It's just about 11 a.m. and scientists are expected to band two baby bald eagles on Santa Cruz Island, which is 20 miles off the Ventura coast. The event is being broadcast live from the island online here. The bald eagle population within Channel Islands National Park suffered a blow in the 1960s, but recent efforts by the National Park Service and Nature Conservancy have helped bring them back. Today, biologists are banding the chicks by attaching radio and satellite transmitters. Health checks will also be conducted. Background on the chicks can be read here and here. more ›

Last month, LAist told you that two bald eagles had mated and laid eggs on Santa Cruz Island, one of the five islands in Channel Islands National Park. "Great news," Yvonne Menard, spokesperson for park, exclaimed this afternoon. "We have just had two new chicks hatch at the Pelican Harbor nest on Santa Cruz Island." Thankfully, the eagle nest is under the eye of a live webcam. If you're lucky, you might see the two chicks make an appearance. The re-burgeoning Bald Eagle island population was wiped out when the chemical DDT entered the ocean ecosystem. Santa Cruz Island is located about 20 miles from Ventura Harbor. more ›

Once ousted from Southern California's existence, thanks to the harmful chemical DDT, bald eagles have been making a comeback in Channel Islands National Park since 2002. On the largest island, Santa Cruz, which is about one hours... more ›

One of the perks of visiting two of the outer islands in Channel Islands National Park is a trip to Painted Cave along the northwest coastline of Santa Cruz Island. The park's main transit vendor, Island Packers, makes a point of doing frequent stops during travels because the park is not just land based, but also miles of protected water in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Whales, dolphins and other sea life are often spotted, but one of the most popular attractions from a boaters perspective is Painted Cave. more ›

The close of summer means more opportunities at California's desert National Parks like Joshua Tree and Mojave (though you might want to wait a few more weeks for Death Valley). But these colder weather months mean limited options at Channel Islands National Park, just off the coast of Ventura and Santa Barbara. more ›

After eight and a half years of nine-to-five work and three Spiderman franchises, Ian Shive had enough. Like most us, we all wish we could just grab a camera and travel to earn a living. But like most of us, we don't. Shive is the exception. more ›

On a recent journey to Channel Islands National Park, just off the coast of Ventura and Santa Barbara, it was a stormy day limiting the accessibility of some sea caves for safety reasons. Of course, we had to go back and pray it was a calm sunny day and this weekend proved to be as such in the caves surrounding Scorpion Anchorage on Santa Cruz Island. more ›

It takes about an hour from the nation's second largest city to drive the 101 Freeway to the Ventura Harbor. With another hour by boat and you're inside one of the less visited National Parks in the country. Welcome to Channel Islands National Park, a group of five protected islands that represent what California looked like before modern humans developed the land, although some of the islands are in recovery after early century farming and other harms to the ecosystem. more ›

Earlier this month, a photograph by a UC Santa Barbara graduate student showed what may have been a very exciting discovery on Santa Cruz Island off the coasts of Ventura and Santa Barbara: a complete tusk of a prehistoric pygmy mammoth. more ›

A minor earthquake was recorded this morning at 7:39. It was centered in the ocean, 13 miles east of Santa Cruz Island, and measured 3.5 in magnitude; the quake was closest to the mainland cities of Ventura, Oxnard, and Port Hueneme, although abc7.com is reporting it as taking place near Malibu and Anacapa island. Just a couple of days ago many here in the greater Los Angeles area felt the 5.1 jolt from the desert, centered in a town with a population of 10. Did you feel this one? See the "shake map" here. more ›