Yes, it certainly was Cloudy on this bitter cold day at Lincoln Park. Hotline Operator Susan called at 8:20 am with news of a pup just north of Colman Pool. A woman pointed the seal out to First Responder Lynn, who immediately started building a large perimeter using the signboards and stakes she lugged along the trail to the site. As volunteers arrived, they helped stretch tape and moved stakes with the rising tide. The young seal turned out to be Cloudy, the weaner that FR Robin responded to yesterday at the same spot. Several beach-goers stopped by to say they had noticed the pup as early as 7:30 this morning.

Scheduler Jonel contacted volunteers Bob, Jay, Melinda, Dave, Suzanne, Victoria, Susan, Carol and Lori, who helped out throughout the day. While Cloudy napped, we watched orcas, eagles, sea lions and sea birds out in Puget Sound. At 3:30pm, Cloudy suddenly awoke and scooted into the water, maybe joining another harbor seal seen foraging nearby. The perimeter was dismantled and everyone headed out.

As Lynn was walking out of the park, a man caught up with her and said a seal had just hauled out in front of the pool! Lynn dug out her binoculars from under a tangle of yellow tape and searched, but it was too dark to see. Volunteers Karen and Gordon arrived at the park just as volunteers had left, managed to find the seal and stayed with it for awhile. Seal Sitters’ policy is that volunteers leave the remote park at dark for safety reasons. We are not sure if it was Cloudy or another pup.

Kudos to Lynn for putting in such long, cold hours. All of you certainly get Cloudy's seal of approval for your work today!

Tags: Cloudy

A harbor seal weaner came ashore three different times today. At 2:15 pm, Hotline Operator Larry received a report of a seal at Lincoln Park, south of Colman pool, on the beach “across from poison oak” sign. The location was exactly on point. First Responder Robin arrived just in time to see the pup crawl toward the water, rest a minute or so and swim off. No one was around, except for a fisherman who waded out into the water about 25 yards to the north. His presence might have spooked the seal.

After waiting about 20 minutes and checking the beach north and south, there was still no sign of the seal. Robin gathered the stakes and signboards and made the long trek back up the hill from the beach to the south parking lot. Just as she had packed up and was getting in the car, Larry called again. The weaner seal was back, of course, now directly across from pool. This time, Robin ditched the stakes and mallet and just grabbed the signboards and walked back down the trail.

There was a handful of people standing quietly on the sidewalk, watching the pup only about 20 yards away at the tideline. The weaner, estimated to be 4-6 months old, turned and went back into the Sound about 1/2 an hour later. Once again, Robin waited another 20 minutes or so and scoured the nearby shoreline, but turned up nothing. Just as she started to leave, someone further down the path to the north caught her attention and signaled that the pup was back onshore in yet another spot.

Once again, the seal stuck around only about 30 minutes before swimming off, literally into the sunset. It was quite dusky by then. A nice woman from Romania and Robin hung out together, chatting and waiting to see if the little rascal would return. As darkness fell and with no silvery seal in sight, they walked together out of the park.

WEANER KEEPS RESPONDERS ON THEIR TOES
On Tuesday, the 21st, a weaned seal kept Seal Sitters responders hopping. Early in the morning, Hotline Operator Larry received a call that there was a seal at Don Armeni public boat launch. First Responders David and Eilene arrived promptly, but all three cement ramps were empty. They did some snooping around the area and discovered a weaner seal in the rocks, just north of the ramp, facing the downtown Seattle skyline. They quickly set up a perimeter and spotting scope. Scheduler Jonel did a great job lining up volunteers after First Responder Lynn sent out a "seal on the beach now" message to our volunteer base.

Volunteers were able to talk with the brave souls who ventured out in the dreary weather, distributing stickers to kids and info handouts to adults. Steam could be seen rising from the young seal’s body in the bitter cold. As the public ooh-ed and ahh-ed, he yawned and stretched his flippers, regulating his body temperature (photo above). He moved lower down on the rocks with the outgoing tide, but as the tide returned mid-afternoon, the seal slipped off the rocks and disappeared into the water. Volunteers were sent home after 15 minutes with no seal in sight.

About 5 minutes later, Larry called with a report of a pup on the northern-most boat ramp. Fortunately, Eilene and David were still near Don Armeni, so were able to quickly respond. The seal was quite skittish and returned to the water shortly after their arrival.

At 2:50pm, they noticed the weaner swimming toward the same spot and he/she hauled out a few minutes later. The seal spent a short time on shore before returning to the water around 3:00. Eilene walked along the edge of the park and spotted the young seal hauling again out on the same rock as in the morning.

Buzz helped out during the day and Lynn dropped by. Kersti from Whale Scout also stopped for a peek and suggested the name Gobble in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Gobble returned to the water around 4 pm again due to the high tide. Everyone stayed awhile, checking all the rocks and the boat ramp, but didn’t see Gobble again and left for home.

Tags: Gobble