“We’ve had dolphins and seals wash up dead before,” said Keyport resident John Fahey. “But not alive.”
Fahey spied the black and brown spotted harbor seal sitting on an ice patch in the bay behind his First Street home.
“It was at least 100 pounds,” said Fahey.
The seal arrived about two weeks ago and stayed approximately eight days, according to Fahey.
“I attribute it to the bay cleaning up,” said Fahey. “It’s so much cleaner in the last five or six years; there’s been so much more wildlife.”
Fahey and his family have also spotted two large mute swans on the ice.
“They’re huge — with a 6- or 7-foot wingspan,” Fahey said.
Two red foxes also appeared on a block of ice this winter. According to Fahey, as the weather began to break, the ice cracked and one fox began to drift away from shore. Locals were able to reunite the foxes using a motor boat.
In the past, Fahey discovered a school of bullnose stingrays.
“My daughter was out on her surfboard. She came in and said she thought she saw a shark,” said Fahey.
After further investigation, Fahey uncovered the stingrays.
“It’s been wild,” said Fahey. “We see things here most people didn’t even know we had around here.”
BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer