Seabirds fatten up on anchovies near Santa Cruz Wharf, harbor

SANTA CRUZ — Marine life and seabirds of all sorts, from pelicans and gulls to migratory terns and shearwaters, have amassed off the coast in recent weeks — flapping, squawking, swirling and diving — feathers flying in a feeding frenzy as each creature fights for their share of the anchovies swimming below the ocean’s surface.

The spectacle is an expected one in the summer for those that study and admire the swarming seabirds such as the long-flying and deep-diving sooty shearwaters, shifting...