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Californiawildlife
When does seasonal wildlife come in California?
Seasonal wildlife usually comes from January to December.
Checked Sep 30.
Your guide to California
Every place on this page
Plan from a town
Frost dates and what's in season nearby
Each place's usual timing in California
In each source's own words: a usual peak where one is named, otherwise the place's season
- Channel Islands: Gray whale watching in the Santa Barbara Channel
begins at the end of December and lasts until April
- Cabrillo
Usual peak: Mid-January is the peak time for migration, but whales are visible from mid- to late December through March
- Tijuana Slough Refuge: Belding's savannah sparrows nesting in the pickleweed marsh
from March to August
- Tijuana Slough Refuge: Western snowy plovers nesting at the river mouth and dunes
from mid-March to mid-September
- Tijuana Slough Refuge: Peak snowy plover nesting
peak nesting from April through June
- Channel Islands: Western gulls nesting on Anacapa Island
nesting begins at the end of April; chicks hatch in May and June and fly away from the nest in July
- Channel Islands: Humpback whales from whale-watching boats
generally from mid-May to mid-September
- Each place's usual timing from its own source: a peak only where the source names one (not a forecast)
Places by state
California
- Channel IslandsStarts in ~3 months
Usually January and December
- Tijuana Slough RefugeStarts in ~5 months
Usually January and December
- CabrilloUsual window passed
Usually: Mid-January is the peak time for migration, but whales are visible from mid- to late December through March
Official reports
Dated and linked
- Sep 30Park ServiceGray whale migration peaks in mid-January; whales visible mid- to late December through March; Kelp Forest Overlook and lighthouse observatory; annual Whale Watch WeekendSource (opens National Park Service, Cabrillo: Whale Watching (nature) in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceTidepools best in fall and winter, when low tides fall in park hoursSource (opens National Park Service, Cabrillo: The Rocky Intertidal Zone in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceTemporary tidepool road closures when parking is full; no cell service at the tidepoolsSource (opens National Park Service, Cabrillo: Basic Information in a new tab)
- National Park Service sources: no claim to original U.S. Government works.
Show all 17
- Sep 30Park ServiceKelp Forest Overlook for spotting migrating gray whales, particularly December to MarchSource (opens National Park Service, Cabrillo: Things To Do in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceCabrillo's chief of natural resources: peak bloom typically between late March and early AprilSource (opens National Park Service, Field Season Beginning for Mediterranean Coast Plant Monitoring Teams (March 15, 2017) in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceWhale watching season at Cabrillo is from late December to mid MarchSource (opens National Park Service, Cabrillo: Whale Watching in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceOpen daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas DaySource (opens National Park Service, Cabrillo: Operating Hours & Seasons in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceSeasonal guide: peak bloom by late January through March in a normal rain year, gray whale watching end of December to April, busiest June to AugustSource (opens National Park Service, Channel Islands: When to Visit in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceHumpbacks generally seen mid-May to mid-September from whale-watching boatsSource (opens National Park Service, Channel Islands: Humpback Whale in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceEast Anacapa's two-mile trail system, coreopsis bloom after winter rains, the world's largest western gull colony nesting from the end of AprilSource (opens National Park Service, Channel Islands: Anacapa Island in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceBoat operators, most common gray whale sightings mid- to late December through mid-March, shore viewing and the visitor center towerSource (opens National Park Service, Channel Islands: Whale Watching in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceAll-day ranger-guided 16-mile round-trip hike to Point Bennett's seal and sea lion beachesSource (opens National Park Service, Channel Islands: San Miguel Island in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceCoreopsis and live-forever after winter rains; western gull chicks hatch in June and fledge in JulySource (opens National Park Service, Channel Islands: Santa Barbara Island in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceSanta Rosa Island snowy plover beach closure March 1 to September 15; items that may not be brought to the islandsSource (opens National Park Service, Channel Islands: Current Conditions in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceSnowy plover nesting mid-March to mid-September with peak nesting April through June; Belding's savannah sparrow nesting March to AugustSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tijuana Slough NWR: Species in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceVisitor center hours and address, restrooms, dogs, trails with boardwalks and decks, rulesSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tijuana Slough NWR: Visit Us in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceNamed reserve trails with lengths and the reserve's outdoor ethicsSource (opens Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve Trail Map (PDF on fws.gov) in a new tab)
- National Park Service sources: no claim to original U.S. Government works.
Questions people ask
Where can I see wildlife by season in California?
We track 3 places: Cabrillo, Channel Islands and Tijuana Slough Refuge.
How do you track wildlife by season?
Each place moves through 4 stages: Season starting, Season under way, Busiest time and Winding down. Every stage we show comes from a dated report with its source, and every forecast lists its sources.