Hull Canal and Bahia Magdalena
This morning we awoke in the company of gray whales at La Entrada, the entrance to Bahia Magdalena, one of the calving and breeding lagoons of the California gray whales. As we looked into the bay from the Pacific, it was obvious we were in the right place to see these majestic animals. We estimated that there were 40 different individuals! Another cetacean treat of the morning was a view of bow riding bottlenose dolphins.
Soon after breakfast we anchored near Isla Magdalena and went to shore. The habitat here was very different than what we had seen on the islands in the Gulf of California. Here we found rolling sand dunes and a short stroll across the island to Sand Dollar Beach. On our hike we saw coyote and black-tailed jackrabbit tracks, as well as plants that are adapted to live in the shifting sand dunes. Among these sand dunes were shell middens, the remains of shells left by an earlier native culture. Sand Dollar Beach lived up to its name and also provided us with views of the surf of the Pacific Ocean, flocks of sanderlings and western sandpipers, and one of the most beautiful beaches on which to stroll.
After lunch we headed north through Hull Canal. With the expert knowledge of our local pilot, Alejandro, we had a smooth ride through the mangrove-lined waterway. In the narrower sections of the canal we enjoyed birding from the bow. Snowy egrets, tricolored herons, white ibis, long-billed curlews, whimbrels, magnificent frigate birds and double crested cormorants were just some of the birds we saw among the red mangrove and on sandbars.
By late afternoon, we were back in the gray whale habitat again, this time with mothers and calves. Now is when calving reaches its peak. The 10 cow and calf gray whale pairs we saw this afternoon are, we hope, just a glimpse of what we will find tomorrow while exploring this special place.
This morning we awoke in the company of gray whales at La Entrada, the entrance to Bahia Magdalena, one of the calving and breeding lagoons of the California gray whales. As we looked into the bay from the Pacific, it was obvious we were in the right place to see these majestic animals. We estimated that there were 40 different individuals! Another cetacean treat of the morning was a view of bow riding bottlenose dolphins.
Soon after breakfast we anchored near Isla Magdalena and went to shore. The habitat here was very different than what we had seen on the islands in the Gulf of California. Here we found rolling sand dunes and a short stroll across the island to Sand Dollar Beach. On our hike we saw coyote and black-tailed jackrabbit tracks, as well as plants that are adapted to live in the shifting sand dunes. Among these sand dunes were shell middens, the remains of shells left by an earlier native culture. Sand Dollar Beach lived up to its name and also provided us with views of the surf of the Pacific Ocean, flocks of sanderlings and western sandpipers, and one of the most beautiful beaches on which to stroll.
After lunch we headed north through Hull Canal. With the expert knowledge of our local pilot, Alejandro, we had a smooth ride through the mangrove-lined waterway. In the narrower sections of the canal we enjoyed birding from the bow. Snowy egrets, tricolored herons, white ibis, long-billed curlews, whimbrels, magnificent frigate birds and double crested cormorants were just some of the birds we saw among the red mangrove and on sandbars.
By late afternoon, we were back in the gray whale habitat again, this time with mothers and calves. Now is when calving reaches its peak. The 10 cow and calf gray whale pairs we saw this afternoon are, we hope, just a glimpse of what we will find tomorrow while exploring this special place.
