Monterey Bay Pelagic Seabird Cruise

Monterey Seabirds runs dedicated offshore pelagic seabird cruises from Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey, California, venturing into the Monterey Bay pelagic zone and — on the longer Albacore Grounds departures — far beyond the boundaries of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary into true oceanic waters. The Monterey Submarine Canyon, whose head reaches to within 100 metres of the shoreline near Moss Landing, channels cold, nutrient-rich upwelled water to the surface year-round, making the Monterey Bay one of the most productive marine environments in the Eastern Pacific and the single best pelagic birding location accessible by day trip on the US West Coast.

Two trip formats are available: the 8-hour Monterey Sea Canyon trip ($125/person) explores the inner bay and canyon rim where the richest concentrations of Sooty and Pink-footed Shearwaters, Ashy Storm-Petrels, phalaropes, and jaegers are found; and the longer 12-hour Albacore Grounds trip ($160/person) steams well beyond the sanctuary boundaries to reach the warm-water offshore zone where chumming is used to attract birds to the vessel, producing close views of Black-footed Albatross, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, and Black-vented Shearwater alongside the commoner species. Both trips are led by expert seabird guides and attract an audience of serious birders from across North America.

Autumn (August–October) is peak season: the bay's surface fills with mixed-species rafts holding hundreds of thousands of shearwaters (primarily Sooty, but with high numbers of Pink-footed, Buller's, and occasional Black-vented), with Black-footed Albatross overflying the canyon edge almost year-round. Ashy Storm-Petrel — listed as Endangered with a world breeding population largely confined to the Channel Islands — is annual and sometimes abundant inshore. Winter trips (October–March) bring Northern Fulmar in large numbers, Laysan Albatross (a genuine rarity rewarded to the most persistent winter regulars), and alcid concentrations including Ancient Murrelet and Rhinoceros Auklet. All three regular jaegers are recorded annually; Long-tailed is increasingly regular in late summer. The eBird hotspot L351269 (Monterey Bay pelagic, Monterey County, 2+ miles offshore) has accumulated an exceptional species list. The 12-hour Albacore Grounds trips report to L607172 (Monterey Seavalley pelagic). Booking is through the FareHarbor calendar widget on montereyseabirds.com; individual dates sell out quickly in peak season.