Long on my list of "that might be a fun thing to do" or me just being curious about the local environment, was to go on a Seal Watching Cruise on Long Island's south shore Hempstead Bay.
The first cruise of the 2013-14 season was Saturday, December 28th, on one of Capt. Lou's charter fishing boats out of Freeport. I signed up. Connie took a rain check on this adventure.
Sponsored by the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, we set sail at 1 pm on a beautiful winter afternoon. There were a dozen marine naturalist along as our guides, as well as dozens of school age children plus parents and the curious like me.
It wasn't long before we spotted these Harbor Seals off of the north side of Jones Beach, east of the inlet and west of the Wantagh Parkway.
We were told the seals come south from Canada and New England each November through April following the fish that make up their diet. Hempstead Bay affords the seals protection from sharks and recreational boats...
The Wantagh Parkway Bridge in background.
The new Freedom Tower (World Trade Center) looms in the distance, in foreground is a Bay House.
From time to time we would see a seal jump like a porpoise!
The seal and the sun had to be just in the correct spot to capture a good photo.
Click, with your mouse, on any of these photos to enlarge them.
jpk 1/4/14
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