Seals kids' page

    Welcome to the
   Kids' Page
             of the
    Richmond Bridge
    Harbor Seal Survey

If you live near the San Francisco Bay, you live in a wonderful place to watch wildlife! This page will introduce you to some of the animals that live in the Bay -- what they look like, where to find them, and how they make their living... Click on the links (the underlined words, and the pictures) for more on the animals and places shown.

Remember when you are watching wildlife to be careful not to disturb the animals you are watching -- walk and speak quietly, don't go too close (use binoculars or a telescope to get a close up look), try and be as invisible as possible, don't feed or try to touch wildlife, and above all be patient! If you yell or throw things at them, they will just leave the area -- or worse still, you can risk injuring the wildlife you are trying to watch.

Teachers and students: Each year, the National Wildlife Federation observes "National Wildlife Week" (this year's took place from April 16-22, 2000), with games, activities, and ways to get involved in wildlife conservation -- right in your own backyard! More information on what you can do can be found at the NWF's web site, at http://www.nwf.org/wildlifeweek/kits.html

Of course, harbor seals live in San Francisco Bay, year-round. In the Bay, pups are born in March through May, and stay with their mothers for around 4 weeks. Harbor seals grow to 4 to 6 feet in length, and 150 to 300 pounds! Most seals are grey or beige with dark spots, or black with light spots or rings -- here in the Bay, some seals have red hair! The red comes from iron oxides on the hair shaft.

Harbor seals in the Bay are usually found on breakwaters, islands or rocky islets, or on rocky beaches. Bay harbor seals are quite shy! The easiest places to see harbor seals in the Bay area are down at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, in Half Moon Bay, CA, or in the harbor at Monterey Bay, CA.

A familiar bird here in San Francisco Bay is the Western gull. This bird is the largest seagull found in the Bay, and can be noisy and even aggressive when looking for food. The Western gull is a predator (feeding on fish, shellfish, and other birds' eggs) and a scavenger (feeding on leftovers from humans -- one reason these birds do so well near cities!)

Have you ever seen a baby seagull? Seagulls are found in many different areas along the coast, and some of them nest on the bridges in the Bay -- we had a pair of Western gulls raise three young right next to our observation platform on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge! Two of the three youngsters can be seen under the watchful eye of one parent in the photo above. Can you also see their neighbors, the cormorants, on the left hand side of the photo?

Although these fish can reach 7 feet long, the ones we see in the Bay are usually much smaller (less than 3 feet long) -- leopard sharks are not considered dangerous to man (although any wild animal may bite you if you bother it enough!)

brown pelicans - CSU DELTA directory image

The brown pelican is a large bird which is found in coastal waters, bays and marshes. The wingspan of this bird can be 6 1/2 feet! The brown pelican feeds on fish, by plunging down headfirst from the air and catching fish that they spot from above. You can often see groups of pelicans flying single file over the bay, or over the Pacific at Ocean Beach or Seal Rocks in San Francisco. The fact that we can see these birds today is a great thing, for as recently as the 1970's this species was severely threatened by the use of a pesticide called DDT, which made it hard for these birds to successfully raise offspring.

California sea lions are relatives of the harbor seal, but belong to the family of "eared seals" -- if you look closely, you can see that they have external ears (like we do). Harbor seals are "true seals," and have no visible external ear flaps. The sea lions that we see here in the Bay breed on islands off of southern California and Mexico; most of the sea lions we see here are males, who move north after breeding down south.

bat ray - CSU DELTA database project image

The bat ray is a fish, even though it doesn't look much like one. Like the leopard shark, the bat ray can sometimes be seen in the shallow waters of the San Francisco Bay, gliding in over the sand using its brown or black wing-like fins. Like other types of ray, these fish have a poisonous spine located at the base of their long tail. Bay rays have a 'wingspan' of 4 to 5 feet across, and feed on clams, crabs, worms, and other organisms that they find in the sandy bottom.

Cormorants are a common seabird seen in the San Francisco Bay, as in many other areas of the world! This bird is an excellent fisherman, and can dive and swim with skill (landings are a bit rough, though...) These birds nest on islands and ledges, sometimes in trees, and sometimes on bridges! Many of these birds nest on the Richmond-San Rafael bridge.

cormorant landing - Richmond San Rafael Bridge

Sometimes you may see cormorants on piers or rocks in the Bay, spreading their wings out to dry in the sun. This is because, unlike many seabirds, cormorant wings are not waterproof, and these birds must dry them off now and then.

photo credit: CSU DELTA database project

acorn barnacles - CSU DELTA directory image

Did you know that barnacles are animals? Barnacles are related to lobsters and crabs, and feed by extending their feathery legs out into the water to catch tiny particles of food. At low tide, when the barnacles are exposed to the air, they close up their hard white 'house' so that the sun and air do not dry them out. They use a very strong glue to stick themselves to rocks at the ocean's edge -- the glue is so strong that the white 'house' remains after the barnacle has died.

You can see barnacles at many places where rocks or piers are exposed at low tide. The Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, just south of San Francisco, is a great place to look for all kinds of shoreline creatures.

grey whale - Whale Research Lab, University of Victory, CAN

This past summer (1999), a number of grey whales came briefly into San Francisco Bay. These whales migrate along the coast of California, moving from their summer feeding grounds in the north to their winter breeding grounds in the south (like many birds and some people, these animals go south for the winter!) These huge whales feed on tiny shrimp-like animals and worms that live in the mud on the ocean floor, scooping up huge mouthfuls of mud and then squirting out the mud -- keeping the food in their mouths! Grey whales are grey with white patches (the white patches are barnacles), and can be up to 46 feet long! Whale watching is a popular activity off the northern California coast, as it is in many parts of the world. Whales can often be seen from the shore at Point Reyes National Seashore, north of San Francisco.

photo credit: CSU DELTA database project

Eel grass is a plant (often called seagrass) that lives underwater, and is found in quiet, shallow bays and estuaries. Like all plants, eel grass produces its own food, using the energy of the sun. Seagrasses provide an important habitat for many small sea creatures and fish, and even other plants. And in Florida, seagrass provides food for manatees!

pickleweed - CSU DELTA directory project image

Pickleweed is a plant commonly found in marshes around the edge of San Francisco Bay. Pickleweed has adapted to live in the salty, wet soils of the marsh. You can see lots of pickleweed in the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, in south San Francisco Bay. Pickleweed provides habitat for some very rare, endangered species of mammal and bird -- the salt marsh harvest mouse, for example, and the clapper rail. For many years, people did not realize how important marshes were to the planet. Fortunately for us, now we realize that these areas provide habitat for countless birds, animals, plants and insects! Visit one soon...