Isla Santa Magdalena
Our last wonderful day together was filled with an abundance of Baja California wildlife. Setting out for Boca de Soledad in our familiar Zodiacs early this morning, we were witness to beautiful long undulating lines of brown pelicans and double crested cormorants flowing across the water to their daytime fishing grounds. A few minutes later, a pod of bottlenose dolphins met us on our way to look for the grey whales and escorted the boat most enthusiastically. Their graceful leaps and agile turns delighted us all and we soon shared their sense of playfulness.
Out in an area of calm water just past the rolling entrance to the Pacific Ocean, we saw the blow of a California grey whale and slowed down to watch her. In a moment, the small dark grey head of her newborn calf came up for a bit of air as well and we marveled at the sweetness of babies, whatever the species. These two circled the area for a long time, bonding and nursing as we sat nearby, entranced.
Before noon, it was time to depart this special place and enjoy another transit of the Hull Canal. As a most appropriate salute, two coyotes watched our outbound passage from the nearby sand dunes. If they were not already onboard, I might have believed they were the spirits of Dennis Cornejo and Larry Hobbs.
The mangrove lined Hull Canal at low tide was a birder’s paradise. Egrets, snowy, great and reddish, great blue, green and little blue herons as well as an astounding number of specialized shorebirds lined the mudflats. Our last outing at El Barril was a wondrous trek across those mudflats filled with invertebrate life or a walk into the desert sand dune habitat.
As we watched the setting sun turn the rocky mountainous outcrop of Isla Santa Magdalena a deep purple and light the clouds around us, I think we all took a moment to appreciate this diverse and mysterious desert place.
Our last wonderful day together was filled with an abundance of Baja California wildlife. Setting out for Boca de Soledad in our familiar Zodiacs early this morning, we were witness to beautiful long undulating lines of brown pelicans and double crested cormorants flowing across the water to their daytime fishing grounds. A few minutes later, a pod of bottlenose dolphins met us on our way to look for the grey whales and escorted the boat most enthusiastically. Their graceful leaps and agile turns delighted us all and we soon shared their sense of playfulness.
Out in an area of calm water just past the rolling entrance to the Pacific Ocean, we saw the blow of a California grey whale and slowed down to watch her. In a moment, the small dark grey head of her newborn calf came up for a bit of air as well and we marveled at the sweetness of babies, whatever the species. These two circled the area for a long time, bonding and nursing as we sat nearby, entranced.
Before noon, it was time to depart this special place and enjoy another transit of the Hull Canal. As a most appropriate salute, two coyotes watched our outbound passage from the nearby sand dunes. If they were not already onboard, I might have believed they were the spirits of Dennis Cornejo and Larry Hobbs.
The mangrove lined Hull Canal at low tide was a birder’s paradise. Egrets, snowy, great and reddish, great blue, green and little blue herons as well as an astounding number of specialized shorebirds lined the mudflats. Our last outing at El Barril was a wondrous trek across those mudflats filled with invertebrate life or a walk into the desert sand dune habitat.
As we watched the setting sun turn the rocky mountainous outcrop of Isla Santa Magdalena a deep purple and light the clouds around us, I think we all took a moment to appreciate this diverse and mysterious desert place.
