Farallon National Wildlife Refuge was established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1909. The Refuge is located 27 miles off the coast of San Francisco. It is made up of all the Farallon Islands and Noon Day Rock and supports the largest seabird nesting colony south of Alaska. Thirteen seabird species numbering over 200,000 individuals nest here each summer – including petrels, cormorants, black oystercatchers, western gulls, common murre, pigeon guillemot, puffins, auklets and much more.
The endangered California brown pelican disperses from breeding sites in southern California and Baja California to roost on and feed from the Farallon Islands. Hundreds, and sometimes thousands of pelicans drape West End Island and other roosting areas from late summer through fall.
Northern fur seals, Stellar sea lions, California sea lions, harbour seals, and northern elephant seals breed or haul-out onto the Farallon Refuge. As well as seabirds, the refuge is home to a variety of endemic species including white sharks, hoary bats, and arboreal salamanders.