Hammerhead sharks
and spotted eagle rays continue to school
at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
Larger numbers of humpback
whales begin to leave the warm waters of the Hawaiian Island
Humpback Whale Sanctuary for their summer feeding grounds
in Alaska. Others may remain through June before making their
long journey north.
Shorebird migration through
Bowerman Basin NWR takes place in late April and early May;
hawk migration begins at Cape Flattery; sea otter pupping
through early spring, Olympic Coast Sanctuary.
Gray whales and calves pass
through Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuary on their migration north.
Juvenile rockfish settle from
the water column onto Cordell Bank throughout April and May.
During early spring, island
wildflowers such as the Giant Coreopsis (Coreopsis gigantea)
are in full bloom (March through early April).
Pacific harbor seal
(Phoca vitulina) pupping season on San Miguel Island
(February through May).
Gray whales (Eschrichtius
robustus) migrate north through Channel Islands National
Marine Sanctuary from calving grounds in Baja California,
Mexico to Alaskan feeding grounds (Mid-February through May).
Peak egg-laying season for
California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus)
on Anacapa and Santa Barbara Islands (March and April).
Brant geese (Branta
bernicla) stop to rest and feed in the Channel Islands
region on their annual migration between Mexico and Alaska
(March through May).
Xantus's murrelets
(Synthiboramphus hypoleucus) breed and nest on the
Channel Islands (March through July).
Double-Crested
cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) begin nesting
on the Channel Islands.
Red-Necked
phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus) can be seen in the
Santa Barbara Channel in the spring (April and May) and fall
(August through October).
Peak spawning season for Grunion
(Leuresthes tenuis) on southern California beaches.
Grunion leave the water at night to spawn on the beach in
the spring and summer months two to six nights after the full
and new moons. Spawning begins after high tide and continues
for several hours (late March through early June).
Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis)
pups are born in early spring on the Channel Islands (March
and April).
Humpback
whales
return to the Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary from the Caribbean,
including the Silver Bank Humpback Whale Sanctuary in the
Dominican Republic. The humpbacks feed on the large numbers
of sand lance that congregate on Stellwagen Bank.
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