When can you see Whales? Dolphins? Elephant seals? Butterflies?

With the amazing variety of marine and land life in and around Monterey Bay, there’s always something new and exciting to see and experience. From the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, here’s your month by month migration calendar to help you plan your outings.

JANUARY
GRAY WHALES. Look for the blows of gray whales migrating south through the Gulf of the Farallons 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. The female Northern Elephant Seal population peaks mid January 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.

FEBRUARY
ELEPHANT SEALS. 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.

MARCH
HARBOR SEALS pupping season.
GRAY WHALES. Migration begins northward from Mexico to Alaska. Cow–calf pairs can be seen near shore throughout March.
NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEALS. 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.

APRIL
NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEALS. 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
SNOWY PLOVERS. Nesting season begins in April, and runs through August – so please watch your step on the beach!

MAY
SOOTY SHEARWATERS. Arriving to feed on the vast resources of the bay.
SNOWY PLOVERS. Nesting season – 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 WHALES. 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, 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.
SEA BIRDS. Many sea birds, such as the California Mew, and Bonaparte gulls; 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.
BLUE WHALES and HUMPBACKS are here already.

JUNE & JULY
SNOWY PLOVERS. Nesting season is in full swing – so please watch your step on the beach!

OCTOBER
Monarch Butterflies. Watch for arrivals of the Monarch Butterflies as they visit Santa Cruz and Pacific Grove until January.

DECEMBER
GRAY WHALES. 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.
DUCKS & GEESE. 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.

Image: “Wildlife of Monterey Bay” by John K, Creative Commons

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