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BIRD WATCHING TRIPS

Quick Details

  • Ages: Ages 13+
  • Duration: 5 Hours, 8 - 12 Hours, 9 Hours, Full Day
  • Destination: Scrub Jay (SCI), Santa Barbara Channel & Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
  • Activity Type: Wildlife Cruise, Birding Excursion, Specialty Cruise, Pelagic birding trip that will include landing at Prisoners Harbor
  • Transport Type: Round-Trip

Island Packers offers exceptional bird-watching trips for both casual nature lovers and avid birders. From spotting the rare Island Scrub-Jay on Santa Cruz Island to exploring deep offshore waters for seabirds like shearwaters, storm-petrels, and even albatrosses, our excursions highlight the incredible avian diversity of the region. Join us for a chance to experience some of the most sought-after bird species in their natural coastal and pelagic habitats.

a bird flying over a body of water

a small blue bird perched on a brancha bird flying over a body of watera bird flying in the sky

Scrub Jay Trips

$ 130

12 hour Pelagic Birding

$ 223

11 hour Pelagic Birding

$ 190

10 hour Pelagic Birding

$ 198

Santa Barbara Booby Birding

$ 159

8 hour Pelagic Birding

$ 140

Explore the vibrant world of Birds!

Summer & Winter Birding Excursions

This 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 fo 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

Anacapa Island and the Santa Cruz Island  Scrub-Jay & Pelagic Bird

This trip is scheduled to depart from the Channel Islands Harbor/Oxnard Harbor. We will travel aboard the the vessel Vanguard 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.

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