Land of Liberty Explorers

Anacapa Island is a small volcanic island. It is 12 miles from Oxnard. It has steep cliffs that drop straight into the ocean. Its large sea arch is one of the national park’s most recognized features. The ride from Oxnard to Anacapa with Island Packers was a little rough because the boat was an old wood hulled boat, but we saw amazing wildlife on our trip to Anacapa.

Upon arriving at the island dock before ascending the 157 stairs to the top, a ranger gave us an orientation. He asked, “How many of you are here for the birds?” A few people raised their hands. The ranger said “If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you will when you get up the stairs!” Anacapa hosts the largest brown pelican rookery in the United States. It is also home to the largest breeding colony of western gulls in the world. Our trip coincided with the gulls hatching chicks. The entire island was covered by gull families squawking at each other.

When we arrived at the top of the stairs, we were greeted by hundreds of seagulls! They were everywhere! Most of seagull families consisted of two parents guarding two or three chicks. All those birds lead to very strong scents and residue everywhere – by the end of the day our nickname for this island was “Ana-crap-a” – still all the birds made touring the very small island much more interesting.

Anacapa Island Lighthouse

Our first stop on the island was Anacapa Island Lighthouse. The light tower that exists today was built in 1932 and is the last major light station the United States built on the west coast.

Just down the trail from the lighthouse, we saw a large group of brown pelicans. We enjoyed watching them stretch their necks, get ready, and then fly off the island’s steep cliff.

Ranger Walk

We joined the ranger led walk around the island to learn about the history of the island along with its plants and animals. Hearing about how the seagulls care for their babies was very interesting. Parents take turns guarding the nest and fishing for food. When a parent returns with food, the baby pokes the pink spot on the parent’s beak to make the parent regurgitate food for them.

Pinniped Point

The ranger led us to Pinniped Point – an overlook on the south side of the Island with a view of a sea lion rookery below. The sea lions made almost as much noise as the gulls!

Inspiration Point

After viewing the sea lions, we walked to the far west end of the island for a view of Inspiration Point – maybe the most famous view in the park.

Invasive Ice Plant

We saw what we thought was beautiful ice plant on both Santa Cruz and Anacapa Island, but it wasn’t until the ranger walk on Anacapa that we realized it is an invasive species. When the Coast Guard had active stations on the islands, ice plant was added in landscaping beds and now it is spreading across the islands. The Parks Service has a volunteer program working to eradicate it.