2012 MBNMS General Calendar

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.

2012

• 13 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at California State University Monterey Bay. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213.

Natural History Events

Look for the blows of gray whalesmigrating 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 Sealpopulation 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.

• 16 - Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting in Carmel-by-the-Sea. For more information please contact Nicole Capps at (831) 647-4206.

Natural History Events

Peak Elephant Seal pupping season in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Gray whales continue journey from Alaska down to Baja Mexico, migrating through the Monterey Bay Sanctuary.

• 9 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at US Geological Survey. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213.
• 14 - Team OCEAN/Bay Net training (Class #1). 6pm-8pm, MBNMS offices. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 15 - Sanctuary Education Panel (SEP) Meeting, 3pm-5pm at MBARI (George Matsumoto to host). For more information contact Dawn Hayes at (831) 647-4256.

Natural History Events

Harbor sealpupping season. Gray Whalemigration 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.

• 6 - Discover Your Central Coast Lecture Series #1: What does climate change mean for the Central Coast? John Lindsey (PG &E). 6pm-7pm, Rabobank Community Room, 1070 Main St., Cambria. For more information please contact Carolyn Skinder at (805) 927-2145.
• 7 - Spring Run at First Flushsampling sites from 9am-2pm. Meet at the MBNMS offices. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 11 - Team OCEAN/Bay Net training (Class #2). 6pm-8pm, MBNMS offices. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 12 - Livestock and Lands sampling in Carmel Valley 9am-3pm. For more information please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 13 - Discover Your Central Coast Lecture Series #2: Developments in Central California Fisheries; Royden Nakamura, PhD (Cal Poly). 6pm-7pm, Rabobank Community Room, 1070 Main St., Cambria. For more information please contact Carolyn Skinder at (805) 927-2145.
• 14-15 - Good Old Days in Pacific Grove (MBNMS will have a booth). For more information please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 18 - Team OCEAN/Bay Net training (Class #3). 6pm-8pm, MBNMS offices. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 19 - Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting in Half Moon Bay. For more information please contact Nicole Capps at (831) 647-4206.
• 20 - Discover Your Central Coast Lecture Series #3: Shifting Sands and Beautiful Creatures; describing deep water habitats in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries; Andrew DeVogelaere, PhD (MBNMS). 6pm-7pm, Rabobank Community Room, 1070 Main St., Cambria. For more information please contact Carolyn Skinder at (805) 927-2145.
• 25 - Team OCEAN/Bay Net training (Class #4). 6pm-8pm, MBNMS offices. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 27 - Discover Your Central Coast Lecture Series #4: Why Rocky Intertidal Monitoring Matters; Daniel Orr, (UC Santa Cruz). 6pm-7pm, Rabobank Community Room, 1070 Main St., Cambria. For more information please contact Carolyn Skinder at (805) 927-2145.
• 28 - Snapshot Day 2012! Monterey area training for volunteers. From 10am-1pm, at REI in Marina. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 29 - Snapshot Day 2012! Santa Cruz area training for volunteers. From 12pm-3pm, at CWC Community Room, 365 Lake Ave, Suite A, Santa Cruz. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 30 - Snapshot Day 2012! Half Moon Bay area training for volunteers. From 6pm-8pm, at the San Gregorio General Store, San Gregorio. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.

Natural History Events

By late April most of the weaned Northern Elephant Sealpups 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 - Snapshot Day 2012! San Simeon area training for volunteers. From 5pm-7pm, at the Coastal Discovery Center at Hearst State Beach, San Simeon. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 2 - Team OCEAN/Bay Net training (Class #5). 6pm-8pm, MBNMS offices. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 4 - Discover Your Central Coast Lecture Series #5: Cetaceans of the West Coast; Karin Forney, PhD (NOAA SW Fisheries Science Center). 6pm-7pm, Rabobank Community Room, 1070 Main St., Cambria. For more information please contact Carolyn Skinder at (805) 927-2145.
• 4 - Art Unveiling at Sanctuary Exploration Center. For more information please contact Deirdre Whalen at (831) 647-4207.
• 5 - Snapshot Day 2012! Meet at hubs, 9am. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 9 - Team OCEAN/Bay Net training (Class #6). 6pm-8pm, MBNMS offices. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 11 - Discover Your Central Coast Lecture Series #6: Seabirds of the Central Coast; Dan Robinette, MSc (Point Reyes Bird Observatory). 6pm-7pm, Rabobank Community Room, 1070 Main St., Cambria. For more information please contact Carolyn Skinder at (805) 927-2145.
• 11 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at Monterey Institute of International Studies. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213.
• 14 - Livestock and Lands sampling in Carmel Valley 9am-3pm. For more information please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 16 - Team OCEAN/Bay Net training (Class #7). 6pm-8pm, MBNMS offices. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 17 - Sanctuary Education Panel (SEP) Meeting, 3pm-5pm at Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History (Steve Clark to host). For more information contact Dawn Hayes at (831) 647-4256.
• 18 - Discover Your Central Coast Lecture Series #7: Foraging ecology and demography of the southern sea otter; Tim Tinker, PhD (USGS/UC Santa Cruz). 6pm-7pm, Rabobank Community Room, 1070 Main St., Cambria. For more information please contact Carolyn Skinder at (805) 927-2145.
• 25 - Discover Your Central Coast Lecture Series #8: Migratory Patterns of White Sharks; Salvador Jorgenson, PhD (Monterey Bay Aquarium). 6pm-7pm, Rabobank Community Room, 1070 Main St., Cambria. For more information please contact Carolyn Skinder at (805) 927-2145.
• 26 - Team OCEAN's first day on the water 2012! For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.

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; Commonand Pacific Loons; Westernand 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.

Blue whales and Humpbacksare here already.

• 17 - Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting in Santa Cruz. For more information please contact Nicole Capps at (831) 647-4206.
• 23 - Summer Run at First Flushsampling sites from 9am-2pm. Meet at the MBNMS offices. For more information contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 27 - Livestock and Lands sampling in Carmel Valley 9am-3pm. For more information please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.

Natural History Events

The Snowy Plover nesting season is in full swings - so please watch your step on the beach!

• 13 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at NOAA Fisheries, Santa Cruz. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213.
• 16 - Livestock and Lands sampling in Carmel Valley 9am-3pm. For more information please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 21 - 2012 Coastal Discovery Center Fair at WR Hearst Memorial State Beach, San Simeon. 11AM-5PM. For information please contact Carolyn Skinder at (805) 927-2145.
• 23 - Grand Opening of the Sanctuary Exploration Center in Santa Cruz at 12 noon. Normal hours of operation will be Wednesday through Sunday, 10AM-5PM. For more information please contact Deirdre Whalen at (831) 647-4207.

Natural History Events

The Snowy Plover nesting season is in full swings - so please watch your step on the beach!

• 15 - Livestock and Lands sampling in Carmel Valley 9am-3pm. For more information please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 16 - Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting in Santa Cruz. For more information please contact Nicole Capps at (831) 647-4206.

• 4 - Livestock and Lands sampling in Carmel Valley 9am-3pm. For more information please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 14 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at Moss Landing Marine Lab. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213.
• 20 - Sanctuary Education Panel (SEP) Meeting, 3pm-5pm at Sanctuary Exploration Center, Santa Cruz (Dawn Hayes to host). For more information contact Dawn Hayes at (831) 647-4256.
• 24-29 - Blue: A Global Oceans Film & Conservation Summit. Please visit the site for more information. For more information please call (831) 920-3527 or email.
• 24-29 - American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS)Annual Symposium, Monterey, CA. Schedule of events and locations.

• 8 - Livestock and Lands sampling in Carmel Valley 9am-3pm. For more information please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 18 - Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting in Cambria. For more information please contact Nicole Capps at (831) 647-4206.

• 6 - Livestock and Lands sampling in Carmel Valley 9am-3pm. For more information please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 9 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at Long Marine Labs, UC Santa Cruz. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213.
• 15 - Sanctuary Education Panel (SEP) Meeting, 3pm-5pm at Seymour Center (Suzanne Hebert to host). For more information contact Dawn Hayes at (831) 647-4256.

• 5 - Livestock and Lands sampling in Carmel Valley 9am-3pm. For more information please contact Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 647-4227 or by email.
• 13 - Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting in the Monterey Peninsula. For more information please contact Nicole Capps at (831) 647-4206.

Natural History Events

Look for the blows of gray whalesmigrating 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 sealsarrive 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.

Links to other calendars around the Sanctuary