Ready to help visitors understand the wildlife and natural phenomena of Point Reyes National Seashore in winter.
Scenes from the Beach
Female seals with their pups.
© Colleen Whitney 2024
Docents at Work
Handbook and Reference Materials
Download the current handbook and reports for 2023-24.
2023-24 Handbook (pdf)
Download2024 Elephant Seal Breeding Season Summary (pdf)
DownloadElephant Seal Breeding Season Update 2/23/24 (pdf)
DownloadElephant Seal Breeding Season Update 2/16/24 (pdf)
DownloadElephant Seal Breeding Season Update 2/09/24 (pdf)
DownloadElephant Seal Breeding Season Update 1/12/24 (pdf)
DownloadMore Reading
Elephant Seals
- Media article: The Two Ton Lifeguard that Saved a Young Pup (New York Times, 2/7/2024)
- Scientific paper: Sarah Codde, Sarah Allen and Mat Lau in Marine Mammal Science: An observation of potential altruism by a male northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) based on what they saw at our own Point Reyes.
- VIdeo: Sarah Squared (PBS) (3 min)
- Video: Roxanne Beltran, UC Santa Cruz Slugs and Steins series lecture (87 min)
- Media article: Scientists discover the real-life impacts of northern elephant seal bottleneck (Phys.org, 2/21/2024)
- Media article: Elephant seals, once nearly extinct, find new habitats (Marin Independent Journal, 1/23/2024)
- Video: Battle Between Two Male Elephant Seals (BBC) (3 min)
- Media article: How Terrestrial Turds Lead to Marine Maladies Diseases from land animals are killing marine mammals at an alarming rate. Can we stem the flow of feces? (Hakai Magazine, 1/2/2024)
- Scientific paper: Foraging behavior and age affect internal transfer of mercury to northern elephant seal pups (Scientific Reports, 2/6/2024)
- Media article: Inside Elephant Seal Pups’ Race to the Depths While northern pups dive right in, their southern cousins take their time. (Smithsonian Magazine, 1/16/2024)
Whales
- Media article: Whale song mystery solved by scientists (BBC News, 2/21/2024
- Web page: Today's Whale Count from Point Vicente (American Cetacean Society, LA)
Lighthouse
- Web page: Visit the Point Reyes Lighthouse - Point Reyes National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) (15 min)
- Web page: Lighthouse History at Point Reyes - Point Reyes National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) (10 min)
- Web page: The Historic Point Reyes Lighthouse brochure (20 min)
- Video: Point Reyes Lighthouse 150th Anniversary Celebration: Carola DeRooy Davis Interview (8 min, 38 sec)
- Video: The Lighthouse Today (6 min, 51 sec)
Lifeboat Station
- Web page: Lifeboat Station History at Pt. Reyes (US National Park Service)
Find Out More
Of course, it’s best to see us and the wildlife in person!
You can find a docent at Drakes Beach seven days a week, January to April.
Looking ahead, consider joining the Docent team. Watch the Point Reyes National Seashore volunteer website for a recruitment announcement in the fall of 2024.
Point Reyes Winter Wildlife Docents await you.
Drakes Beach, Inverness, California 94937, United States
Copyright © 2024 Pt Reyes Winter Wildlife Docents - All Rights Reserved.