Bird Rock
Two Harbors · Catalina Island · California
Today's forecast
Updated 6:00 AM PT todayThe clarity holds through the day, with a light afternoon onshore the only disturbance to the entry shallows.
7-Day Forecast
Map · getting there
33.452° N · 118.487° W
Catalina Island, CA 90704
Open in Google Maps
Open in Apple MapsAbout Bird Rock
Bird Rock is the white-streaked pinnacle that breaks the surface about half a mile off the mainland side of Isthmus Cove at Two Harbors. Locals also call it White Rock, after the layer of guano that generations of cormorants and gulls have left on the top. Below the waterline the structure is entirely rock, with a shallow reef wrapping the perimeter from about 15 feet down. The west face is a steep vertical dropoff that runs from 30 to 60 feet, with an arch cut through it at the same depth band. The sheltered north and east faces carry giant kelp anchored at about 50 feet of depth and grown up through the water column to the surface. A second dropoff at around 80 feet leads down to sand barrens. Sea lions haul out on the exposed rock above the water.
The kelp-covered north and east faces make this a kelp forest biome, with the canopy reaching the surface over a continuous shelf. On the west side, the vertical dropoff and the arch cut through it are canyon structure, a sharp depth change rather than horizontal hard-bottom. Visibility tends to hold well because the exposed pinnacle and deep surrounding ravines keep current moving through.
Access is boat-only. Charters work the rock from Two Harbors, Avalon, and the mainland. Take is prohibited within Bird Rock SMCA, which encloses the rock and its surrounding reef.
Kelp Forest
The kelp forest biome is giant kelp anchored to rocky bottom and growing up through the water column. The canopy and stipes form a three-dimensional habitat that shelters fish, invertebrates, and the predators that hunt them. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Canyon
The canyon biome is sharp vertical relief with a real depth change — walls, pinnacles, and drop-offs. The structure draws current-borne food and concentrates fish and large predators along its edges. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome GlossaryMarine Life
Nearby beaches
Gain the Power
of the Oracle.
Ocean Oracle sees the future. Get 7-day visibility forecasts for every beach, plus alerts the night before clarity peaks — so you never miss a prime day.
Free shows you what the ocean looks like today. Ocean Oracle shows you the week ahead, the conditions behind every score, and the fish waiting for you down there.
Visibility predictions for the entire week ahead at any beach. Plan dives, schedule charters, book trips — without guessing.
Every Sunday, get the week's outlook delivered to your inbox. Know what's coming before Monday.
The night before any beach hits prime conditions, Ocean Oracle pings your phone. Wake up knowing exactly where to go.
Track your favorite beaches in one place. Forecasts, alerts, and conditions for everywhere you dive.
Water temp, air temp, wind, swell, chlorophyll. Every metric behind the visibility score, exposed for the deep-data divers.
For every beach: what species are there, when they show up, and how to target them. Built by spearos, for spearos.
See the future. Dive on the right days.