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Tuesday 12/27/22  41 seals hauled out, 34 degrees, W to SW 5 to 10, clear, 1530. 4 seals on far rock for 65 seals total.

Another good seal day for this holiday week, good seals, good seal watching families, and good light for the scope. We stayed late into the afternoon to watch large, late-arriving seals lumber onto barely exposed rocks. It seems that certain large seals have gotten into the habit of showing up late in the ebb tide and taking up stations on rocks that are slightly submerged. These seals are content to rest while still in shallow water, as opposed to high and dry, as long as wind driven waves do not irritate them. This is just one of the subtle behavior changes that we have noticed after observing the seals for over 20 years. Some seals always behaved this way on occasion, but more seals are definitely doing this more frequently now, and we paused to speculate about what factors may be influencing the behavior pattern shifts that, while subtle, are significant enough to have come to our attention. The behavior described is only one example of the ways seal behavior, as well as other aspects of the natural environment at Rome Point, is gradually changing as the years pass.

Monday 12/26/22  61 seals hauled out, 27 degrees, SW 5 to 10, clear, 1415. 5 seals on far rock for 66 seals total.  

Much improved seal observation today with plenty of seals and friendly seal seekers, as well as good light for the spotting scope. The seals were hauled-out in force early and many of them stretched, scratched, and shifted position repeatedly before they settled down for their heavy rest. At 1425 most of the seals in the center area flushed for no apparent reason, and we got to watch them get re-settled after they determined that there was no real threat present. When the seals return after one of their false alarm flushes, there are generally some territorial issues to sort out, and the sight of the seals hauling out on the exposed rocks always amuses everyone who gets the opportunity to see this through the scope. By 1515 there were 55 seals on the rocks, and most were sleeping soundly as they enjoyed their remaining afternoon naps undisturbed.

Sunday 12/25/22  32 seals hauled out, 27 degrees, SW 15 to 10, clear, 1315. 5 seals on far rock for 37 seals total. 

Another puzzling seal watch today, as the seals gradually arrived a few at a time during the two hours we spent on the beach. We thought perhaps the seals had been flushed before we got there, but I believe it was just another slow seal day for reasons known only to the seals. Usually the day following stormy weather will be a time for the seals to get some much-needed rest, and the seals that did show up generally settled quickly into nap mode as if they were weary. However we were surprised both by how late in the ebb tide that they trickled in one or two at a time, and by the low seal count. Perhaps there are not a lot of seals in the area right now for some reason, or maybe the storm messed up their feeding pattern, but for whatever reason it was a slow seal day. We have not been to Rome Point for about a month, and our most recent seal observations have been relatively unimpressive in terms of numbers of seals and interesting behavioral observations. It will be interesting to see what the seal situation looks like on good weather/tide days this week and beyond, as we will have opportunities to visit Rome Point more regularly as we move into the winter season.

Sunday 11/27/22 - 14 seals hauled out, 55 degrees, SW 10 to 15, cloudy, 1430. A slow developing seal scene today, as the stiff southwest wind held the tide up in the bay. The seals were unsettled, probably due to an approaching frontal rainstorm, and showed marked reluctance to haul out for the second day in a row. In the hour and a half we were there, the number of seals present only increased from 8 to 14, but there was occasional breaching and tail slapping observed, which gave the impression that some seals were frustrated that the rocks were still mostly submerged. We left about an hour before low tide to avoid the rain, slightly disappointed that the Thanksgiving weekend seal watching was not as good as we had hoped.

Saturday 11/26/22 - 1 seal hauled out, 47 deg, NW 10, clear 1400.  5 seals on far rock for 6 seals total. Upon our arrival, we immediately recognized that the seals were just not in the mood for hauling out this afternoon. The conditions seemed fine, but we watched as over a dozen seals approached the rocks, surveyed the situation, and departed. We have seen this before, particularly in the fall, and we believe that the day after a strong cold front passes thru the seals are not as inclined to take their rest on the rocks. But the cold front on this occasion was on the weak side, and the far rock was occupied by resting seals, so today will go down in our records as one of the mysterious days when we have no clue about the reasons for the seals' behavior.

Wednesday 11/23/22 - 68 seals hauled out, 44 degrees, NW 10 to NNW 15, clear, 1215.  8 seals on far rock for 76 seals total. A delightful seal watch today, with enough interesting seal observation to hold our attention for almost 4 hours on the Rome Point beach. The light for the scope was excellent for high magnification close-up viewing, and with the moderate breeze the seals were more active today than they were on Sunday. We recognized more seals that have returned this season, including 3 seals that were perched atop the rocks we call the "twins". These seals are now are a bit older and larger, with more distinctive markings that we were able to discern and recognize. There was a small seal on the pointy rock that has a wound on its belly that will be easy to identify as we watch to see whether it can hold onto its resting rock if the larger seal that was hauling out here last year returns at some point. We also recognized several additional seals, including one with a double net entanglement scar and an especially fat seal that habitually arrives late in the tide and hauling out on a semi-submerged rock that does not require much effort to climb onto.

When wildlife watching you never know what you are going to see if you pay attention and after all this time the seals continue to surprise us. Today our surprise came in the form of a unique aggressive behavior which we were fortunate to witness because we are always attentive when we hear the seals vocalizing. Upon hearing a few feral growls, our attention was drawn to an agitated seal that appeared to be defending its resting rock from an as yet unseen marauder. Suddenly the attacking seal leapt out of the water at a right angle to the seal on the rock and delivered a flipper slap directly to the face of the surprised seal. We have seen seals in the water lunge at seals on rocks many times to bite or poke at seals whose rocks they want to take, but never before have we seen an a flipper slap thrown by an airborne seal. The seal on the rock plunged its face into the water while remaining on the rock, which is a common defensive maneuver that probably served to ease the sting of the face slap as well. About 30 seconds later the seal in the water made a second pass in a similar fashion, but this time the seal on the rock was wiser and managed to avoid the extended left front flipper. Having had enough, the seal on the rock took to the water, where we believe that these sorts of territorial squabbles are sometimes settled underwater out of our sight. Later, one of the seals got onto that rock and the other seal hauled out on a nearby rock, but we were not able to ascertain which seal ultimately won this battle.

Shortly after noon, the wind picked up and shifted a bit to the north, which caused us to move into the shelter of the trees. The seals on the taller, more exposed rocks sometimes are less tolerant of a gusty wind, and at 1225 about 20 seals on the twins and on the ridge rock flushed. Only a few of these seals left the area, and as they resettled this triggered a round of mild territorial skirmishes. We had nowhere else to be this afternoon, so we enjoyed hanging out and chatting with other seal watchers for a while. At 1405, a single kayaker approached the rocks and flushed all of the seals but one; at the same time a sailboat flushed the seals on the far rock as well. As we departed, we paused for a moment of silent gratitude for this day in nature, while recognizing that free days watching wildlife and socializing with like-minded nature enthusiasts have become less frequent for us over the past several years. We treasure these times more than ever now, and look forward to all of our winter nature explorations with a renewed sense of anticipation and thankfulness.