Sunday Morning Walk - Sea Lions off Monterey Coast Guard Pier
This morning Phil and I headed to the Monterey Coast Guard Pier for our morning walk. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm with calm seas. I love to walk this way, listening to the barking of the sea lions, watching them sun themselves on the sides of the pier not to mention the view from the pier is incredible. It was the perfect place to see the sunrise this morning. I hope that you enjoy this little photo essay of our morning.
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“Nature unfolds her treasure at the first ray of sunrise.”
Kishore Bansal
Kishore Bansal
“May every sunrise hold more promise and every sunset hold more peace...”
Umair Siddiqui
Umair Siddiqui
The 1700-foot breakwater guarding the north side of the Harbor was built during the early 1930s by the Army Corps of Engineers. A wharf was later constructed over the breakwater and is used as home port for the 110-foot U.S. Coast Guard Cutter LONG ISLAND.
The U.S. Coast Guard small boats are located in small boat slips on the shore side of the wharf on the east side of the breakwater. U.S. Coast Guard Station Monterey facilities are located between Lighthouse and Foam Streets off of Reeside Avenue. Personnel from the Station provide 24-hour emergency service. The U.S. Coast Guard Station monitors VHF channel 16 around-the-clock. The Monterey Fire Boat also is stationed here. The boat helps protect the harbor's 90,000 sq ft and nearly 600 boats.
Public access to the U.S. Coast Guard Wharf is permitted from sunrise to sunset and fishing is permitted on the north side of the breakwater. This is one of the City's great sites for wildlife viewing including the rich seabird rookery, sea lions, harbor seals, and sea otters.
The U.S. Coast Guard small boats are located in small boat slips on the shore side of the wharf on the east side of the breakwater. U.S. Coast Guard Station Monterey facilities are located between Lighthouse and Foam Streets off of Reeside Avenue. Personnel from the Station provide 24-hour emergency service. The U.S. Coast Guard Station monitors VHF channel 16 around-the-clock. The Monterey Fire Boat also is stationed here. The boat helps protect the harbor's 90,000 sq ft and nearly 600 boats.
Public access to the U.S. Coast Guard Wharf is permitted from sunrise to sunset and fishing is permitted on the north side of the breakwater. This is one of the City's great sites for wildlife viewing including the rich seabird rookery, sea lions, harbor seals, and sea otters.
California sea lions are known to be intelligent, playful and a common sight in Monterey Bay. Easily identified by their brown coat, small ears, broad flippers and loud bark. Sea lions often haul themselves out of the water on sandy beaches, rocky shores, jetties, piers or docks.
Fishing is permitted on the north side of the breakwater.
California sea lions are extremely social and often gather together in large groups. They are fast, agile swimmers and are often seen playing, splashing and porpoising. Sea lions main predators are killer whales and sharks.
Historic Monterey Harbor is located in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the largest Marine Sanctuary in the world. Monterey Bay provides a natural setting for the Monterey Harbor and the Monterey Municipal Marina. Located in the City of Monterey along Del Monte Avenue, the Harbor and Marina provide access to a variety of recreational, as well as, commercial opportunities for residents and visitors alike in this scenic setting.
Sea Lions prefer the warmer climates of both California and Mexico. They are found from the Pacific Coast of Vancouver all the way to Baja which is where California meets Mexico. Until the 1950’s there were also California Sea Lions along the coast of Japan called Japanese Sea Lion, subspecies of California sea lion.
The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary was established in September 1992. The Sanctuary encompasses a shoreline length of 276 miles and 6,094 square miles of ocean from Marin to Cambria. It supports one of the world's most diverse ecosystems, home to numerous mammal, fish, bird, invertebrate and plant species.
Marine sanctuaries strive to preserve ocean environments that are still relatively pristine while promoting multiple use of the area for enjoyment by everyone. Ninety percent of the U.S. population lives within 200 miles of the nation's coastlines and competition for use of ocean resources is growing rapidly.
Marine sanctuaries strive to preserve ocean environments that are still relatively pristine while promoting multiple use of the area for enjoyment by everyone. Ninety percent of the U.S. population lives within 200 miles of the nation's coastlines and competition for use of ocean resources is growing rapidly.
Even though the California Sea Lion isn’t considered to be in danger at this time, there are efforts in place to protect them. California laws are in place to try to reduce the number of them that are injured or killed in boating accidents. They also strive to keep the waters clean and to make sure humans aren’t intentionally harming them.
The adjacent beach, San Carlos Beach Park, is one of the most popular diving spots in the area.
In spring California sea lions gather at the breeding areas called “rookeries”. Male sea lions (bulls) defend their beach territories while females arrive and shortly thereafter give birth to a single pup. Within two to three weeks after giving birth, females mate with area bulls to ensure next year’s pup. At birth pups are about two and a half feet long, weigh about 13 pounds and are able to crawl around within 30 minutes of being born. Females will leave their young pup to search for food and are able to find the pup on a beach full of hundreds of pups through vocalizations and smell. During mom’s absence, pups gather in groups called “pup-pods” and spend time sleeping, playing, exploring and swimming in the tide pools.
The sea lions were swimming and resting all along the pier.
Both seals and sea lions, together with the walrus, are pinnipeds, which means "fin footed" in Latin.
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/seal-sealion.html
My husband Phil looking cute in the sunrise.
The clichéd circus seal—obligingly balancing a ball on its nose and jumping through hoops—is typically a California sea lion.
Located on Monterey's famous Cannery Row is a memorial to ten hardhat divers and their tenders who once serviced the sardine industry. The divers worked on installing and repairing underwater pipes that transported the fish from floating pens to the canneries on shore. Sadly, two of the divers died in service to the world famous industry that made Monterey "The Sardine Capital of the World."
The bronze dive helmet sculpture on the memorial is a classic Morse Mark V helmet, a standard of the commercial dive industry for over 100 years and still available today.
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