But California is not known for its wall dives. There are locations here and there, usually pinnacles, but vertical rock faces are few and far between. And easy to reach walls are even more rare. The wall at Bird Rock, Catalina Island is one of these exceptions. It is easy to reach as dive charter boats visit this site every weekend and sometimes even daily. Catalina Island is generally a short easy hall for the experienced private boater and the wall at bird rock is easy to find and anchor.
I have dived this site probably a hundred times and I never weary of it. The shear, deep wall is exciting and life is abundant and varied. As you pass down the wall, there will be numerous cracks, crevices and cuts into the rock face. Here you will find resident rockfish, treefish (a kind of rockfish identified by its yellow and black stripes), painted greenlings, and thousands of brightly colored blue-banded gobies.
There is definitely no shortage of invertebrate life along the wall. Nudibranchs, mainly the violet and orange Spanish shawl, dot the rock ledges. Bright pink gorgonians cling to the wall. Under the ledges you will find small clusters of aggregating coral, orange cup coral, and some small scallops.
The rock face drops from as little as 5 feet to as much as 85 feet straight down. But most of it is a drop of about 15 to 70 feet. Head to the west and you will find cuts into the reef, a small swim through cave and at about 55 feet, a large swim-through that makes for excellent underwater photos of another diver with kelp in the background.
Toward Bird Rock itself, to the east, the wall becomes even more dramatic. Here is where the drop is from just 5 feet to 85--a plummet of 80 feet! At one point an undercut into the rock face reaches back about 20 feet.
East or west, the wall bottoms out into large scattered boulders one atop another. Lush giant kelp is all around although not so thick as to be able to pass through easily. In these rocks you will find lobster, most small, and horn sharks, some quite large. Atop the rocks look for cabezon and more rockfish. It is out on the deeper rocks to the east that the now very rare white abalone used to reside. Always uncommon, they are now the only invertebrate on the endangered species list. Should spot one, do not disturb, make careful note of its location, and report it to California Department of Fish and Game marine biologists.
Conditions here are generally good due to usually calm seas and a mild current that keeps the water clean. Water visibility runs from 30 to as much as 60 feet. Days of even 80 feet have been reported. While the current is generally mild, usually from west to east, it can be stronger along the eastern side of the wall.
When diving here don't ignore the shallows beside the wall. Kelp is thick and the accompanying marine life abundant. When my kids were young they loved snorkeling here. The shallows are also an excellent beginner scuba dive even if you are cautious and only want to just peer over the edge into the abyss.
Location: Center of Isthmus Cove. You can't miss it. It is the hump rock. Anchor on the west end. GPS: N 33°27.134', W118°29.272' (do not use GPS as you sole source of navigation)
Skill level. All skill levels but more experienced along deeper sections of the wall.
Depths: Shallow reefs with vertical drops to as much as 85 feet.
Visibility: Good, averages 40-50 feet.
Hunting: A few lobster. Little else and fish are too small.
Photography: Excellent wide-angle along rock faces adorned with brightly colored gorgonians. Good for macro too with a lot of small and medium sized fish and some invertebrates.
Snorkeling: Excellent in the shallows up near the rock.
Hazards: Boat traffic, thick kelp, currents on east end of wall.
