Isla Santa Catalina
The goal was to get as far north as we could “…while the gettin’ was good.” We awoke in the vicinity of Islas Danzante and del Carmen, not far from the original mission village of Loreto. This area is a protected marine park. We were soon among the great whales as we encountered two of the largest creatures on the planet – blue whales! Adept maneuvering on the bridge afforded us close views of their mottled, steely blue-gray body color and the relatively tiny dorsal fin. They surfaced and submerged repeatedly near us. And while we were enjoying this incredible experience, blows and splashes were spotted in the distance. A huge whale was leaping out of the water. We eased the National Geographic Sea Lion closer and were soon delighted by the antics of a young humpback whale as it performed its full repertoire of surface behaviors – breaches, lob-tails, peduncle throws, pec slaps and head lunges. In between surfacings (whale-waiting) our birders identified boobies, double-crested cormorants, yellow-footed and Herrmann’s gulls, and Craveri’s murrelets. What a great beginning to our Baja California adventure.
After the mandatory technicalities of drills, briefings and lunch, we went ashore at Isla Santa Catalina. This isolated, granitic island harbors many endemic species - those found nowhere else on Earth. Snorkelers braved the refreshing water for a glimpse into the colorful world below the surface. On shore, giant cardón and barrel cacti, the world’s largest, stood like many ranks of soldiers. Wandering up the arroyo we took a closer look and noticed a number of their fallen comrades, each returning its hard-earned nutrients to the impoverished soil. Endemic side-blotched lizards, with brilliant emerald tails, warmed in the sunshine. Bird enthusiasts found verdins, black-throated sparrows, northern cardinals, a gray flycatcher, gila and ladder-backed woodpeckers, ravens and a peregrine falcon, among others.
We saw the largest of the large today – whales and cacti – and got an inkling of trophic levels and complex food webs within the productive waters of the Gulf of California and on its adjacent Sonoran Desert islands.
The goal was to get as far north as we could “…while the gettin’ was good.” We awoke in the vicinity of Islas Danzante and del Carmen, not far from the original mission village of Loreto. This area is a protected marine park. We were soon among the great whales as we encountered two of the largest creatures on the planet – blue whales! Adept maneuvering on the bridge afforded us close views of their mottled, steely blue-gray body color and the relatively tiny dorsal fin. They surfaced and submerged repeatedly near us. And while we were enjoying this incredible experience, blows and splashes were spotted in the distance. A huge whale was leaping out of the water. We eased the National Geographic Sea Lion closer and were soon delighted by the antics of a young humpback whale as it performed its full repertoire of surface behaviors – breaches, lob-tails, peduncle throws, pec slaps and head lunges. In between surfacings (whale-waiting) our birders identified boobies, double-crested cormorants, yellow-footed and Herrmann’s gulls, and Craveri’s murrelets. What a great beginning to our Baja California adventure.
After the mandatory technicalities of drills, briefings and lunch, we went ashore at Isla Santa Catalina. This isolated, granitic island harbors many endemic species - those found nowhere else on Earth. Snorkelers braved the refreshing water for a glimpse into the colorful world below the surface. On shore, giant cardón and barrel cacti, the world’s largest, stood like many ranks of soldiers. Wandering up the arroyo we took a closer look and noticed a number of their fallen comrades, each returning its hard-earned nutrients to the impoverished soil. Endemic side-blotched lizards, with brilliant emerald tails, warmed in the sunshine. Bird enthusiasts found verdins, black-throated sparrows, northern cardinals, a gray flycatcher, gila and ladder-backed woodpeckers, ravens and a peregrine falcon, among others.
We saw the largest of the large today – whales and cacti – and got an inkling of trophic levels and complex food webs within the productive waters of the Gulf of California and on its adjacent Sonoran Desert islands.
