From now until the middle of May, visitors to MacKerricher State Park will find a barrier cable and signs east of the harbor seal rookery. Seals give birth on an open beach, and the newborn pups are extremely sensitive to intrusions — especially by dogs. It’s fine to observe the seals from the bluffs overlooking the beach, but don’t bring your dog. This is a great time to see the harbor seals. As the pups get a little older, you can watch the mothers coax the pups into the water for their first swimming lessons.
During pupping season, the males hang out elsewhere in the area. Last Sunday, we drove north along the coast north of MacKerricher and Ten Mile Beach. We stopped at the vista point at mile marker 74.09 on Highway One. This is a lovely spot with some wetlands areas on the headlands, leading down to the ocean. We saw a number of harbor seals down on the rocks, and we’re guessing they were males.
This was also the driving trip where I discovered that Peet, my 9-month-old puppy, gets car sick. After he threw up twice in 25 miles, we headed back home — where Peet moped around the rest of the day. Gonna have to toughen that puppy up! 
