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Apparently, there are these places called haul-outs that harbor seals use to get themselves up on to the beach. They hang out and warm themselves in the sun in order to regulate their body temperature. If I'd known about haul-outs before my walk, I would not have been quite so surprised when I just about tripped over a harbor seal pup sunning himself on the beach at Discovery Park.
Discovery Park might be my favorite city park. The walk down to the beach goes across the west side of an open meadow, along the edge of a sandy bluff, down through the trees, and on to the driftwood strewn beach where there's a pretty little lighthouse that's still operational. The views in the park are stunning and even the old military buildings are attractive. Mount Rainier presides to the south, and the Olympics to the northwest. Some days, like today, the light does a trick that makes it look as though the mountains are right in town. Puget Sound was peppered with sailboats and ferries and the occasional freighter. A group of birders, binoculars at the ready stood near the bluff with a park ranger who had a chart with bird pictures. The air smelled like spring and salt as the wind blew in from the south. It was a fine day for a walk down to the beach.
He was a little guy about the length of my arm. He was stout in the middle and while I know his teeth and claws were probably really sharp, he was as cute and cuddly as a puppy. I wanted to pet him. I wanted to pick him up and take him home to live in my bathtub. I wanted to make him salmon sandwiches. I wanted, at least, to roll him back in to the water, but he looked very comfortable, having selected just the right rock to support his fuzzy speckled head.
He was napping in the sun. I thought he was just another rock that had tumbled loose from the breakwater. I came to a full stop when, just as I was about to skip over him, he moved his head. I turned back to Knox and pointed down. We took a seat on the rocks about three feet away from the pup. He stretched his fins and rolled around a little and went back to napping. He was neither interested or afraid, which made us pretty sure that he was just a baby, as he didn't know any better than to get himself away from us.
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| Knox on the bluff. |
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| Looking down from the lookout towards the beach and lighthouse. The Olympics are on the horizon. |
We weren't the only ones taking advantage of the fine spring morning Another hiker snapped a few photos of our beached companion and promised to call a ranger when he got back up to the car. Everyone who walked up stopped to coo, but we all kept our distance (though not as much as we probably should have) and left him alone. I felt pretty good about leaving him there in the company of my fellow Seattle residents, everyone seemed to know to stand back a bit. And all of us, from the smallest of kids to the most macho of men commented on how dang cute that little baby seal was. We joked about what it would seem like to us if we woke up from dozing in our yard to find a semicircle of seals sitting there quietly looking at us.
It's not unusual to see seals on the beach at this city park, but this is the first time I've had the chance. It's usually a good place to spot eagles and herons and sometimes, just out there, you'll see the brown head of a harbor seal, but I don't think I've ever been this close to a seal that wasn't in the zoo. It's one more thing to love about Seattle. Oh, it's a big city, but nature is right there at your feet. If you aren't careful, you'll trip on it.
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