Twelve month calendar of Sanctuary events and meetings. Check back regularly for updates. To view calendars of other marine institutions around the sanctuary, click here. Please click here for our archived calendars.
If you know of an upcoming event of interest to the Sanctuary community, please contact the webmaster for this page so the event can be posted to this page. All postings are subject to approval by the MBNMS Superintendent.
13 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at MBARI. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213
16 - Sanctuary Education Panel (SEP) Meeting, 3:30pm-5:30pm, MBNMS Conference room. For more information contact Dawn Hayes at (831) 647-4256
Natural History Events
Look for the blows of gray whales migrating south through the Gulf of the Farallones Sanctuary and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in December and January. Pregnant females come first, swimming along the coastline and are visible from shore as they head for the warm waters off of Baja California, Mexico for calving and mating.
The female Northern Elephant Seal population peaks around January 24 at their breeding colonies (A?o Nuevo State Reserve and Piedras Blancas beach) in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary; the number of newly-born pups peaks shortly after.
4 - Sanctuary Currents Symposium at CSUMB. For more information contact Liz Love at (831) 647-4255
8 - TeamOCEAN Info Night, 7pm, MBNMS conference room. For those interested in the kayaker outreach program. Please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 for more info.
10 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at USGS. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213
30 - TeamOCEAN's first night of training, 6:30pm-8:30pm, MBNMS conference room. Please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 for more info.
Natural History Events
Harbor seal pupping season. Gray Whale migration begins northward from Mexico to Alaska. Cow-calf pairs can seen nearshore throughout March.
By mid-march most of the adultNorthern Elephant Sealshave returned to sea to feed, leaving the pups behind on beaches at A?o Nuevo State Reserve and Piedras Blancas to fend for themselves.
3 - Monitoring Network / Coastal Watershed Council Calibration Party, 9:30AM, Santa Cruz Harbor Community Room. Contact: Bridget Hoover, Network Coordinator (831) 883-9303 or email.
4 - Santa Cruz Walk N Talk, 6:00 - 8:00PM Sanctuary staff will provide a walking tour of monitoring sites in Santa Cruz and provide results of findings from the annual First Flush and Dry Weather monitoring programs in addition to discussing ways to prevent polluted urban runoff from entering the Monterey Bay.
Contact: Bridget Hoover, Network Coordinator (831) 883-9303 or email.
6 - TeamOCEAN training night #2, 6:30pm-8:30pm, MBNMS conference room. Kevin Raskoff of CSUMB will lecture on basic oceanography. Please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 for more info.
7 - Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting in Salinas. For more information please contact Paul Chetirkin at (831) 647-4210.
13 - TeamOCEAN training night #3, 6:30pm-8:30pm, MBNMS conference room. Michele Roest of the MBNMS will lecture on marine mammals of the Monterey area. Please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 for more info.
20 - TeamOCEAN training night #4, 6:30pm-8:30pm, MBNMS conference room. Stacia Fletcher of the MBNMS will lecture on interpretation. Please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 for more info.
22 - Earth Day at Earthbound Farms in Carmel Valley. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512.
22 - TeamOCEAN Kayak Safety Class #1. Sign ups are required, contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 or by email.
23 - Snapshot Day 2006 Training Event - San Mateo, 10AM - 1:00PM, San Gregorio General Store. Contact: Debie Chirco-Macdonald, Coastal Watershed Council (831) 464-9200 or email.
24- May 3 - Shearwater Cruise. For more information contact Jean deMarignac at (831) 647-4214
26 - Snapshot Day 2006 Training Event - San Simeon, 6:00 - 8:30PM, Cambria Vets Hall, 1000 Main St. Cambria. Contact: Bridget Hoover, Network Coordinator (831) 883-9303 or emailOr Michele Roest, MBNMS San Simeon Office (805) 927-2145 or email.
27 - TeamOCEAN training night #5, 6:30pm-8:30pm, MBNMS conference room. Hannah Nevins of MLML will lecture on birds of the Monterey area. Please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 for more info.
29 - Snapshot Day 2006 Training Event - Monterey, 9:30 - 12:30 PM CSUMB Watershed Institute. Contact: Bridget Hoover, Network Coordinator (831) 883-9303 or email.
30 - Snapshot Day 2006 Training Event - Santa Cruz, 9:30 - 12:30 PM Natural Bridges State Park. Contact: Debie Chirco-Macdonald, Coastal Watershed Council (831) 464-9200 or email.
Natural History Events
By late April most of the weaned Northern Elephant Seal pups have gone to sea to begin feeding. These pups are a favorite prey item for Great White Sharks.
Elephant seals are molting
The Snowy Plover nesting season begins in April, and runs through August - so please watch your step on the beach!
1-3 - Continuation of Shearwater cruise. For more information contact Jean deMarignac at (831) 647-4214
4 - TeamOCEAN training night #6, 6:30pm-8:30pm, MBNMS conference room. Jackie Kourassis of ESNERR will lecture on Elkhorn Slough. Please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 for more info.
6 - TeamOCEAN field trip around Elkhorn Slough. Meeting time and location TBA. Contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 or by email.
6 - Snapshot Day 2006, 9:00 - 2:00 PM Sanctuary Wide Water Quality Monitoring Event. Contact: Bridget Hoover, Network Coordinator (831) 883-9303 or email.
7 - TeamOCEAN Kayak Safety Class #2. Sign ups are required, contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 or by email.
7 - 11 - 2006 National Monitoring Conference. Monitoring Networks: Connecting for Clean Water at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. Contact: Bridget Hoover, Network Coordinator (831) 883-9303 or email.
8 - 9 - SHIELDS (Sanctuary Hazardous Incident Emergency Logistics Database System) Training at MBNMS
11 - TeamOCEAN training night #7, 6:30pm-8:30pm, MBNMS conference room. Lisa Emanuelson and Stan Wyman will discuss radio procedures and logistics. Please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 for more info.
12 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. For more information contact Andrew DeVogelaere at (831) 647-4213
18 - TeamOCEAN training night #8, 6:30pm-8:30pm, MBNMS conference room. Last night review and Trivia Game! Please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 for more info.
27-29 - Whale Fest in Monterey on Wharf #1. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512.
Natural History Events
Sooty Shearwaters arriving to feed on the vast resources of the bay
The Snowy Plover nesting season begins- so please watch your step on the beach!
Harbor seals - Pupping is in full swing at the west beach of Hopkins Marine Station. Watch for them... always a rewarding experience.
Gray Whale moms and babies (18-20 ft., 2000+ lbs.) are still working their way up the coast during May. Look for them just outside the kelp line, and sometimes in the kelp beds themselves. See them along the Big Sur coast, off Point Lobos, along the Monterey peninsula, Marina, Aptos, Soquel, Capitola, Santa Cruz, and points north. Instead of crossing the open bay from Point Pinos to Santa Cruz, they tend to hug the coastline to protect their calves from Orcas and great white sharks.
Many sea birds,such as the California Mew, and Bonapartegulls; Common and Pacific Loons; Western and Eared Grebes; Surf Scooters, Red-breasted Mergansers, and others, are changing into their breeding plumage and heading back to their nesting grounds all over the western states, Canada and Mexico.
Sea lions - Fisherman's Wharf and the Coast Guard breakwater jetty are normally great places to see California sea lions of all ages, but they (most adults) are leaving the area to return to their breeding grounds on islands off Southern California (Channel Islands) and Baja (Mexico). (At this time the approach to the breakwater is closed to the public for security reasons). Expect an influx of displaced juvenile (male & some female) sea lions this month; the adults (mostly males) will usually return in August and September.
15 - Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting in San Mateo County. For more information please contact Paul Chetirkin at (831) 647-4210.
Natural History Events
Look for the blows of gray whales migrating south through the Gulf of the Farallones Sanctuary and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in December and January. Pregnant females come first, swimming along the coastline and are visible from shore as they head for the warm waters off of Baja California, Mexico for calving and mating. Northern elephant seals arrive at their breeding colonies (A?o Nuevo State Reserve and Piedras Blancas beach) in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Two-ton adult bulls arrive first and fight among themselves for dominant positions; as pregnant females come on shore, they join harems of the highest-ranking bulls. The female population peaks around January 24; the number of pups peaks shortly after. By mid-march most of the adult females and males have returned to sea, leaving the pups behind to fend for themselves. By late April most of the weaned pups have gone to sea to begin feeding.
Winter water fowl migrate through, 100,000's ofducksandgeeserest and feed in the lagoons and estuaries in the Gulf of the Farallones Sanctuary and northern portion of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary.
