Tag Archives: harbor seals

This Year’s Harbor Seal Fix

We are in Massachusetts for Thanksgiving, arriving here before the Nor’Easter, and settling in for a snowy day or two.  We are just inside the snow line and will likely get 3-6 inches of heavy wet snow.

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This morning, I took Penny out in the truck to do some pre-storm birding. It was raw with a wind out of the north but we had several hours before the cold rain started. We stopped at nearby Lake Attitash and saw some Mute Swans and Buffleheads before retreating back to the truck.

Salisbury Beach State Reservation is one of my favorite birding spots since unlike Parker River NWR,  I can bring the dog along. Today, I even got a new life bird — Northern Gannet #411 — a bird I have missed a number of times. Four were actively feeding far out to sea this morning, plunging into the icy water for food.  Fun to watch.

Other highlights of the morning for me were Horned Larks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Eiders, Northern Mockingbirds, and Great Black-backed Gulls.  Then I headed over to the spot where each year, we see the Harbor Seals.  As I noted last year:

Named common seal throughout Europe, this seal frequently observed around Long Island lives along the shores of eastern Canada, New England and in the winter, as far south as the Carolinas in a variety of habitats. Their scientific name loosely means “sea calf” or “sea dog.” This latter nickname is well suited as these seals closely resemble a dog when their head is viewed at the surface of the water.

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These photos were shot through my spotting scope with the iPhone 5.  Hope to get back and see them again with Mary before we leave the area.  Happy Thanksgiving folks.

Harbor Seal Spotting


Every fall and winter, harbor seals come into the Merrimack River. They congregate just opposite to the campground -they are very much a local attraction — to campers and day visitors to Salisbury State Park Reservation.  Mary and I drove over today to see them as the tide was receding.

Named common seal throughout Europe, this seal frequently observed around Long Island lives along the shores of eastern Canada, New England and in the winter, as far south as the Carolinas in a variety of habitats. Their scientific name loosely means “sea calf” or “sea dog.” This latter nickname is well suited as these seals closely resemble a dog when their head is viewed at the surface of the water.

“Hey Guys, stop loafing and get to work. The fish are running.”

They were out on the rocks, lying with their heads and hind flippers elevated in a “banana-like” position. They were “talking” to one another and enjoying the fall cloud-filtered sunlight.

A Great Black-backed Gull posed as we watched the seals.

While harbor seals don’t do the tricks of the seals at Sea World, it was delightful to see them in their natural habitat, feeding, playing, and resting. Nice images to take back to a pending Vermont winter.