CRESLI Seal Walks and Research at Cupsogue
The seals walks over, but our monitoring continues. Stay safe, wear a mask, maintain social distance, and let the science guide you.
By: A. H. Kopelman, PhD
We at CRESLI regret to announce that out of an abundance of caution and prudence, all CRESLI seal walks will be canceled. Stay well, stay healthy, help each other and we will get through this.
Over 24,982 seal encounters at Cupsogue since 2006.
Join us to observe, photograph, and learn about our Long Island's seals.
CRESLI seal walks will take place between November and May. Please note that weather will play a significant role in determining the seal walk schedule. Please call CRESLI at (631) 319-6003 for schedule changes and cancellations. The walks are approximately 1.2 miles round trip and take about 1 to 1.5 hours. These walks are suitable for children.
Please be prepared for the weather, i.e., wear warm clothing in layers. Hats, gloves, warm waterproof shoes are recommended, as are cameras and binoculars. Check the weather for Westhampton Beach and assume that the winds will produce wind chill. It’s better to be a more-on, than a less-on, i.e., having more layers than you need is the right thing.
2019-2020 SEAL SIGHTINGS AT CUPSOGUE with photo links
| Date | Status | Type of trip |
| Saturday, November 23, 2019 | 5 Harbor seals swimming
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Saturday, December 7, 2019 | 90 harbor seals hauled-out on main sandbar, including some old-timers back for their 16th year
| SEAL WALK |
| Sunday, December 8, 2019 | 70 seals seen at 8:30 AM were spooked off the haulout by a slow moving vessel within 2 minutes. By the time we arrived at 10:00 only about 10 were seen swimming
| SEAL WALK |
| Monday, December 17, 2019 | 96 harbor seals hauled-out on main sandbar,
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Saturday, December 21, 2019 | 103 seals were hauled out on the main sandbar during an early monitoring session, but once again had been spooked off the haulout while we were away. When we arrived at 10:00 only 8 hauled out rocks. PHOTOS UNAVAILABLE | SEAL WALK |
| Sunday, December 22, 2019 | 113 harbor seals were hauled out on the main sandbar during our early monitoring session. Unbelievably, yet again, they had been flushed from the haulout by the time we returned 2 hours later.
Surprisingly, we found 30 seals hauled out on a distant sandbar northeast of the usual haulout (secondary haul-out site). With patience, we were ultimately watch 30 additional harbor seals haul back onto the main haulout site!
| SEAL WALK |
| Tuesday, December 24, 2019 | 127 harbor seals were hauled out on the main sandbar
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Sunday, January 05, 2020 | 102 harbor seals were hauled out on the main sandbar
| SEAL WALK |
| Friday, January 10, 2020 | 25 harbor seals hauled out on their secondary region of the sandbar, utilized when disturbed from the main area
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Sunday, January 12, 2020 | 73 harbor seals (70 on seals were hauled out on the main sandbar and 3 on rocks)
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Saturday, January 18, 2020 | 87 harbor seals (78 on seals were hauled out on the main sandbar and 9 on rocks)
| |
| Sunday, January 19, 2020 | 64 harbor seals (61 on main sandbar and 3 on rocks)
| SEAL WALK |
| Wednesday, January 22, 2020 | 137 harbor seals (130 on main sandbar and 7 on rocks)
Prior to a seal walk for the Saxon Middle School of Patchogue, @DrArtieK photographed and took video of 137 harbor seals hauled out (130 on the sandbar and 7 on the rocks) at Cupsogue. With the school group, we stopped at the newer parking area just to get a glimpse of the seals from a distance. We watched in disbelief as an airplane (C-FBKB of Kenn Borek Air Limited) flew over the seals and spooked all into the water. The plane continued to fly over the area repeatedly and we were able to get clear photos to send to the authorities
| SEAL WALK FOR SAXTON MIDDLE SCHOOL (PATCHOGUE) |
| Friday, January 24, 2020 | 17 harbor seals (12 on rocks and 5 in water)
Prior to this seal monitoring session, @DrArtieK noticed a guy in a wet-suit eastward down the road to the parking with his dog (light colored lab). Dr. K. had a bad feeling that the seals were gone. The man got in his car and drove down to the area where we take people to view seals, he loaded his paddleboard and drove past. Of course the seals were not on the sandbar and about 12 were on the rocks with about another 5 swimming. Dr. K. didn’t see him spook the seals, but knew he had done so (he's done it repeatedly).
Harassment is defined by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) essentially as any action that causes a marine mammal to significantly alter its behavior. Folks, if you ever see someone purposefully or regularly causing harassment, please try to capture it on video and contact me (ahkopelman@cresli.org). I will share with you the contact information for NOAA Fisheries and NYSDEC Police enforcement agents.
We are so lucky to live in a place where we have 19 species of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) and 5 species of seals (pinnipeds).
Let's share the waters with them in peace.
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Sunday, January 26, 2020 | 105 harbor seals on main sandbar
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Sunday, February 02, 2020 | 157 harbor seals on main sandbar
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Saturday, February 08, 2020 | 31 harbor seals hauled out during a monitoring session prior to the scheduled seal walk. These seals were exceedingly nervous and most appeared to have recently left the water. The behavior was most-likely the results of prior harassment. 20 harbor seals were hauled-out when we arrived later for the seal walk
| SEAL WALK |
| Sunday, February 09, 2020 | 60-80 harbor seals hauled out during a monitoring session prior to the scheduled seal walk. Just before we were ready to document the haulout with photos, a single-engine propeller plane flew south of the haulout area just over the ocean. The moment these seals heard this plane in the distance, all of them jumped into the water. Once again, this behavior was most-likely the results of prior harassment by the same aircraft. 16 harbor seals retuned to the sandbar 25 minutes later. 1.5 hours later, 6 harbor seals were eventually found swimming near the near-shore rocky haulout area during our seal walk after 25 minutes after we arrived.
| SEAL WALK |
| Monday, February 10, 2020 | 78 harbor seals on main sandbar
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Wednesday, February 12, 2020 | 133 harbor seals on main sandbar
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Sunday, February 16, 2020 | SEAL WALK | |
| Monday, February 17, 2020 | 177 seals (176 harbor seals and 1 juvenile gray seal) hauled out during a monitoring session prior to a scheduled seal walk for Stony Brook University MAR395. Once again, a single-engine propeller plane flew south of the haulout area just over the ocean. The moment these seals heard this plane AGAIN in the distance, all of them jumped into the water.
This time we were able to capture the plane's # and though social media were able to find out whom to contact regarding the plane owners and the flying school who's training flights have been causing the seals to flush. We hope that theyv are able to effect changes in where or when they fly.
| SEAL WALK for Marine Mammals Research Techniques course at Stony Brook Southampton |
| Saturday, February 22, 2020 | 138 harbor seals hauled out
| SEAL WALK |
| Sunday, February 23, 2020 | 110 harbor seals hauled out
| SEAL WALK |
| Monday, February 24, 2020 | 124 seals (123 harbor seals and 1 juvenile gray seal)
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Thursday, March 5, 2020 | 201 seals (200 harbor and 1 juvenile gray) prior to a walk for the Greenport Elementary School 5th grade.
Amazingly there were 218 seals (217 harbor and 1 juvenile gray) when we arrived
| SEAL WALK FOR GREENPORT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 5TH GRADE |
| Saturday, March 7, 2020 | 30 harbor seals
Wild, windy, and high water levels
| SEAL WALK |
| Sunday, March 8, 2020 | 182 seals hauled out (1 gray seal and 181 harbor seals) prior and during our seal walk. Once again, as we watched, a private vessel got too close to the seals and 94 seals were spooked into the water. Come one folks, we can do better.
The incident was captured on video and the vessels ID # was sent to the authorities for violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
| SEAL WALK |
| Sunday, March 16, 2020 | 30 seals swimming
| SEAL MONITORING SESSION |
| Sunday, March 18, 2020 |