The Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge encompassing located in the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

coastal community of Seal Beach. Although it is located in Orange County it is included as part of the

San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex The San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex is a series of wildlife refuges established by the United States National Wildlife Service beginning in 1972. The complex incorporates five refuges in San Diego County and Orange County in California ...

. It was established in 1972. The refuge is a collaboration between the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

and the Department of the Navy. It serves as a critical habitat and winter stopover for many birds along the

Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

. Among the birds found at the refuge are

great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos I ...

s and the three endangered bird species:

California clapper rail Ridgway's rail (''Rallus obsoletus'') is a near-threatened species of bird. It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay to southern Baja California. A member of the rail family, Rallidae, it is a chicken-sized bird that rarely fli ...

, California least tern, and Belding's Savannah sparrow. The refuge is located within Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. Public access in the refuge is limited or restricted to once-a month tour (last Saturday of each month) as it is located within an active military base.

Habitat

Subtidal habitat

The subtidal zone is the shallow, near-shore area below the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

, the land between the high and low tide marks. Subtidal is permanently inundated, except for rare lowest low tide events. There are four tidal basins created for the restoration of wetland: Forrestal Pond, Case Road Pond, 7th Street Pond, and Perimeter Pond, which are currently supporting the subtidal habitat in the Refuge. Tidal water from

Anaheim Bay Anaheim Bay is an extensive harbor and wetland complex in Orange County, California in the United States. The bay is located on the Pacific Ocean coast of northwestern Orange County next to Seal Beach and is split into several distinct but inter ...

supports the ponds. Dominating plants in these subtidal habitat is

eelgrass Eelgrass is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Zostera'', marine eelgrass * ''Vallisneria'', freshwater eelgrass {{Short pages monitor