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.
11 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at Monterey Bay Aquarium. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213.
28 - 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.
1 - MERITO Watershed Academy Training. For more information please contact Sonya Padron at (831) 647-4211, Sacha Lozano at (831) 647-4215 or Dawn Hayes at (831) 647-4256.
13 - Network Steering Committee Meeting, 9:30 - 11:30, Santa Cruz. For more information contact Anna Holden-Martz at (831) 647-4227.
14 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at Long Marine Lab, UCSC. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213.
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.
4 - MBNMS Volunteer Appreciation Event and Sanctuary Awards, 5:30pm - 8pm. For more information please contact Liz Love at (831) 647-4255, Dawn Hayes at (831) 647-4256, Lisa Emanuelson at (831) 521-9512 or Lisa Uttal at (831) 420-3664.
12 - Snapshot Day 2008 Training for San Mateo County. For more information contact Anna Holden-Martz at (831) 647-4227.
18 - Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting in Salinas. For more information please contact Nicole Capps at (831) 647-4206.
19 - Snapshot Day 2008 Training for Santa Cruz County. For more information contact Anna Holden-Martz at (831) 647-4227.
26 - Snapshot Day 2008 Training for Monterey County. For more information contact Anna Holden-Martz at (831) 647-4227.
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!
3 - Snapshot Day 2008. For more information contact Anna Holden-Martz at (831) 647-4227.
9 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at Elkhorn Slough NERR. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213.
31 - Urban Watch Training for Santa Cruz and Capitola. For more information contact Anna Holden-Martz at (831) 647-4227.
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.
11 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213.
Natural History Events
The Snowy Plover nesting season is in full swings- so please watch your step on the beach!
12 - Sanctuary Research Activity Panel (RAP) Meeting, 9am-12pm at the California Department of Fish and Game, Monterey. For more information contact Andrew Devogelaere at (831) 647-4213.
13 - First Flush Training for Half Moon Bay. For more information contact Anna Holden-Martz at (831) 647-4227.
16 - First Flush Training for Santa Cruz and Capitola. For more information contact Anna Holden-Martz at (831) 647-4227.
18 - First Flush Training for Monterey County. For more information contact Anna Holden-Martz at (831) 647-4227.
20 - Dry run sampling event. For more information contact Anna Holden-Martz at (831) 647-4227.
19 - 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 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.
