By Vladimir Brezina
Last week’s excitement about the East River Dolphin reminded us that we hadn’t seen our old friends, the Swinburne Island seals, in almost a year, since last April in fact. So on Sunday we paddled down to visit them again.
We paddled up to Swinburne Island in what we hoped was a stealthy manner, cameras at the ready.
Unfortunately, with the morning’s forecast of significant winds and, presumably, waves and spray—which in the event did not materialize—I left my non-waterproof DSLR, with its telephoto lens, at home. So both of us were limited to our little waterproof cameras—not really suitable for capturing the details of distant seal heads in the water.
And soon there were heads popping up all around, peering at us with a cautious curiosity. Now and then one advanced daringly close, then immediately crash-dived with a snort and a loud splash.
If you look at the photo above closely (click on it to enlarge), it shows seven seal heads. Altogether, by counting the number visible simultaneously or nearly simultaneously all around, we estimated that there were at least 15 seals around us, although there could well have been many more. There were a few small seals, presumably babies.
As usual, the seals preferred to observe us without being themselves observed. They popped up directly behind our boats and peered at us intently, then immediately dived as soon as we turned around.
As the seals heads rose out of the water in upredictable locations around us for a few seconds before disappearing again, we snapped away in the hope of capturing the decisive moment.
And indeed, in some shots, when we later examined them at home, there were seals in places where we had not even noticed them at the time…
Swinburne Island itself, although clearly hospitable to seals and seabirds, seemed more desolate than on our previous visits, even more empty of the ruins and dead trees that had covered it, probably as a result of the visit of Hurricane Sandy back in October of last year.
Then it was time for some tea on the water, if possible out of the cold wind. We considered rafting up in the lee of Swinburne Island itself, but it was clear that hundreds of gulls would seriously object. We ended up having our tea off the neighboring island, Hoffman, where the local opposition was less intense.
After tea, with the current now turned in our favor, we paddled back to the Verrazano Narrows on our way home.
And, in the shadow of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Nature had a final bonus ready for us—a porpoise (or perhaps another dolphin), calmly surfacing, arching its back, diving again…
It was in almost exactly the same spot where we had observed another porpoise two years ago, in late March 2011. Come to think of it, that previous sighting was the subject of the very first post on Wind Against Current :-)
Together with the sighting of the dolphins and seals in the East River last week, it’s hard not to feel that marine mammals are really coming back to New York Harbor!
Next up, I believe we are ready to encounter at least a medium-sized whale…
Vladimir Brezina (RIP) 
Johna Till Johnson
Wind Against Current 
WONDERFUL RIDE!
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
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Thanks, Francine! :-)
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Can’t blame you for not fraternizing with the sea gulls. That’s a no-win situation! What a lovely tour, fun to see the seals, and to hear of their actions and reactions.
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Thanks! And you are so right about the gulls!!
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fantastic vlad, love to see the seals and marine life returning :)
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There seems to have been a lot of it returning just this past week :-)
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Lovely seals….they just look so cute when they pop up like that, full of curiosity.
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Very cute—it’s sometimes hard to remember that they are actually large, carnivorous animals…
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Yeah, not so cute looking to the fish!
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How cool! Do you know what type of seals they are?
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Mostly harbor seals, although there seem to be also some gray seals, judging by the long shapes of some of the heads in profile…
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It makes me happy to know that area is showing signs of returning. I just read an article late last year ( pre Sandy ) about Oyster’s working to clean up the waters in the NYC area. I’ve wondered what Sandy’s impact has had on that project. Here it is if you’re interested:
http://news.yahoo.com/yorks-environmental-hero-oyster-163717660.html
Thanks for sharing your Seal photos. I enjoy your posts, they make me feel like I’m with you!
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Thanks!
Yes, the oysters have been well publicized recently. They probably survived Sandy, although I understand that some of the incipient wetland projects that were started here and there in corners of the harbor were wiped out…
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Great pics! How cool having them pop up all around you like that! Now you’ll have to go back with the DSLR and see what you can capture :-D
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I did bring it on our last trip, last April, and some of the results are here. But it’s a bit nerve-wracking to use the DSLR under any but calm conditions.
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I can only imagine. I know how nerve-wracking it is for me when I’m photographing loons. And I’m on a nice calm lake. Even then my camera is in a dry bag unless I’m actually shooting. I do have my gear insured though, just in case.
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Also looking through the telephoto lens while sitting in the kayak in waves is quite disturbing, because the motions you are feeling with your body are quite different from those you are seeing through the camera—the two sensory inputs clash. It’s easier if you shut your eyes—but then photography becomes difficult ;-)
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Looks cold, but what a great series of photos with a small camera.
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Thanks! It wasn’t that cold, actually—after all, it is Spring! ;-)
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:)
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Enjoying your photos and trip descriptions very much! What are you wearing under the dry suits to keep warm? I’ve never gone out this early in the year.
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Thanks, Jock!
We usually wear several layers under the drysuits. My main layer is actually a wetsuit—not because it’s a wetsuit, but because it is a warm one-piece garment that doesn’t bunch up. Plus assorted sweaters etc. Sometimes it can be difficult to get it exactly right—on this trip I was too warm at the beginning (although happy to have all those layers once we paddled back into the cold wind). The usual expectation, I guess, is that one will be too hot some of the time and too cold the rest of the time = just right on average! :-)
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Hi Jock,
My default (for what it’s worth) is 2-3 layers:
Top: An ultrathin silk turtleneck (from Land’s End), a Kokotat lightweight synthetic, and a decades-old Norwegian wool sweater that was once washed in too-hot water and is now delightfully dense.
Bottom: An ultra thin layer of thermal undies, then a Kokotat synthetic.
Oh, and hiking socks.
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Wow, I never thought that seals would live in the waters off NYC. Love this post. Thanks for sharing.
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More and more of them each year, it seems :-)
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Great seal shots!
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Thanks, Bonnie!
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I love those guys–the seals, I mean.
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You probably see some on the beaches of Staten Island, too, although they seem to like Swinburne particularly, probably because it’s shallow all around, with good fishing, and because they don’t get disturbed as much there…
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I spent my afternoon yesterday paddling near our local harbour seal colony. I think they see me as the first sign of spring each year. “Here comes that strange thing with the long flappy arms, must be spring!” Again, They watched and followed me for nearly an hour. Love em’. I am taken by the scene of a dolphin against an urban backdrop. Very different from my own encounters with them out here.
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We visit the Swinburne seals throughout the winter, when we get the chance—and in spring they leave, presumably to go back up north. But they are staying longer and longer each year, it seems. Last year they were still here in April, if not later.
We see dolphins all the time in Florida, where they are so common that nobody gives them a second look. But up here it’s different, and everyone is excited to see one :-)
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What wonderful encounters you two have! I love the photos – such curiosity! I particularly like the one of the seal raising itself up out of the water for a better look at you two odd semi-aquatic creatures. And then a dolphin or porpoise on the way home – wow.
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The seals were expected—they are completely reliable at Swinburne each winter. But the porpoise was a nice surprise… :-)
Of course, all this happens only in winter. Once the little motorboats start buzzing about—soon now—all these creatures flee…
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What a neat experience!
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It was—thanks! :-)
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And yet again, an excellent adventure. :-)
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Always! :-)
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That’s so cool! Do you know of any spots for seals on the Hudson River side?
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Hudson River side, as in, further up the Hudson north of NYC? Not really. There are occasionally seals there, but no particular spot for them that I am aware of.
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We live in NJ, not far from Palisades Interstate Park, so I was hoping I could maybe see some without getting into a kayak and going out on the cold water! Thanks. :-)
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Probably your best bet to see them from land is down on Sandy Hook, or some of the other beaches in the Lower Bay. In winter only. See for example here.
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Nice! Guess we’ll have to wait for next year. Thanks for the info!
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Wow! What a fabulous experience. No wonder you kayak in the winter.
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And in the summer! Different experiences, one giving way to the other in its turn, just like the seasons on land do…
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Those seal photos are just beautiful. Such gorgeous creatures. I grew up on the West coast of Ireland, with a seal colony on an island opposite our home. I used to paddle out in my kayak (a very low-tech vessel back then – some 25+ years ago!) to be amongst them. I always thought of them as the puppy-dogs of the sea. Thanks for these beautiful reminders of happy times past!
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So glad to have brought back happy memories! :-)
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Great pics! It’s amazing to be able to see seals so close to the big city…
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It is indeed! In winter at least, there are enough isolated spots for them very close to the city…
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Wow, a great ride! I’ve seen harbor seals from the beach at Point Lookout, Long Island (South Shore). They do have cute puppy-like faces as commenter @1annecasey wrote. And I got to see one more closely in and out of the water at the Central Park Zoo. Never saw a dolphin/porpoise around here: what a thrill! BTW, loved your reference to “the decisive moment,” from Henri Cartier-Bresson, the father of modern photojournalism.
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Thanks, Beth!
The decisive moment: I was wondering if someone would pick up on it! :-) I know Cartier-Bresson meant it in a much more interesting way. Here it just means press the button at the right moment, given that you can’t control the action or even the composition…
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Okay, you photography geeks are waaay too educated for me :-). Vlad and I just saw a Bill Brandt exhibit at MOMA, it’s amazing for this non-photographer to learn what goes into the art of photography…
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