Harbor Seals near Lime Kiln Lighthouse & Trail Islands, plus a pair of Eagles, May 22nd 2007

The male and female Bald Eagles in this picture were observed near the Seals on Trial Island.

The above three images are of Harbor seals spotted near Trial Island.

The harbour seal is the most widely-distributed pinniped, inhabiting temperate and subarctic coastal areas on both sides of the north Atlantic and north Pacific Oceans. Population estimates are imprecise or unavailable for most areas in the harbour seal's range. It is thought however that there may be a total world population of about 400,000-500,000 seals.

There is much variation in the appearance, physiology and behaviour of the harbour seal throughout its wide range. Generally the species hauls out in small scattered groups to breed, moult and rest, although some colonies in protected bays and estuaries can number over 1,000 individuals. Many different types of habitat are used for hauling out, including rocky shores, reefs, skerries, sand and gravel beaches, intertidal mud and sand bars, piers, and, in some places, drifting glacial ice. In general the species seems to prefer protected rather than exposed areas. Suitable characteristics for a haulout site seem to include adequate protection from land predators, direct access to deep water, proximity to food resources, and protection from strong wind and waves. It is thought that the necessity to avoid predators is one of the main reasons that harbour seals prefer to haul out in groups rather than alone.

Harbour seals are opportunistic foragers, feeding on locally and seasonally abundant prey that includes a large number of species of fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Feeding is usually carried out near the shore in water depths less than 200m, individuals diving to fairly shallow depths, usually less than 100m, for short periods of a few minutes. The species is preyed upon in many parts of its range by Transient Orcas (Marine Mammal eating Orcas).

During our morning trip aboard Supercat we were treated to a group of Harbor Seals basking in the sun by Lime Kiln Lighthouse and also at Trial Island. These first three pictures are of the seals we observed near Lime Kiln.