New England · 2000—2026
Grey and harbour seals
Seals around New England.
Follow public seal observations from New England. Browse published records, explore the places and stories behind them, or share an encounter with the Seal Watch team.
- Total reports
- 443
- Latest observation
Public reports · newest first
Public records archive
4 April—3 December
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Explore by place
All placesMarkers group reports by reviewed names in their public locations, not exact sighting positions. Circle size reflects report counts. Select a place to filter the archive.
61 of 86 reports mapped · 14 places
New England Six-state outline
Reported places Detail of outlined region
Mapped places North to south
- Eastern Maine4 reports
- Downeast Maine / Acadia9 reports
- Midcoast Maine7 reports
- Southern Maine1 report
- Massachusetts North Shore6 reports
- Boston Harbor / Charles River6 reports
- Outer Cape Cod6 reports
- Plymouth / South Shore3 reports
- Lower Cape Cod9 reports
- Mid Cape Cod3 reports
- South Cape / Buzzards Bay2 reports
- Rhode Island coast3 reports
- Connecticut coast1 report
- Nantucket1 report
Places without a map point · 25 reports
Broad or unreviewed public locations remain available in the archive.
Map: Natural Earth.
Reports over time
All datesSelect a year, then a month. Counts describe published reports; one animal may appear in several reports.
Months in 2016
Grouped by each record’s archive date. Approximate dates keep their original labels in the records below.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4685148
Observation: One Harbor Seal was photographed with its head above the water in Middlesex County waters.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/47635816
Observation: One Harbor Seal was photographed with a fish in Boston Harbor near Charlestown.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Mike Squires / Boston Duck Tours and Pat Greenhouse, reported by Steve Annear — The Boston Globe
Observation: One seal was seen lounging on a dock by a Boston Duck Tours captain; a Globe photographer also saw it near Paul Revere Park and the dam locks. The report says it was unclear whether the wider set of Charles River sightings involved one or more seals.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Jennifer Lea / New England Aquarium, reported by Boston 25 News
Observation: One grey seal pup was resting on Nantasket Beach; the New England Aquarium said it was not stranded.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Charles River Swimming Club
Observation: A Boston harbor seal was reported basking on the Union Boat Club dock. This may overlap with other April Charles River reports; no individual identity is established.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Museum of Science / Kristi Palma — Boston.com
Observation: The Museum of Science reported that an educator photographed a seal paddling near the building. The source does not identify its species.