Susan Kirby

Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) spend half their time in the sea and half on land. They "haul out" onto rocks to rest during the day, and that is what I have had the opportunity to see them do off the shores at Staten Island and Queens.

I consider the harbor seal videos to be a form of meditation. The first video, 4-3-2-1 Harbor Seals on a Rock, was filmed March 16, 2023, and has no music, but instead the sound of the bay and some seal barking. Several hours were spent on Staten Island on March 6, 2023, watching harbor seals sunbathing and fighting over very limited space to haul out. The third video below shows the very vocal spat over valuable New York City real estate, while the second, longer video (with music) shows the bickering but also the exquisite joy these seals experience as they seek out every last second of sun.

There were three seals hauled out on January 21, 2023, near Mount Loretto Unique Area, two on one rock and the third by himself on a second rock. A fourth seal was swimming around, trying to join the others on a rock, but the three were having none of that. The fourth seal then tried to get on a third rock, but it apparently wasn’t a good rock for seal sunbathing.

The photos below were taken on January 10, 2023, from the beach of Mount Loretto Unique Area as two seals hauled out on the rocks at low tide.

Christmas Seals 2022

Before Christmas 2022, I was able to watch a seal hauled out on a rock near the Mount Loretto shore on November 26. I made one video, part of the Christmas in New York 2022 series.

Seal Therapy

The seals have returned to Staten Island and other beaches in 2021 (I just missed by a half hour two hauled out at Point Lookout on Long Island on January 8). I find watching seals so delightful and relaxing that I journeyed two hours to Mount Loretto on Staten Island on January 10. I was not disappointed. Five were sunning, and seemed as interested in those of us on the beach as we were on them on the rocks.

I have added music to the Seal Therapy video, all the better for relaxation while viewing: Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet No. 6 in B Flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6, performed by Belcea Quartet and obtained from MusOpen.org, a royalty-free music source.

These seals were seen at Mount Loretto Unique Area on Staten Island in 2021.

The seals in this slide show were photographed on January 10 at Mount Loretto.

A Place (or Two) in the Sun

March 7, 2020, near a beach on Staten Island. Fuzzie is sunning on a small rock, enjoying a windy, cool day. Around Fuzzie, wanting a place on the rock and in the sun, circles Smoothie, going round and round and round until finally, despite Fuzzie's protestations, a spot is found. Sunning, stretching, yawning, waving flippers, until the tide comes in. First Smoothie is forced by the higher tide to leave the rock. Fuzzie holds on and on, until the last moment, and then goes under water. You can watch a bit, or all, with music (if you're in the mood for Mozart) or muting it and just taking in the sight

13 Is a Lucky Number (for Me)

I was so blessed on February 21, 2020, to see 13 harbor seals near Mount Loretto Unique Area, six on one rock, and two each on two other rocks, plus three swimming around (a seventh tried to get on the crowded rock, but was slapped away). Oh, the real estate in New York is so dear! I was able to shoot with two cameras, so filmed a lot of the action.

Five Seals on Two Rocks, Taking in the Sun

January 21, 2020, was a lovely day for seals at Mount Loretto Unique Area on Staten Island. There were three seals on one rock, and two seals on another. One seal seemed to have a large gash on the back, but that didn’t seem to bother the animal as the water started rising and the seal went under.

The video is set to music by Bach.

Sunbathing Seals on Swinburne Island

Gotham Whale does a seal-watching cruise on the American Princess in late March and April, departing from Riis’s Landing in Queens and circling the Swinburne and Hoffman Islands near Staten Island, where seals haul out on the rocks surrounding the artificial islands. These photos are from the cruise I joined on April 6, 2019.

Also present was a lone gray seal, and since I haven’t yet created a gray seal page, here are some photos. This is not the Loch Ness Monster!

Five’s a Crowd

When I visited the beach at Mount Loretto Unique Area on March 26, 2019, I got to see three seals on a rock as they were joined by a fourth seal. Apparently that was all those seals thought the rock could hold, because when a fifth seal tried to join them, the seal was rejected and circled the rock trying to join them. There are photos and a video!

This video was filmed on March 26, 2019, and lets you see the delightful antics of the harbor seals while listening to Bach.

This slide show is from March 26, 2019, off the beach on Staten Island.

I spent an afternoon with a harbor seal off the beach of Mount Loretto Unique Area on Staten Island on March 9, 2019. The seal inspired a video set to music by Mozart, and lots and lots of photos.

This video was shot on December 9, 2018, when I saw three during my walk on the beach. I included it in the Christmas in New York 2018 series, because they made me so jolly!

I had the opportunity to see seals on November 18, 2017, and January 31, 2018, off the beach at Mount Loretto Unique Area in Staten Island. I saw more seals on February 6 and 15. There are two videos, which are very relaxing to watch!

These magnificent marine mammals are one of many reasons to work hard to clean up our oceans and to fight the deadly climate change we face on our planet. To honor these seals, I've put together a video set to music by Borodin and Johan Strauss II.

These harbor seals are shown "hauling out," but they can sleep underwater for up to two hours. They eat fish, shellfish and crustaceans. They are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, but there are so many threats to them in the wild. These first shots are from Mount Loretto Unique Area, Staten Island, February 15, 2018.

These shots are from November 18, 2017.

These photos are from January 31, 2018. The harbor seals are so expressive, and were as aware of me as I was of them. I spent about 45 minutes watching them from a rock. At one point I looked down to change a camera setting. When I looked up, the rock was bare and I couldn't find them again.