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
13 March 2009—15 February 2025
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17 of 443 reports
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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.
350 of 443 reports mapped · 19 places
New England Six-state outline
Reported places Detail of outlined region
Mapped places North to south
- Eastern Maine12 reports
- Bangor Waterfront1 report
- Downeast Maine / Acadia51 reports
- Midcoast Maine41 reports
- Casco Bay / Portland16 reports
- Southern Maine13 reports
- Seacoast / Isles of Shoals6 reports
- Massachusetts North Shore30 reports
- Boston Harbor / Charles River13 reports
- Holyoke / Connecticut River1 report
- Outer Cape Cod40 reports
- Plymouth / South Shore12 reports
- Lower Cape Cod47 reports
- Mid Cape Cod6 reports
- South Cape / Buzzards Bay17 reports
- Rhode Island coast17 reports
- Martha's Vineyard4 reports
- Connecticut coast15 reports
- Nantucket8 reports
Places without a map point · 93 reports
Broad or unreviewed public locations remain available in the archive.
- Barnstable County10 reports
- Barnstable County waters1 report
- Barnstable County, Massachusetts3 reports
- Brothers Island4 reports
- Bunker Ledge1 report
- Cape Cod3 reports
- Cape Cod / Barnstable1 report
- Cape Cod National Seashore1 report
- Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts1 report
- Cape Cod, Massachusetts1 report
- Hancock County2 reports
- Hancock County, Maine1 report
- Jeffreys Ledge1 report
- Knox County1 report
- Lincoln County2 reports
- Long Island1 report
- Maine coast3 reports
- Maine coastal island, public place only1 report
- Massachusetts coast1 report
- Massachusetts coastal waters1 report
- New England44 reports
- New Hampshire coast, exact site unspecified1 report
- Newport County1 report
- Plymouth County1 report
- Sagadahoc1 report
- Southeastern Stellwagen Bank area1 report
- Washington County1 report
- Washington County, Maine1 report
- West Brother Island1 report
- York County1 report
Map: Natural Earth.
Reports over time
Select a year, then a month. Counts describe published reports; one animal may appear in several reports.
Grouped by each record’s archive date. Approximate dates keep their original labels in the records below.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified ratgirl33 — iNaturalist
Observation: Photographic observation identified on iNaturalist as harbour seal (Phoca vitulina).
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Date:Reported: Unidentified parsingphase — iNaturalist
Observation: Photographic observation identified on iNaturalist as harbour seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina).
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/26800464
Observation: One Grey Seal was photographed swimming near Narragansett.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9910505
Observation: Harbor Seals were photographed hauled out on a small rocky islet in Narragansett Bay.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2711880
Observation: Six Harbor Seals were photographed near Rocky Point.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/282115830
Observation: A Harbor Seal was photographed on a rock near North Kingstown.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32675317
Observation: A Grey Seal was photographed on a rocky shore near Newport; its condition is uncertain.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/8316222
Observation: One seal was photographed near Sachuest Point.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/27004396
Observation: One seal was photographed near Misquamicut.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/887710
Observation: A Grey Seal was photographed near Moonstone Beach.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/35227221
Observation: A seal was photographed near Newport.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/533565
Observation: A juvenile Harp Seal was photographed on a dock near Warwick Cove.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/58739
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. Observer notes describe about 18 harbor seals hauled out at John H. Chafee Nature Preserve, while the photograph shows only a subset; structured count remains unset. No photo uploaded.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/67541350
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. One live Harp Seal is on a riverside sandy bank and the source has an Alive annotation. The displayed clock is omitted because it is inconsistent with the location.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3892080
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photographs reviewed. Seven photographs show the same one seal on coastal rocks. The observer initially called it harbor seal, then withdrew that identification after a diagnostic head-shape discussion; current consensus is grey seal.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/149506832
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. A group of harbor seals is on a low rock; exact count remains unset.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/37615
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. A group of harbor seals is hauled out on offshore rocks; exact count remains unset.