New York’s fin-est
A seal watching tour spots our unexpected neighbors right in the Harbor
The American Princess cruise ship is just shoving off from Riis Landing in Rockaway Park when Capt. Tom Paladino spots a peregrine falcon perched atop the Marine Parkway Bridge.
“Peregrine falcon at 3 o’clock!” he calls over the loudspeaker.
Some of the 100 passengers on deck train their cameras and binoculars on the endangered bird, but most are waiting to see the tour’s star attraction: the harbor seals. They’re not disappointed. The vessel kills its engine about 30 feet offshore from Swinburne Island, a man-made islet south of the Verrazano Bridge.
Small, puppy-like heads begin popping up out of the water.
It takes a moment to realize that they’re seals.
“You wouldn't think that you could see seals in New York City,” marvels Jude Alfaro, 39, from Inwood, “but apparently we have all of this wildlife. It’s really cool.”
A white harbor seal suns itself on a rocky shoal, while a larger, lumbering gray seal swims into a nearby cove.
“Every day is different,” says co-captain Jack Goldstein, 75. “You never know what you’re going to see.”
The passengers are also treated to another peregrine falcon on this trip, and flocks of native birds like black crested cormorants, countless gulls and ruddy ducks.
Paladino added the nature cruises to his ferry’s tours three years ago as aquatic wildlife continued reclaiming a revitalized New York Harbor.
“The seals are an indication species for us,” explains Jon Dohlin, director of the New York Aquarium.
“They were gone for many, many years from these waters, and because of population protection north of here, and also because of the increasing health of these waters, we’re starting to see more and more of them in local waters during the winter.”
Seals aren’t the only flippered friends returning to the harbor.
“Ten years ago, we’d go out and see three or four whales a year,” says Paladino. “Now we can see that many in a day. The sightings have been remarkable.”
He says his passengers have spied seals on every single trip during the last three years.
He estimates they’ve seen whales and dolphins more than 80% of the time.
“The crew was telling us about whale and dolphin tours,” says Anna Kleyler from Long Island, enjoying the view with Allison, her 16-month-old. “I would go to those, too.”
American Princess Cruises leads winter seal tours through mid-april, catching the creatures by the deserted Swinburne and Hoffman Islands, which used to hold quarantined immigrants, or in Jamaica and Sandy Hook bays.
The 95-foot vessel ventures toward the ocean waters during the summer for whale and dolphin watching along the Rockaways and Jersey Shore.
New York Water Taxi also offers seasonal NYC Audubon
Ecocruises that seek seals in the winter and waterfowl like herons and egrets in the summer, but American Princess Cruises has so far cornered the local market on aquatic mammal tours.
“I imagine this industry will grow,” says Paladino.
“This has been very successful in New England, and now New Yorkers get to see the whales and dolphins and seals without leaving home.”
He had a boatful of satisfied customers on his most recent cruise.
“How neat is this?” asks David Wheeler, a New Jersey writer working on a book about New York wildlife. “It’s beautiful out here, and we got some great pictures.”