There are more mammalian residents than the Patagonian clad bipeds, coyotes, or the migrating gray whales of the near shore of Sea Ranch.

These are the harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), that use the coves as a rookery to raise their young as well as using the beaches as haulout sites to rest.

The harbor seal has the widest distribution of any pinniped (eared seals, walruses, and true seals). The harbor seal is a true seal while the California sea lion is an eared seal.

I took advantage of a midafternoon clearing in the rain to do some pinniped sketching. I started at the Shell Beach parking lot at 3:30. The gates closed at sunset, which was at 4:56, so I would have a limited time to sketch before getting back to the car in time. I didn’t want to get locked in!

From the parking lot I made it to the T- junction with the Bluff Trail in 12 minutes. I turned right and headed north in search of resting seals.

I headed out to the point at Shell Beach, the wind threatening to dislodge my hat, and once I made it to the fence, I looked down.

Seals! Harbor seals hauled out on the rocky beach. I was about 30 yards away from the seals and only one looked up and eyed me with large, dark eyes, before returning to rest. These seals were not disturbed by my presence. Which is a testament to the respect that Sea Ranchers have shown to generations of seals over the decades.

I took out my journal, using my clips to keep the pages open in the wind and started to sketch the seals. They were good subjects because they rarely moved.

The challenge was to give the impression of the number of harbor seals without making them look like logs! I hope I succeeded! (Featured sketch).

The only California sea lion I saw was a statue in Gualala Point Regional Park. So I sketched it.