harbor seal – Page 2

The World of Water

Ours is a world of water but not so much as theirs, particularly on days of water above and below. You should have seen the smile on my face when the rain really started chucking it down as I watched the harbor seals frolic in the surf. Water defines so much of what I love about the Pacific Northwest, the lush greens of the forests, the snow on the mountains, the waterfalls, the seasonal ponds, the wetlands, the mountain streams, the rivers, the oceans, the tide pools. All the animals therein. I’m trying to soak it in while I can in case I end up in a world still defined by water, but by its absence rather than its abundance. But I’ll love photographing those places too, I learned long ago to focus on what you love about where you are rather than what you miss about where you were.

📷: Canon 7D II | Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM + 1.4x III
🗓️: October 7, 2017

Whiskers and Claws

The dramatic pose of this stretching harbor seal shows off the claws on each of the toes of its flippers, as well as the network of whiskers that help it navigate its environment as it swims.

Wave Rider

Don’t Look Back

Harbor seals use multiple techniques to slip past these waves, wave after wave, as they play and feed just offshore in the Pacific. I spent hours watching them and could have spent days, it’s mesmerizing how naturally they move about this environment.

A Bed of Tide Pools

While I was watching a larger harbor seal that was perched nearby, this smaller one climbed up onto higher ground for a little extra rest as the sun rose, before the incoming tide took away even this, its bed of tide pools.

Trixie by the Seaside

The mottled coloring of this harbor seal at Yaquina Head reminded me of our tortoiseshell cat Trixie, who I would see shortly, as this was the last day of my short trip to the coast.

Too Hard! Too Hard!

The play of these two harbor seals may look aggressive, but much like seeing puppies play, looks can be deceiving. These two played in the surf for quite some time as the tide came in.

Crash Around Me Waves, You Won’t Ruin My Mood, Not Today

Pop Up

A harbor seal pops up in the surf to take one last look at me before swimming away in the gentle surf at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon.

Bottom of the Pecking Order

This young seal was at the bottom of the pecking order when it came to places to perch and rest, occupying the first place to get covered by the sea as the tide rolled in. This particular wave though didn’t dislodge the little one and it was able to hold its position until the rock was submerged. When I was growing up we had our own bottom rung: the dreaded middle seat in the station wagon, the one with the big transmission hump in the floor where your legs should have been.