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.
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.
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 (Año Nuevo State
Reserve and Piedras Blancas beach) in the Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary;
the number
of newly-born pups peaks shortly after.
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 adult Northern Elephant Seals have returned to
sea to feed, leaving the pups behind on beaches at Año Nuevo
State Reserve and Piedras Blancas to fend for themselves.
12th -
Marine Mammal Centers Tours. Golden Gate Park National Recreation
Area, 1065 Fort Cronkhite, Sausalito. For more information, call
(415) 289-7338 or visit
www.marinemammalcenter.org
26th & 27th -
Open House and Tour at Moss Landing Marine Laboratory.
Hours are 10AM to 4PM. For more information, call (831) 771-4100
or visit www.mlml.calstate.edu
30th -
California Academy of Sciences Members Only
Event. Golden State Park, San Francisco CA. From 6PM to 9PM. For
more information, call (415) 750-7111 or visit www.calacademy.org
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!
3rd -
Team OCEAN Interpretive Kayaker training 9am-4:30 pm. For more
information contact: Jen Jolly (831) 420-1630
6th -
Team OCEAN Interpretive Kayaker training 6:30-9:30 pm. For
more information contact: Jen Jolly (831) 420-1630
9th
- Sanctuary Research Activity Panel Meeting. Host: USGS in
Santa Cruz beginning 9AM. Meet at Long Marine Lab.
For more information
contact: Jennifer Parkin
(831) 647-4204
11th
- Mother's Day at Elkhorn Slough Reserve (MERITO). For more
information contact: Karen Grimmer (831) 647-4253
13th -
Team OCEAN Interpretive Kayaker training 6:30-9:30 pm. For
more information contact: Jen Jolly (831) 420-1630
17th
- Snapshot Day Water Quality Monitoring event. For Monterey
information
contact: Bridget Hoover (831) 883-9303, for Statewide
information visit:www.coastforyou.org
17th-18th
- Castroville Artichoke Festival (MERITO). For more information
contact:
Karen Grimmer (831) 647-4253
18th
- Marine Mammal Center Tours at Golden Gate Park National Recreation
Area, 1065 Fort Cronkhite,
Sausalito. For more
information contact:
(415) 289-7338 or visit www.marinemammalcenter.org
19th
- Sanctuary Education Panel Meeting. Host: Monterey Bay Aquarium
Research Institute. From 3:30-5:30PM. For more information
contact: Dawn Hayes
(831) 647-4256
20th -
Team OCEAN Interpretive Kayaker training 6:30-9:30 pm. For
more information contact: Jen Jolly (831) 420-1630
21st
- Business and Tourism Activity Panel Meeting. Host: Moss
Landing Marine Labs from 9:30-11:30 a.m. For more information
contact:
Rachel Saunders
(831) 647-4237
21st-22nd
- California Biodiversity Council Meeting in Santa Cruz
24th
- Salmon and Steelhead Festival
27th -
Team OCEAN Interpretive Kayaker training 6:30-9:30 pm. For
more information contact Jen Jolly (831) 420-1630
30th
- US Geological Survey Open House from 10AM-4PM at 345 Middlefield
Road, Menlo Park. For
more information,
call (650) 329-4390
or visit http://openhouse.wr.usgs.gov
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.
1st
- US Geological Survey Open House from 10AM-4PM at 345 Middlefield
Road, Menlo Park. For
more information, call (650) 329-4390
or visit http://openhouse.wr.usgs.gov
7th -
Cement Ship Celebration. For more information contact: Jen
Jolly (831) 420-1630
14th
- Marine Mammal Center Tours at Golden Gate Park National Recreation
Area, 1065 Fort Cronkhite,
Sausalito. For more information, call (415) 289-7338 or visit www.marinemammalcenter.org
17th
- Sanctuary
Conservation Working Group Meeting. Host: Moss Landing Harbor
District. From 9:30AM-12:30PM at the Moss Landing Harbor
District office.
16th-28th -
Sea LAB Monterey Bay Day Camp. For more information contact:
Karen Grimmer (831) 647-4253
23rd-27th -
Camp Ocean Pines Marine Science Camp in Cambria. For more information
contact: Michele Roest (805) 927-2145
23rd-27th
- Cooerative
Research and Assessment of Nearshore Ecosystems (CRANE) Diver
Training. Location: 32 Cannary Row. former location of Backscatter
Underwater Video & Photo shop(Time TBD). For more information
please contact: Steve Lonhart at (831) 647-4222.
26th-27th
- Sanctuary Advisory
Council Meeting. Covering Management Plan
Review. Location: Monterey Beach Hotel. For more information
contact: Nicole Capps (831) 647-4206
28th
- Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Open House from
12-5PM at 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing. For more
information contact: Cyndi Stubbs (831) 775-1773 or visit www.mbari.org/news/openhouse_2003.html
30th-July
3rd - Cooerative
Research and Assessment of Nearshore Ecosystems (CRANE) Diver
Training. Location: 32 Cannary Row. former location of Backscatter
Underwater Video & Photo shop(Time TBD). For more information
please contact: Steve Lonhart at (831)
647-4222.
Natural
History Events
The
Snowy Plover nesting season is in full swings- so please watch
your step on the beach!
30th-July
3rd - Cooerative
Research and Assessment of Nearshore Ecosystems (CRANE) Diver
Training. Location: 32 Cannary Row. former location of Backscatter
Underwater Video & Photo shop(Time TBD). For more information
please contact: Steve Lonhart at (831) 647-4222.
11th
- Sanctuary Research Activity Panel meeting at UCSC- Center
for Ocean Health. For more information contact:
Jennifer Parkin (831) 647-4204
15th
- Sanctuary Conservation Working Group Meeting.
Host: Moss Landing Harbor District. From 9:30AM-12:30PM
at the Moss Landing Harbor District office.
19th -
Bodega Marine Laboratory Open House from 1PM-5PM at 2099 Westside
Road, Bodega Bay. For more information, call (707) 875-2211
or www.bml.ucdavis.edu
21st
- Sanctuary Education Panel Meeting, Half Moon Bay from 9-3.
For more information contact: Dawn Hayes (831) 647-4256
30th-31st - Sanctuary Advisory
Council Meeting. Covering Management Plan
Review. Location: UCSC Inn and Conference Center in
Santa Cruz. For more information contact:
Nicole Capps (831) 647-4206
Natural
History Events
The
Snowy Plover nesting season is in full swings- so please watch
your step on the beach!
1st
- Sanctuary Advisory
Council Meeting. Covering Management
Plan Review. Location: UCSC Inn and Conference Center
in Santa Cruz. For more information contact: Nicole Capps
(831) 647-4206
8th
- Sanctuary Research Activity Panel Meeting. Host:Marine Protected
Area. Location: MPA Center office in Monterey. For more
information contact: Jennifer
Parkin
(831) 647-4204
12th
- Sanctuary Research Activity Panel Meeting. Host: Monterey
Bay Aquarium Research Institute (annual BBQ). For more
information
contact: Jennifer
Parkin (831) 647-4204
14th -
Marine Mammal Center Tours at Golden Gate Park National Recreation
Area, 1065 Fort Cronkhite,
Sausalito. For more
information contact:
(415) 289-7338 or visit www.marinemammalcenter.org
15th
- Sanctuary Education Panel Meeting. Host: Elkhorn Slough Reserve,
3:30-5:30. For more information
contact: Dawn Hayes (831) 647-4256
16th
- Sanctuary Conservation Working Group Meeting.
Host: Moss Landing Harbor District. From 9:30AM-12:30PM
at the Moss Landing Harbor District office.
20th -
Coastal Cleanup Day San Simeon. For more information
contact: Michele Roest (805) 927-2145
20th -
Coastal Cleanup Day Elkhorn Slough. For more information
contact: Karen Grimmer (831) 647-4253
20th -
Ocean’s
Fair in San Simeon. For more information contact Michele
Roest (805) 927-2145
3rd -
Sanctuary Advisory
Council Meeting. Location:Cavalier Oceanfront
Resort, San Simeon (Time TBD). For more information contact:
Nicole Capps (831) 647-4206
11th -
Gulf of the Farallones Ocean Festival. Contact Dawn
Hayes (831) 647-4256
21st
- Sanctuary
Conservation Working Group Meeting. Host: Moss Landing Harbor
District. From 9:30AM-12:30PM at the Moss Landing Harbor
District office.
17th
- Sanctuary Education Panel Meeting. Host: Monterey Bay Aquarium,
3:30-5:30. For more information contact: Dawn Hayes (831)
647-4256
18th
- Sanctuary Conservation Working Group Meeting.
Host: Moss Landing Harbor District. From 9:30AM-12:30PM
at the Moss Landing Harbor District office.
21st
- Sanctuary Research Activity Panel joint meeting with Monterey
Bay, Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine
Sanctuaries. (location and time TBD). For more information
contact: Jennifer Parkin
(831)
647-4204
5th -
Sanctuary
Advisory Council Meeting. Location:
Elkus Ranch, Half Moon Bay (Time TBD). For more information
contact: Nicole Capps (831) 647-4206
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 (Año
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 of ducks and
geese rest and feed in the lagoons and estuaries in the Gulf of
the Farallones Sanctuary and northern portion of the Monterey
Bay Sanctuary.
