Guide

Go seeMammals

Harbor and gray seals resting on the Massachusetts coast

November to April

Harbor seals, and some gray seals, haul out of the water to rest on rocks, ledges, sandbars, and beaches along the Massachusetts coast. Harbor seals are mostly cold-month visitors to southern New England shores, and most tagged on Cape Cod moved to Maine for spring and summer.

Why this time of year

Harbor seals are in southern New England waters through the cold months, so a coastal walk with binoculars has a real chance of finding a few resting out of the water.

How to notice it

  1. Pick a coastal spot with rocks, ledges, a sandbar, or a beach, and scan the water's edge with binoculars for dark, rounded shapes lying out of the water.
  2. Stay at least 150 feet (about four school bus lengths) away, keep dogs back too, and never feed or approach a seal. Use binoculars or a phone zoom, and keep your watch to about 30 minutes.
  3. If you find a lone pup on a beach, leave it alone and keep people and pets away. A mother seal can leave her pup alone for up to 24 hours while she feeds. To report a seal that looks distressed, call the Northeast Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding and Entanglement Hotline at 866-755-6622.

Try this with kids: Can you spot a seal resting on the rocks? Count how many you see from our safe line, about four school buses long.

Phrase to know: “Haul out” means to leave the water and rest on land.

Safety

  • Federal law (Marine Mammal Protection Act) makes it illegal to feed or harass wild seals.
  • NOAA recommends staying at least 50 yards (150 feet) away by land or sea, and keeping pets away.
  • Do not approach a seal pup alone on the beach; its mother is probably feeding nearby.

Sources

  • content.govdelivery.comNOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic bulletin: stay at least 150 feet (about four school bus lengths) from seals and keep pets away; do not feed; normal for a mother to leave a pup alone on the beach up to 24 hours; Marine Animal Hotline 866-755-6622.
  • fisheries.noaa.govNOAA Fisheries: illegal to feed or harass wild seals; observe from at least 50 yards (150 feet) by land or sea.
  • fisheries.noaa.govNOAA Fisheries species page: harbor seals haul out (rest) on rocks, reefs, beaches; range includes eastern North America coast; observe from at least 50 yards and limit time to 30 minutes or less.
  • navymarinespeciesmonitoring.usUS Navy marine species monitoring, Narragansett Bay (RI) haul-out study: seals present November 2015 to April 2016; highest counts February and March.
  • complete.bioone.orgNortheastern Naturalist abstract: 75% (9/12) of harbor seals tagged at Chatham MA moved to the Maine coast in spring and summer for pupping, breeding and moult.
  • fisheries.noaa.govNOAA Fisheries: gray seal pupping surveys in January at colonies in Massachusetts and Maine; harbor seal pupping in Maine late May to early June.
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon IBA page: Monomoy and South Beach is one of the largest haul-out sites for gray and harbor seals in the Northeast.
  • fisheries.noaa.govNOAA: Northeast Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding and Entanglement Hotline, (866) 755-NOAA (866-755-6622).

Checked against these sources on October 2, 2026.

In the guide for November, December, January, February, March, April

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