Roche Harbor Seals

Harbors can be fun places to hang out this time of year. You wouldn't think you would see much in the way of wildlife, but you might be surprised. Washington is known to be a place where people flock to harbors and their boats during the summer months to enjoy the fleeting sunny weather and comfortable temperatures. However during the winter that all changes. Kids go back to school, people go back to work, and summer vacation time is over. Not to mention the weather becomes more disagreeable with more rain, dark clouds, high winds, and occasional snow flurries. As a result, harbors become ghost towns - shadowy reminders of what the bustling summer months might have been like. Or are they really ghost towns...?

My time spent out at Roche Harbor for the past several weeks has proved to be very busy indeed - but the harbor is not full of people. It's full of 4 to 6 foot-long finned critters. Yup, I'm talking about harbor seals. And it's not just a few here and there. It's dozens and dozens of seals of all shapes, colors, ages, and sizes. I noticed this year that there is a very high abundance of small bait fish in the harbor. And while I've tried scooping a few out of the water to see what they are, I have yet to figure out the species. That point aside, as you might have guessed, any large abundance of food (in this case, small fish) is going to attract predators (the seals and all manners of marine birds). As I work away the day, I always know when the seals are near because suddenly there will be oodles of gulls swarming around above. My favorite of the gulls has to be the Bonaparte's gull:

They are so dainty and beautiful and I love watching them swoop low to snag a fish. All the gulls will emit their characteristic maniacal cackles when there is food to be had. And if I look out into the water, I will see them - sometimes up to 15 seals traveling together and cooperatively hunting a school of fish. It's almost as exciting as watching the whales swim by the west side of the island! Instead of "HERE COME THE ORCAS", it is now, "HERE COME THE SEALS!" At first all the seals will be at the surface. Some of them will be swimming right-side-up while trying to catch their breath and some of them swim up-side-down so they can catch their breath, but can still keep a close eye on where the fish are going. When they are all at the surface, you hear the collective "poof hee, poof hee, poof hee" of their breathing for a few minutes before they all dive down again to continue the hunt. Here is a short video I have taken this past week so you can see all the antics for yourself! Enjoy!