Trips from Monterey often venture into Santa Cruz County waters. Most organized birding trips leave at dawn from Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey. For information on other natural history, whale-watching, or fishing trips around the bay, contact the local chambers of commerce. While these are not specifically for birding, the skipper for Santa Cruz Sportfishing is knowledgeable about with seabirds. Santa Cruz Sportfishing Inc (83, and Stagnaro Fishing Trips and Bay Cruises (83, both offer whale-watching and fishing trips from the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. Information about organized seabirding trips is published every January in Winging It, the newsletter of the American Birding Association. Their costs sometimes dissuade birders from seabirding trips, but in fact the price usually is reasonable for a day at sea that combines avian riches with competent leadership. Contact this organization for information about trip schedules and costs. Box 52001, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 They use experienced leaders and run comfortable boats piloted by knowledgeable and cooperative skippers. One organization currently provides birding trips on Monterey Bay: Monterey Seabirds (83 P.O. The guides are crucial for birders who are just learning the subtleties of recognizing species at sea.ĭirections. They do not venture far from shore (gray whale trips) or they stay in one place a long time (fishing trips), and they lack expert birding leaders. Boats chartered for whale watching or fishing also encounter pelagic birds, but these forays are usually unsatisfactory. Fortunately, such trips are available throughout the year on Monterey Bay (most frequently August to October). Even a single trip can be very rewarding a series of four to six over the seasons will produce most of the bay’s avian bounty.īoat trips with skilled leaders and organized specifically for seabirding provide the best opportunities and are worth the price. Some seabirds can be seen (often distantly) with a scope from shore, but one needs to get out on a boat to see most of the truly pelagic species well. Upwelling of nutrient rich water along the California Current and the intrusion of the deep Monterey Submarine Canyon combine to bring pelagic birds close to shore. Monterey Bay has some of the finest pelagic birding in the world: an array of regular seabirds and many extraordinary rarities.
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