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
30 September 2004—10 March 2026
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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 Jarred Seth, reported by Gazelle / FUN 107
Observation: Jarred Seth observed one seal resting on the sand during a walk near West Beach. The article includes attributed imagery and describes the seal as resting; it does not identify the species.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/8387853
Observation: Three Harbor Seals were photographed on rocks near Woods Hole.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/5672484
Observation: Several Harbor Seals were photographed at the surface around an exposed rock in Vineyard Sound.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19864975; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19864977
Observation: Multiple Harbor Seals were photographed among rocks and coastal water near Woods Hole during one outing.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4262029; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4262026
Observation: Seals were photographed in Vineyard Sound.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19849664
Observation: Harbor Seals were photographed on and near rocks by the water at Woods Hole.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/15133459
Observation: One seal was photographed swimming near Woods Hole.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1071793
Observation: A group of seals was photographed near Red Ledge.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1054579
Observation: A group of seals was photographed near Red Ledge.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1054600; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1054606
Observation: A mixed group of seals was photographed at Lackeys Bay.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1046556
Observation: A group of seals was photographed near Naushon; the observer described more than the usual eight but gave no exact count.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1046557
Observation: A separate group of seals was photographed near Naushon.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/918154
Observation: A seal or seals were photographed on rocks and in water near Woods Hole.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/817243
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. One Grey Seal is swimming. The observer’s note about eight individuals across 2013–14 is not treated as a population or named-individual claim.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2277459
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. The note says remains of a Harbor Seal were found washed up, mostly skin and nails; photograph shows partial decomposed remains. This is retained as a dead-remains encounter and is not described as a live seal.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/192217807
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. Many Grey Seals are hauled out on a sandbar beside the sea; count is unset. An eBird checklist link is secondary context. The photograph is all rights reserved and no media is uploaded.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/817294
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist observation reviewed. Original page note says “Resident Gray seals in Lackeys Bay in 2004”; the current community taxon is Harbor Seal and historical comments disagree, so structured species is intentionally unset. The public map centre (41.501121, -70.702) supports Massachusetts/Martha’s Vineyard.