FIF 2024 Trip To Santa Cruz Island

What do these smiling people have in common?

 

They joined Friends of the Island Fox on a trip to Santa Cruz Island

Join in the Fun and Experience Island Foxes in the Wild

 

Saturday, September 14, 2024

We'll check-in at Ventura Harbor at 8 am 

and return around 5 pm

The $78 registration fee includes: boat fare, FIF naturalist guides on the island, and a donation to support island fox conservation. 

Trip is Sold Out

 It's a full day of exploring Santa Cruz Island and each trip has unique experiences.

an island fox follows a raven

watching an island fox

 

 

The endemic island scrub jay is now easily seen in the Scorpion Landing area where we are headed. Late summer is also a great time to see marine mammals.

Reservations are taken on a first come basis. For more info follow the button...

Trip is Sold Out

 See island foxes, experience the Channel Islands, and support important conservation.

Join FIF on a Trip to Santa Cruz Island

Spring is a great time to visit the Channel Islands!

Friends of the Island Fox is headed to Santa Cruz Island for the day on:

May 20th, 2023

We'll check-in at Ventura Harbor at 8:15 am 

and return around 5 pm.

The $75 (per person) registration includes: boat fare, FIF naturalist guides on the island, and a donation to support vaccinating island foxes against canine distemper virus.

4/14/23 Trip is SOLD OUT

Each trip to the islands is an adventure...

 

... and we never know for sure what wildlife we might see. Island foxes and island scrub-jays are typically seen where we are headed.

The dock at Scorpion Landing is new and only requires two steps on the boat to access a ramp; no more metal ladder to climb.

Reservations are taken on a first come basis. 

4/14/23 Trip is SOLD OUT

Come enjoy the islands, see island foxes, and help protect their future.

Visiting the Island Fox on Santa Cruz Island

What is like to visit the island fox at home? Walk along with our guest blogger - Douglas E. Welch

Island Journal - My First Visit to Santa Cruz Island

It took me over 25 years living in California to make my first visit to Santa Cruz Island. The Channel Islands have always intrigued me, but they seemed so difficult to visit.

Finally, the day arrived when our entire family boarded a boat for Santa Cruz Island. This was a trip sponsored by the Friends of the Island Fox. They took care of organizing our transport and acted as interpreters for all we hoped to see that day. The sun was shining brightly when we left Ventura Harbor, but as we got closer to the island a deep fog set in. Santa Cruz had to be out there somewhere, but we also could have been in the middle of the Pacific for all we knew. It was only by looking at my gps position on my iPhone that I knew we had to be close.

Suddenly a pier faded into view and then a shoreline and then Santa Cruz Island’s mountains. Within a few minutes, we were on dry land again and beginning our exploration of this very wild portion of California.

Because of the island’s isolation, everything looked familiar–but different. Of course, the island foxes only inhabit the Channel Island; they were completely new to me. It was amazing to see something so rare (and so darn cute) up close. They are smart, too. One fox even tried to raid a backpack while its owner napped nearby. Something you always need to be on-guard about when you visit the islands.

The flora and bird life were slightly different too. The giant coreopsis takes on huge proportions when compared to their mainland counterparts. What looked similar to a mainland scrub-jay turned out to be an island scrub-jay, also endemic to the islands. Again, familiar–but different.

For me, another unique feature of the island was the sound the cobbled rocks made as the surf washed them first onshore and then retreated. The stones rolled back and forth clinking and clunking like a stone xylophone. I watched and listen to that sound for quite a long time as we waited to board our boat home. I was amazed at its musicality.

Listen to the sounds of rocks and surf from Santa Cruz Island

Since this visit, I now take every opportunity to visit the Channel Islands. It is always an amazing day of unique flora and fauna and striking scenic vistas that seem to faraway, but are right here in our own backyard. - Douglas E. Welch  

Other Island Journal entries:

Santa Cruz Island in spring

Island Fox Numbers Increasing 2009

Santa Cruz Prisoner's Harbor

San Nicolas Island

Santa Rosa Island

 

 

 

FIF Trip to Santa Cruz Island!

Join Friends of the Island Fox for:

photo courtesy of Jay Dyer

A Trip to Prisoner's Harbor

Santa Cruz Island

Saturday, April 6, 2013

SOLD OUT - (as of 3/7/13)

Michael Lawshe for FIF

That's right, this spring FIF educators are leading a day-long adventure to look for both the island fox AND the island scrub-jay.

As the population of Santa Cruz Island foxes reaches recovery it is possible to observe them at more locations across the island. Santa Cruz is also the only home of the rare island scrub-jay. With its newly restored wetland area, Prisoner's Harbor is one of the prime locations to encounter this unique bird as well as many other species. Wetland on a dry island.

On the trip over to Prisoner's Harbor (about 1 and a half hours) there is the possibility of seeing many marine species as well. 

bottlenose dolphin with calf

Biodiversity at Prisoner's Harbor
 
Tickets will be $65.00 per person. A percentage of the fee will go to support island fox recovery efforts. 

We will take the Island Packers boat from Ventura Harbor leaving at 8.00 AM and returning around 5 PM on Saturday April 6, 2013.  Check in will be required at 7:15 AM.

Reservations are limited and will be provided on a first come basis. To book reservations, please download the Reservation Booking Form (Click Here to download pdf)
SOLD OUT - (as of 3/7/13)

Send the completed form with your check, made payable to the "Friends of the Island Fox" to the address on the form.  Reservations will be taken in the order received, and no reservations can be accepted without payment.

At the time of booking you will receive further details of the trip, including: where to meet, what to pack, the suggested clothing and other items of interest. Note the photo to the right. Food items will need to be secured at all times. What to remember when visiting the island fox.