4-24-2014 Lesley's Big 11 Seal Day

11 seals !!   I think I may have broken my record today
It had happened once before but 4 of them were moms & pups ("Irma" & "Nihoa" with their pups )

Kimo Lyman did the KPt hike /monitoring with me. I was a beautiful morning out there. The albatross were enjoying playing in the wind. Bait season is back and NARS team was out there putting bait out for rats & mice.

Our first seal was RW30 "Molokai girl" was on the reefs at the entrance of Ka'ena's Pool
RW08 "Kerby" was with a new kid on the rock on the Runway. The new seal is a juvenile male, he has a squinchy left eye, two scar line on the top of his head and a scar on his chest between FF. What a surprise! another new kid on Oahu.

I let Tracy know and she said it could be Temp 401 - the little female Marilyn and I saw a couple of weeks ago - because she was reported to be at the point 2 days ago with the same left eye issue. I knew it wasn't her because Temp 401 didn't have any scars on her head and her only mark was a very light NB on her back.

We waited till the seal moved and finally showed us his male belly. Checking the photos on the blog the seal reported 2 days ago is the same one we saw today (scar on top of head).

RK36 "Kauai Kolohe" was alone in a very empty Main Pool.

From far we spotted seals on the outer reefs of the Main Pool - it was the trio RO40 "Ka'ena", RW02 "Kauai PV" and RW22 "Kolohe".

Little RL42 was just hauled out on Back Beach down near the waterline That was the 8 seal count for Ka'ena Point.

I headed to Turtle Bay to do a late afternoon check - another surprise was waiting for me. 3 seals were hauled out near the waterline at Elbow Beach: RL54 "Kaikaina, RF20 "Meli" and a big beautiful plump seal... the line scar on the left side kind of gave her away but confirmation came when she turned sideways showing the CC scar on her top tit R030 "BG".

As we don't know where she gives birth, she isn't on the birth prediction list so it's hard to predict how pregnant she may be.

For several years now we have seen "BG" going thru her molt out at Ka'ena Pt in a pool that we nicknamed "BG's pool". She then disappears, sometimes she has a one or two days show up at Turtle Bay and also out on the West side. We have always been curious to know where she spends the rest of the year.

Thank you to Diane Gabriel for going over the cheat with me & Michelle Jordan for checking on her belly photos for me  while simultaneously the seal turned over - great team work.

Before wrapping up the day I hiked out to 2nd Beach / Marconi Rd and found seal free beaches.   Aloha, Lesley 

 RL42

 RL54 Kaikaina

 Ka'eana - RW02 and Kolohe

 RW30 Molokai Girl 

 Ua Maili My mistake this is a new young male - no tags