Bahia Alcatraz and Bahia Don Juan, off Canal de Ballenas
There is a remarkable profusion of productivity here in the Midriff Island Region of the Sea of Cortez. The murky green waters beneath the Sea Voyager speak of rich phytoplankton blooms in cold nutrient-rich seas. A superabundance of mysid shrimp filmed by our diver represents rich zooplankton ranks. Dense schools of northern anchovies (pictured), seen by snorkelers within inshore Sargassum stands, are an important food resource for seabirds and predatory fish. And enormous fin whales we saw on Zodiac cruises are feeding at depth within the abundance.
The prolific food web of the cold sea lies in beautiful juxtaposition to the arid desert of the Baja California peninsula we hiked. At Bahia Alcatraz (“Pelican Bay” in Spanish), the shoreline undulates beautifully where we landed, a sinewave seam between sea and sand created by wave reflection in the bay.
Ashore, spindly ocotillo trees, spine-wrapped barrel cactus and aromatic torchwoods dot the sandscape. A rattling rattlesnake under an elephant tree greeted cautious hikers on a nearby ridge; the approach-avoidance conflict within us stirred as we carefully photographed the coiled curiosity. The butcherly nature of a desert songbird, the loggerhead shrike, was discovered in the form of a mouse impaled on a broken branch. Tracks of lizards, jackrabbits, coyotes, and other desert denizens, calligraphized the sand dunes we glissaded down back to the beach.
Anchored to boulders beneath snorkelers and kayakers, yellow frilly Sargassum trees create a virtual underwater forest. Here we shared a dreamy seaweed maze with silver thickets of anchovies thousands thick seeking refuge from terns and other seabirds hunting from above.
Out in the ‘Channel of Whales’ to the west of Isla Angel de la Guardia, we observed fin whales, one becoming two, becoming none, before turning in to the intimate Bahia Don Juan. Here we studied stingrays over sandy shallows, ospreys and herons along shore, and huge shell mounds, evidence of primitive man’s use of productive seafood resources. A colorful geologic jumble of granites, ashes and basalts was reflected in rippled waters where we enjoyed further looks at enormous fin whales, dwarfed by the surreally serene seas of Canal de Ballenas.
Incredible oceanic productivity is in full swing about us -- necessary to sustain the dense seabird colonies, breeding sea lions, gargantuan baleen whales and other life forms we’ve been seeing these days.
There is a remarkable profusion of productivity here in the Midriff Island Region of the Sea of Cortez. The murky green waters beneath the Sea Voyager speak of rich phytoplankton blooms in cold nutrient-rich seas. A superabundance of mysid shrimp filmed by our diver represents rich zooplankton ranks. Dense schools of northern anchovies (pictured), seen by snorkelers within inshore Sargassum stands, are an important food resource for seabirds and predatory fish. And enormous fin whales we saw on Zodiac cruises are feeding at depth within the abundance.
The prolific food web of the cold sea lies in beautiful juxtaposition to the arid desert of the Baja California peninsula we hiked. At Bahia Alcatraz (“Pelican Bay” in Spanish), the shoreline undulates beautifully where we landed, a sinewave seam between sea and sand created by wave reflection in the bay.
Ashore, spindly ocotillo trees, spine-wrapped barrel cactus and aromatic torchwoods dot the sandscape. A rattling rattlesnake under an elephant tree greeted cautious hikers on a nearby ridge; the approach-avoidance conflict within us stirred as we carefully photographed the coiled curiosity. The butcherly nature of a desert songbird, the loggerhead shrike, was discovered in the form of a mouse impaled on a broken branch. Tracks of lizards, jackrabbits, coyotes, and other desert denizens, calligraphized the sand dunes we glissaded down back to the beach.
Anchored to boulders beneath snorkelers and kayakers, yellow frilly Sargassum trees create a virtual underwater forest. Here we shared a dreamy seaweed maze with silver thickets of anchovies thousands thick seeking refuge from terns and other seabirds hunting from above.
Out in the ‘Channel of Whales’ to the west of Isla Angel de la Guardia, we observed fin whales, one becoming two, becoming none, before turning in to the intimate Bahia Don Juan. Here we studied stingrays over sandy shallows, ospreys and herons along shore, and huge shell mounds, evidence of primitive man’s use of productive seafood resources. A colorful geologic jumble of granites, ashes and basalts was reflected in rippled waters where we enjoyed further looks at enormous fin whales, dwarfed by the surreally serene seas of Canal de Ballenas.
Incredible oceanic productivity is in full swing about us -- necessary to sustain the dense seabird colonies, breeding sea lions, gargantuan baleen whales and other life forms we’ve been seeing these days.
