Birding Excursions
Birding Excursions are offered 3-4 time a year. The captain of the vessel is usually our birding enthusiast Joel. We try to have experienced birders onboard to help aid fledgling birders to identify sightings. Visit Joel’s site The Salty Bird for more insight into the birds found in our waters.
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Anacapa Island and the Santa Cruz Island Scrub Jay
Check Back for the 2021 Date
These trips are scheduled to depart from the Ventura Harbor. We will travel aboard the Catamaran Island Explorer for an 9-hour event. Typically, we skirt the edge of the Hueneme Canyon on our way to Anacapa Island. We often encounter a variety of seabirds including, Cassin’s Auklets, Scripps’ Murrelets, Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklets, and Black-vented Shearwaters. We will motor along the coast of Anacapa Island and look at the groups of seabirds congregating for the nesting season. Later we arrive at Prisoner’s Harbor on Santa Cruz Island where we disembark for an hour or so to observe the Island Scrub-Jay and other terrestrial birds. On the crossing home, we will have a good stretch of water to cover with more pelagic birding opportunities. Boat departs the Ventura Harbor at 8:00am and returns to the dock at 5:00pm.T
Summer Birding Excursion
We go Where the Birds Take Us!
Check Back for the 2021 Date
This 12 hour , offshore, deep water, pelagic trip allows you to get out to the offshore waters beyond the reach of most day trips. You will have a chance to see a number of outstanding pelagic birds and marine mammals. Our intention is to go south from Ventura towards San Nicolas Island and the banks, knolls, canyons and other productive features in the area. This will give us a chance to look for sought after species like Red-billed Tropicbird, Least Storm -Petrel, Leach’s Storm-Petrel, Townsend Storm-Petrel, Guadalupe Murrelet and Craveri’s Murrelet. We will decide what our offshore destination will be after reviewing oceanographic conditions at the time of the trip, which will help determine where the birds and other marine life may be present of concentrated. Boat departs the Ventura Harbor at 7:00am and returns to the dock at 7:00pm.
Birding Excursions
Fall Migration Exploration
Pelagic Trip
Saturday October 2, 2021
This 11 hour , offshore, deep water, pelagic trip allows you to get out to the offshore waters beyond the reach of most day trips. You will have a chance to see a number of outstanding pelagic birds and marine mammals. Our intention is to go south from Ventura towards San Nicolas Island and the banks, knolls, canyons and other productive features in the area. This will give us a chance to look for sought after species like Red-billed Tropicbird, Least Storm -Petrel, Leach’s Storm-Petrel, Townsend Storm-Petrel, Guadalupe Murrelet and Craveri’s Murrelet. We will decide what our offshore destination will be after reviewing oceanographic conditions at the time of the trip, which will help determine where the birds and other marine life may be present of concentrated. Boat departs the Ventura Harbor at 7:00am and returns to the dock at 6:00pm.
The Salty Bird
The Santa Barbara Channel, the surrounding waters, and the Channel Islands National Park, are a marvel of nature. I am lucky enough to work with this as my backdrop and have the opportunity to witness the day to day events taking place just off shore. I will share these experiences here, as well as share updates on sightings and my first hand knowledge of the area. This resource is a work in progress and will be continually updated and refined.
Birding Excursions
Special Fall Exploration
Join us for a special November Birding trip. This trip will search the SB Channel, inter-island gaps, and conditions permitting, the deep waters south of the Channel Islands. This is a transitional time of year; late migrants are moving through, late breeders are moving on, and wintering birds are arriving. A variety of whales may also be sighted including Humpback and Fin. Likely birds include several species of Phalaropes, Jaegers, Auklets, Murres and Shearwater. Boat departs the Ventura Harbor at 8:00am and returns to the dock at 5:00pm.
