The bay's year-round residents, and its most curious ones.

The quickest field mark is the head. Harbour seals have a short, rounded face — the classic puppy look — with V-shaped nostrils. Grey seals have a much longer, straighter muzzle, which has earned them the nickname “horseheads.”

Grey seals are much bigger. Large males can weigh around 300 kilograms or more; harbour seals are smaller and more compact, with adults generally weighing well under 130 kilograms.

Fundy water stays cold even in summer. Seals cope with it using a thick layer of blubber and a specialised circulatory system that helps conserve body heat, transferring warmth from outgoing arterial blood to cooler returning veins.

When they dive, their heart rate slows and blood flow is prioritised for vital organs such as the brain and heart. Harbour seals can remain underwater for around 20 minutes on a single breath.

Seals need dry land to rest, moult, and care for their young, so their movements are closely tied to the tide. As the water falls, rocks, ledges, and sandbars become exposed and seals haul themselves out. When the tide returns, they disappear back into the water.

Around Deer Island, Campobello, Grand Manan, and along the Digby Neck, exposed shoreline and haul-out sites can provide good opportunities to spot them.