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
5 February 2010—9 April 2023
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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 Seacoast Science Center, reported by SeacoastOnline
Observation: The Marine Mammal Rescue team reported the initial sighting of a young male harbor seal near Swasey Parkway. Later Exeter and Durham reports were identified as the same animal and are not separate records.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Max Sullivan, SeacoastOnline / Portsmouth Herald
Observation: A harp seal was seen moving along an iced-over creek and basking in a Hampton neighborhood. The report says the resident first noticed it Monday morning.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/7385368
Observation: Many Grey Seal heads were photographed in a line in the water near Star Island.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/67717281
Observation: A group of seals was photographed near Appledore Island.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6205975; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6205976
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist pages and photographs reviewed. Nearly identical rock scenes each show one dark seal; these are grouped as one outing because the same animal is possible. Source IDs disagree between Grey and Harbor Seal, so species and count remain unset. No photo uploaded.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70398106
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. A distant seal is visible. The page header says harp seal, but observer and commentary dispute that identification and suggest harbor seal; structured species and count remain unset.