Seabird Trips on Selected Dates in 2024
Monterey Bay Whale Watch features pelagic birding trips on selected days throughout the year, enabling you to experience the seabirds of the Monterey Bay in their respective seasons.
Just offshore of Monterey, California lies a 6000-foot deep submarine canyon running right down the middle of the Monterey Bay. Similar in size to the Grand Canyon of the American Southwest, this geologic feature creates cold-water upwellings, rich in nutrients that foster a remarkable diversity of seabirds and cetaceans. The combination of these elements within a semi-protected bay makes Monterey a worldwide destination for pelagic birding. Just a few miles from shore one can observe pelagic seabirds that travel across both the hemisphere and the ocean to feed in the bountiful waters of Monterey Bay. We see a variety of seabirds including shearwaters, cormorants, pelicans, grebes, phalaropes, gulls, and albatross.
To provide quality viewing of wildlife, we do not fill the boat to maximum capacity for these trips.
More Trip Details:
Our vessel, the 55-foot Point Sur Clipper, is used solely for natural history outings and has a capacity for 48 although we do not fill the boat to full capacity for these outings. There are no bait tanks to block access and no leftover fishy smells from fishing charters.
A variety of snack foods and drinks will be available. However,
you should bring a lunch and any other food you want. Please be
prepared for any type of weather while out on the water.
Although these trips concentrate on seabirds, we also see a variety of whales, dolphins, sea otters and other marine life. The trips also offer
spectacular views of California's Central Coast.
Sea conditions can be variable;
seasickness medicine (Bonine or Dramamine 2) is highly recommended
in case we encounter rough seas.
All trips start at 7:30 a.m. (boarding at 7 a.m.) Prices are
$160 for 8-hour trips and
$199 for 12-hour trips (same price for adults and children).
Note that a 6% Booking Processing fee is added to all purchases.
Seabird trips are scheduled on the following dates in 2024.
Sunday August 25 (8 hr)
Monday August 26 (8 hr)
Sunday September 15 (8 hr)
Sunday September 22 (8 hr)
Sunday October 6 (8 hr)
Sunday October 13 (12 hr)
Sunday October 20 (8 hr)
Sunday October 27 (8 hr)
To reserve, click on a red 'Book now' button or call our office at 831-375-4658.
Bird photos taken by Daniel Bianchetta on our trips. |
Red-necked Phalaropes
Elegant Tern
Blue Heron
Common Murre
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Laysan Albatross
Black Turnstone and Brandt's Cormorant
Fork-tailed Storm Petrel
Black-footed Albatross
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A few of the marine mammals
seen on our trips:
Killer Whale by Pt Sur Clipper
Humpback Whale tail
Long-beaked Common Dolphins
Harbor Seal
Breaching Risso's Dolphin
Lunge feeding Humpback Whales
Sea Otter eating a crab
Pacific White-sided Dolphins
All photos © Daniel Bianchetta
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