Castle Rock, the largest and tallest islet offshore at this location, hosts a large Common Murre colony each spring/summer, conditions permitting. Pigeon Guillemots and Western Gulls nest as well, as do Brandt's and Pelagic Cormorants among the islets. In the view above, Castle Rock is the tall one covered with guano rather near the shore; the dark islets are small, shorter islets that are more difficult for seabirds to use for breeding, although they can be fine as roosts.

The point of this small Hotspot is to survey the seabird colonies. Only the islets and surrounding ocean are within the Hotspot. Please don't enter landbirds seen or heard on shore on a checklist from this Hotspot.

Beyond the breeding species listed above, these islets are roosts for migrant Brown Pelicans, and there is one record of Brown Booby (rare).

In the summers of 1996 & 1997, a small colony of Ashy Storm-Petrel bred on Castle Rock (and Hurricane Pt. Rock), and in 1997 an egg of Cassin's Auklet was found on Castle Rock, where breeding by 1-5 pairs was suspected. These are the only breeding efforts by these species in Monterey County. Because of the presence of predatory Western Gulls, these seabirds would return and leave their breeding burrows only at night, and disperse far out of sea, away from gulls. You will not see any during the day.

There are about 5 largeish islets offshore, just north of Bixby Canyon Bridge, but only the tallest is called Castle Rock. There is no easy place to pull off and look at these islets; it is best to park at Bixby Bridge and walk back (a scope is helpful).