Magdalena Bay
We woke this morning, our first in Magdalena Bay, to a world of contrasts. Clear skies, calm waters and fresh air moved by a gentle breeze greeted those on deck anxious to compare and investigate their new surroundings. Dark, severe silhouettes of Magnificent Frigate birds were outlined against the soft, fresh colors of the new day. This may be quite a different start for many of us, compared to our homes, but for the next week, the Sea Bird is our home. Our first explorations were by kayak or Zodiac. Everything we found could be described in contrast: the upturned beak of a Marbled Godwit compared to the down-curved beak of a Whimbrel, the light underbelly of a Tri-Colored Heron against its darker body and wings, the knobby knees of a Greater Yellowlegs compared to the slender stilts of a Lesser Yellowlegs. Some of these contrasts were debated, how knobby is a knobby knee? It only fueled our quest of discovery.
We navigated the Hull Canal, and it seemed as though we were running out of water. The tide was falling, our bathtub plug had been pulled, draining the canal and exposing land. An assortment of birds walked literally feet away from our ship and poked, prodded, skewered, nibbled and swallowed their lunch from the exposed, flat sands. Later, we too explored the land. Arched slip faces of giant sand dunes on Isla Magdalena invited a playful poke of the finger or the prod of a sandaled foot to bring the gentle avalanche of silent falling sand. During our day we sighted a total of six coyotes. The first five coyotes were seen on the newly exposed flats in the canal, scavenging for anything they could fit into their mouths. The last coyote of the day was seen on the shore of Isla Magdalena as we approached for our afternoon walk. It kept a curious eye on us as we strode along the dunes. Our mutual observation is pictured above. As the sun set, blows of two Gray whales were sited close to the Sea Bird. A fitting contrast to end our day; a coyote, a terrestrial mammal walking the shifting dunes of Isla Magdalena and Gray whales, marine mammals, swimming in the bay created by the same silent dunes.
We woke this morning, our first in Magdalena Bay, to a world of contrasts. Clear skies, calm waters and fresh air moved by a gentle breeze greeted those on deck anxious to compare and investigate their new surroundings. Dark, severe silhouettes of Magnificent Frigate birds were outlined against the soft, fresh colors of the new day. This may be quite a different start for many of us, compared to our homes, but for the next week, the Sea Bird is our home. Our first explorations were by kayak or Zodiac. Everything we found could be described in contrast: the upturned beak of a Marbled Godwit compared to the down-curved beak of a Whimbrel, the light underbelly of a Tri-Colored Heron against its darker body and wings, the knobby knees of a Greater Yellowlegs compared to the slender stilts of a Lesser Yellowlegs. Some of these contrasts were debated, how knobby is a knobby knee? It only fueled our quest of discovery.
We navigated the Hull Canal, and it seemed as though we were running out of water. The tide was falling, our bathtub plug had been pulled, draining the canal and exposing land. An assortment of birds walked literally feet away from our ship and poked, prodded, skewered, nibbled and swallowed their lunch from the exposed, flat sands. Later, we too explored the land. Arched slip faces of giant sand dunes on Isla Magdalena invited a playful poke of the finger or the prod of a sandaled foot to bring the gentle avalanche of silent falling sand. During our day we sighted a total of six coyotes. The first five coyotes were seen on the newly exposed flats in the canal, scavenging for anything they could fit into their mouths. The last coyote of the day was seen on the shore of Isla Magdalena as we approached for our afternoon walk. It kept a curious eye on us as we strode along the dunes. Our mutual observation is pictured above. As the sun set, blows of two Gray whales were sited close to the Sea Bird. A fitting contrast to end our day; a coyote, a terrestrial mammal walking the shifting dunes of Isla Magdalena and Gray whales, marine mammals, swimming in the bay created by the same silent dunes.
