Where to see harbor seals on the Sonoma Coast

It’s spring, and people are making their way to the coast. At Goat Rock Beach, where the winding freshwater Russian River meets the thumping blue Pacific surf, visitors can stroll across a wide expanse of sand and view a variety of marine wildlife, including a crowd of irresistibly cute round faces and plump torpedo-shaped bodies sunning along the riverbank.

The photogenic gathering is Sonoma County’s largest colony of harbor seals. Up to 40 or 50 adults haul out daily onto the sand of the river mouth near Jenner to rest and warm up and mingle.

And, beginning now, from March to June, that sandy spit will become a rookery, a semi-secluded spot where the next generation of seal pups will be born and spend a few weeks nursing in their mothers’ care.

The mothers and babies are an endearing, magnetic sight for human visitors seeking a closer look or photo, according to Adam Ratner, associate director of conservation education at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin. The seals look like cuddly, lovable animals. But human attention also can be lethal for the newborns, he says.

Unlike California sea lions, which haul out on rocky outcrops offshore, the smaller harbor seals give birth on the beach, which makes them potential prey for coyotes and other land animals. As a result, harbor seals are skittish and highly sensitive to having their rookery disturbed.

From the seals’ perspective, approaching humans and their dogs pose a potentially deadly threat. Come too near, and the seals will scatter to the water. Threaten them too frequently, and they’ll abandon the site entirely, and even leave their pups behind. The abandoned pups, too young to make it on their own, will starve.

The Marine Mammal Center, which rescues and attempts to save marine animals along 600 miles of California coastline, has taken in 18 abandoned harbor seal pups from Sonoma County in the past three years, Ratner says.

Too close?

Part of the California State Parks’ mission is to allow the public access to enjoy and experience California’s wildlife. But how close is too close?

When it comes to the harbor seal, Ratner says, “If the animal raises its head or acknowledges your presence, you’re too close.”

Fortunately, because human visitors may not be aware of the risk they pose, the seals also have attracted a small army of volunteers who turn out each spring to try and protect the rookeries for the babies.

The Seal Watch volunteers program at Goat Rock Beach is managed and supported by the nonprofit Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods. Launched as an informal community effort in 1985 by Dian Hardy and other activists concerned about visitors and dogs harassing the seals, local Watch teams now train and set up perimeters on beaches at pupping time each year, to safeguard the seal habitat.

“Current law requires staying at least 50 yards away at all times,” says Gregory Armstrong, point person for the Stewards’ Seal Watch program. Federal protections, passed in 1972, make it illegal to disturb, molest or harass marine mammals.

Seal Watch teams now gather along the coast at rookeries from Sonoma Coast State Park to Fort Ross, Salt Point State Park and Sea Ranch to help keep visitors at a safe distance — close enough to observe the seals without disturbing them — while offering information about the seals’ unique life and behavior.

There’s also a pullout on the bluff above Goat Rock Beach just north of Jenner which offers a bird’s-eye panorama of the coast and river, and the rookery just below.

Amazing creatures

Seals are warm-blooded, air-breathing mammals, and long ago they shared a common ancestor with dogs and bears. Today they’re perfectly evolved to be at home in the water.

“Pacific harbor seals are smaller than California sea lions and elephant seals that live along the North Coast, and they spend about half their time on land and half in water.” Ratner explains.

Their diet is mainly small fish. According to studies, they can dive to 1,500 feet for up to 40 minutes, although their average dive lasts three to seven minutes and is typically less than 200 feet.

“Harbor seals are great swimmers and divers, but not so graceful on land,” where they get around by scooting on their bellies, Ratner notes. They haul out on secluded rocks, beaches and sand spits to warm up, rest and recover their oxygen levels. Unlike humans, seals exhale before diving, to avoid swimming with lungfuls of buoyant air. Instead, they rely on the oxygen dissolved in their blood and replenish that oxygen ashore.

With big eyes and almost pug-like snouts, the harbor seal has fur that’s characteristically sleek and mottled, either gray with black spots or black with white and gray spots. Before they’re born, pups have white fur, which they lose before birth. White pups in the rookery mean they were born prematurely.

The pups typically weigh 15 to 24 pounds at birth, and uniquely are able to swim at birth. They’ll nurse for up to three months before fending for themselves.

Kayakers in the Russian River near the river mouth are often surprised to discover a harbor seal trailing them in the water.

“All marine mammals have their own personality,” Ratner says. In the water, where they are masters of their element, harbor seals can be highly curious, often approaching behind kayakers, “bottling” or “periscoping” vertically with their heads above water to observe them.

Volunteers wanted

Armstrong says the Seal Watch program is currently seeking interested volunteers for this season, and information can be found on the Stewards of the Redwoods website (stewardscr.org). Part of the training the volunteers receive is what to do if they spot injured or abandoned pups.

Ratner advises that if you see a wounded, sick or abandoned seal, make a note of its location, but do not approach or attempt to help it.

Note whether the animal is isolated from other seals for extended periods, especially pups. Just because a pup is alone does not necessarily mean it’s been abandoned, Ratner stresses. Mother seals are frequently, but temporarily, away fishing and will return. Standing close to a seal pup may actually result in it being abandoned by its mother.

Note any open wounds — holes or gashes; dry, crusty eyes; or if the animal is extremely thin, with loose folds of skin around the neck. If so, contact the Marine Mammal Center hotline (415-289-7325), which is available 24 hours a day. If staff determine a marine mammal requires assistance, they will dispatch volunteers to bring the animal to the center’s state-of-the-art hospital and recovery facility in Sausalito.

The Marine Mammal Center rescues between 80 to 100 animals a year who have been impacted by human interaction, Ratner says, primarily elephant seals, harbor seals and California sea lions.

The Sonoma Coast offers a wealth of opportunities to experience wildlife and natural beauty. With care, the Seal Watchers say, it will still be here for generations to come.

Stephen Nett is a Bodega Bay-based Certified California Naturalist, writer and speaker, with local nature stories at findingcalifornia.com. Contact him at snett@findingcalifornia.com