All 3 in 3 days here: <5%
Channel Islands National Park
🇺🇸 United States
North America, United States 737 spp. recorded
Channel Islands National Park is a rugged coastal sanctuary off the shore of Southern California, protecting a chain of isolated islands defined by steep sea cliffs, coastal scrub, and sweeping ocean vistas. This marine-rich refuge stands apart from mainland parks through its total insularity, preserving fragile coastal ecosystems shaped entirely by wind and sea.
34.009° N 119.763° W
🦜 Nature
417 Species sighted
187,069 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Mar Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 423 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
Recent sightings in Channel Islands National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSounds of Channel Islands National Park
Morning soundscape0:32
United States · 2017
© Fernando del Valle · XC513825 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Sighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
46Jan
47Feb
54Mar
54Apr
54May
54Jun
48Jul
48Aug
50Sep
52Oct
47Nov
42Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Ventura Settling Ponds
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Santa Cruz Island · Prisoners Harbor
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Anacapa Island · public access (VEN Co.)
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Santa Cruz Island · Scorpion Canyon Campgrounds
-
Santa Cruz Island · UC Research Station
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Island Fox>90%+10%
Common Side-blotched Lizard~80%+10%
Pacific chorus frog~50%+20%
Southern Alligator Lizard~50%+20%
Black-bellied Slender Salamander~40%+30%
Island Fence Lizard~40%≈
House Finch~40%-30%
Song Sparrow~40%-30%
Anna's Hummingbird~30%-10%
Common Dolphin~30%≈
Black Phoebe~30%-40%
Gopher Snake~30%+10%
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Free
Tourism
High
Typical stay
1
dayTrails
Moderate
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
ExcellentHow rich is the wildlife?
4.7
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 533
🐒 Mammals 129
🦎 Reptiles 43
🐸 Amphibians 15
🦈 Sharks & Rays 17
737 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
45 Threatened 20 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
3.4
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
70% 📊
Coverage (177 species at ≥5% of 737 in the inventory)
24% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (9 bird, 2 mammal, 1 reptile)
54% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
119 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
13 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
26 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.5
Climate Mixed Medium
Entrance Free High
Tourism High Low
Trails Moderate Medium
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
We were sitting on a dock outside of our Airbnb watching the fishing boats and the fishing osprey, when we started to see a group of pelicans and cormorants gather in the distance along the shoreline.
I saw dolphins, blue whales, foxes, ospreys, seals, sea lions, and so many more animals.
While in transit, we witnessed a full-on feeding frenzy—pods of dolphins surfacing again and again beside the boat, along with a few distant blowhole sightings and briefly glimpsed flukes as humpback whales began their dives into the ocean depths.
Speaking of wildlife, we were lucky enough to see the rarer bottlenose dolphins!
Before you go
What animals can you see in Channel Islands National Park?
737 species
Channel Islands National Park has 737 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Island Fox (about 90%), Western Gull (about 90%), Brown Pelican (about 80%), Common Side-blotched Lizard (about 70%) and Double-crested Cormorant (about 70%). Among amphibians, the most-seen is Pacific chorus frog (about 30%).
When is the best time to visit Channel Islands National Park for wildlife?
May to March
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 60% in April.
Can you see an Island Fox in Channel Islands National Park?
Yes
About 90% of wildlife watchers report an Island Fox sighting in Channel Islands National Park on a given day, based on 1,561 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is October to July (about 90%).
Can you see a Haller's Round Ray in Channel Islands National Park?
Yes
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Haller's Round Ray sighting in Channel Islands National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is June (about 90%).
Can you see a Humpback Whale in Channel Islands National Park?
Yes
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Humpback Whale sighting in Channel Islands National Park on a given day, based on 67 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is April–May and December (about 30%).
Where in Channel Islands National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Ventura Settling Ponds
The richest sighting zone is around Ventura Settling Ponds, followed by Santa Cruz Island · Prisoners Harbor and Anacapa Island · public access (VEN Co.), ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Channel Islands National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.9 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Channel Islands National Park rates 3.9/5: 129th of 316 parks worldwide and 5th in North America. 34 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
