gathered here earlier, but we think the brisk wind and abundance of available rocks enticed some of them to move to more comfortable spots.
One of the young seals that moved off the tall rocks ended up on the pointy rock today, displaying good balance as it maintained this position on a windy day.
The haul-out rocks looked like a harbor seal maternity ward today, as many expectant moms were in clear view with no crowd around them to block the view. Take a look at these big-bellied beauties! We have long wondered whether the offspring of the pregnant seals we see here make Rome Point their winter home when they grow up.
We have noticed that certain seals favor particular positions on their rock, and the seal shown below is one that likes to assume the same profile as the rock. This seal is well camouflaged when it lays in this position, invisible to the unaided eye and hard to see even with good 10x binoculars.
© 2008-2025
Romepointseals.org