Seal watchers find lots to see -- in NYC!
18.05.12
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.
Source: New York Daily News