Best for seawatching during strong northwest winds, typically following cold fronts. Can be good year-round, but is especially good during fall migration, when southbound migrants get pushed into the hook of the bay during strong winds, passing quite close to shore at Point Pinos. Bring a spotting scope and look toward the north or northeast for birds exiting the bay. Be prepared for it to be colder than you'd think!

Although a lot of seawatching has been done from the parking area at Pt. Pinos itself, or at the prior MAS seawatch site just to the east, you can do a stationary seawatch from many sites within the Pt. Pinos general hot spot. You can seawatch easily from "Petrel Point," or near John Denver Beach, to look north and east, or on the coastal side south of Pt. Pinos in small pull-outs to scope west in the morning. Any single spot can be a "seawatch only."  it is not the location within Pt. Pinos general that makes a seawatch -- it is the effort to look for birds over the sea from a stationary point that makes a "seawatch."

True seabirds, often called pelagic species, which are typically seen offshore over deeper water, can be readily seen from Point Pinos during the right conditions. Many species of shearwaters, alcids, gulls, and other water birds are common in season. Flights of Surf Scoters, sometimes with other ducks, are impressive in fall. Point Pinos is famous for its spectacular Pacific Loon migration, which peaks in late November and early December.

Spending time scoping in the right conditions has led to annual sightings of Black-footed and Laysan Albatross, and over the years 5 species of storm-petrels, 5 species of boobies, rare alids and shearwaters, and even Pterodroma petrels have been observed.

"Pt. Pinos--seawatch only" is a sub-location within the broader "Pt. Pinos--general" hot spot.  You may enter birds you observed while seawatching to a checklist of the "general" hot spot, and you should do so if you are combining seawatching with viewing other sites in the Hot Spot, such as Crespi Pond.  The "Pt. Pinos--seawatch" checklists are intended to be dedicated seawatching efforts from a single location, so each checklist would be a stationary count. You may include anything you see or hear during a seawatch, include birds behind you or overhead, but the sub-location should not be used for traveling counts that survey a variety of habitats beyond seawatching.

Monterey Audubon hosts a 6-week long annual seawatch from 1 November through 15 December. Visitors to the site will find the expert counter dutifully tallying loons, scoters, alcids and other seabirds during hourly surveys from dawn to dusk every day during the period.

Whales and other marine mammals are common around the point. Look for their spectacular blows just offshore. Also keep an eye out for the tall, falcate grayish dorsal fins of Risso's Dolphins, which often feed in the waters around the point. California Sea Lion and Sea Otter are both ever present.

Point Pinos is the northwestern tip of the Monterey Peninsula in Pacific Grove. It is world-famous as a sea-watching site but is also well known for the diversity of vagrants seen on Crespi Pond or in the adjacent cypresses. Unfortunately, most of the northwestern portion of Pacific Grove is a golf course so birding access is limited to the shoreline or the cypresses next to the restroom at Crespi Pond. Yet the public has access to the entire shoreline, so viewing rocky shorebirds and gulls is usually easy, and one can sea-watch from extensive public pull-outs along this entire stretch of coast.

For complete information on Point Pinos visit Birding at Point Pinos by Don Roberson.

There is a walking trail around the point itself, right on the water, which is mostly flat.