About
Why create Orange County Outdoors?
I wanted to create a place where people can learn about Orange County's outdoors with its wildlife, events, beaches, parks, and other outdoor features all in one place. I found it almost impossible to gather information specifically pertaining to the wildlife in Orange County online which this website is mainly targeted to do. Created in 2016 with an Instagram account, this website was created soon after and was inspired by my father who passed away from brain cancer in 2014. I'm not affiliated with any organization like the county or state parks, therefore I can provide information about ALL of Orange County and not limit the info to a specific area within the county. Also I LOVE sharing my photos and videos with people and doing my part to educate others about taking care of what we are so fortunate to have here. This is not a profit monetarily for me but a profit of feeling accomplished about helping others. All photos/videos on this website were taken by Mark Girardeau who owns all copyrights unless otherwise stated. In recent years due to increasing popularity, there have been several imitators calling themselves Orange County Outdoors in an attempt to gain traction online by seeming relevant to this page but I can assure you they are just imitators and in no way affiliated with this website. Thanks for sticking to the original!
Organizations I support
The following organizations are who I choose to support monetarily due to great intentions and well deserving of all the support they can get:
Happy Whale - Citizen science which researches and monitors whale movements. This website has changed the way we understand whales with its citizen science that allows everyone to help, the founder is passionate about the environment and welcomes funding to help support the costs associated with this site.
Pacific Marine Mammal Center - Non-profit that rescues and rehabilitates primarily seals and sea lions that need help, also they rescue other animals like sea turtles and dolphins and they help disentangle whales caught in ropes/nets. They rely solely on donations
eBird - Website that most birders use to record and document all bird species which enables the ability to track migration patterns and changes in climate.
Bird Banding Lab - Report birds with tags/bands to monitor individual movements and lifespans
CA Mountain Lions - Helps monitor the local mountain lion population including keeping them safe, headed by biologist Dr. Vickers at UC Davis
Shark Lab at C.S.U.L.B. - Monitors and researches great whites along our coast
California Killer Whale Project - Researches and identifies killer whale populations off the coast of California and beyond
Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research - Researches and identifies fin whales and beaked whales off the coast of California and beyond
So Cal Sea Turtles - Researchers and documents sea turtle sightings in Southern California
Media Features
National Geographic:
Huffington Post:
Orange County Register:
Bioluminescence tours for 2024
Bioluminescence in Long Beach 2023
Sperm whales off Newport Beach
Russian whale shows up off So Cal
Man killed in boating accident
Weather moves into Orange County
Gray whale rolls around at the beach
Mom And Baby Gray Whales Visit Boat
Entangled Whale Disentangles Itself
Christianitos Fire in San Clemente
Small brush fire breaks out near 241 toll road
CNN:
ABC Los Angeles:
Rare Baird's beaked whales sighting
Mountain lion causes concern to residents
Mom And Baby Gray Whales Visit Boat
Instagram: Mom And Baby Gray Whales
USA Today:
The Washington Post:
IFL Science:
ABC Chicago:
Mom And Baby Gray Whales Visit Boat
ABC Houston:
Magical Rainbow Whale Turns Up Dead
Laguna Beach Independent:
NBC Los Angeles:
Mom And Baby Gray Whales Visit Boat
Instagram: Mom And Baby Gray Whales
Tuna Crabs Wash Up On OC Beaches
CBS:
CBS Los Angeles:
Scarlet the whale shows up dead
The Weather Channel:
KTLA Los Angeles:
Sperm whales off Newport Beach
The Dodo:
Fox News:
Ric O' Barry's Dolphin Project:
Los Angeles Times:
Scarlet the whale shows up dead
Petal Pixel:
The Patch:
New York Daily News:
Univision:
Fox San Diego:
Fox 11 Los Angeles:
LAist:
Accuweather:
Gray Whales Visit Paddle Boarders
Daily Breeze:
The Telegraph - UK:
MSN:
Massive Pod Of Killer Whales Off Orange County
Yahoo:
Seattle Pi:
Awesome Ocean:
Massive Pod Of Killer Whales Off Orange County
Daily Mail - UK:
Univision:
ABC New York:
Cow/calf gray whales visit boat
Magic Seaweed:
Great white sharks appear off OC Coast
ABC Houston:
NBC 7 San Diego:
Press Telegram:
BNQT:
Moscow Times:
Russian whale shows up off So Cal
KGET:
Indian Express:
Sacramento Bee:
Peta Pixel:
Contact
If you need to get ahold of me for media questions, please email mark@orangecountyoutdoors.com. Please note, this email is not for soliciting.