Punta San Marcial
The first day of an eight-day cruise and there is no telling what kinds of wildlife viewing opportunities will come your way. We are constantly on the lookout for the more charismatic mega-fauna such as baleen and toothed whales, blue-footed boobies and California sea lions. The Sea of Cortez is so rich in marine life that this short list alone could easily fill a day. This morning we had some luck in the whale department, getting fairly good looks at several Bryde’s whales and a school of common dolphins. Our afternoon anchorage south of Punta San Marcial was graced by a trio of osprey circling above us and brown and blue-footed boobies fishing the small cove where we centered our snorkeling and hiking activities. Snorkelers observed a zebra moray, an aptly named eel, prowling the rocky bottom beneath them. Hikers saw parts of the terrestrial food chain with sightings of jackrabbit, red-tailed hawk and tracks and scat of coyote and bobcat.
Upon return to the beach in the late afternoon an unexpected wildlife encounter awaited us. This eared grebe, a small diving bird not much larger than a football, was swimming in the surf with its head poked beneath the waves most of the time. It was energetic and active, alert to our presence but seemingly unconcerned. A rocky inter-tidal zone area to one side of the beach seemed of particular interest and at one point, whether by accident or design, it found itself washed into regions without any underwater head room – time to turn around and head seaward little buddy!
This picture gives us a great view of grebe morphology with the hind feet set so far back on the body that they become almost useless on land. Our little friend hopped with both feet together when it had to make its way overland to a deeper pool and barely kept its balance as it did so. But these same feet, with lobed – not webbed, toes work just fine as twin propellers.
The darker dorsal (back) surface and lighter belly (ventral) surface provide effective counter-shading for a bird that is going to spend a good chunk of its winter floating about the ocean, diving for its food and, for the most part, unable to fly while undergoing a synchronous molt of all its flight feathers. Seen from below its white belly blends in with the light coming down from above. Seen from above its dark back blends in with the darker depths below. Eared grebes nest in the U.S. and Canada from the central plains west. They tend to be gregarious at all times of year and certainly here in Baja California we often see rafts of tens to hundreds appearing and disappearing as they dive in unison and then pop up again. Let’s hope our little friend finds deeper water and joins his buddies soon.
The first day of an eight-day cruise and there is no telling what kinds of wildlife viewing opportunities will come your way. We are constantly on the lookout for the more charismatic mega-fauna such as baleen and toothed whales, blue-footed boobies and California sea lions. The Sea of Cortez is so rich in marine life that this short list alone could easily fill a day. This morning we had some luck in the whale department, getting fairly good looks at several Bryde’s whales and a school of common dolphins. Our afternoon anchorage south of Punta San Marcial was graced by a trio of osprey circling above us and brown and blue-footed boobies fishing the small cove where we centered our snorkeling and hiking activities. Snorkelers observed a zebra moray, an aptly named eel, prowling the rocky bottom beneath them. Hikers saw parts of the terrestrial food chain with sightings of jackrabbit, red-tailed hawk and tracks and scat of coyote and bobcat.
Upon return to the beach in the late afternoon an unexpected wildlife encounter awaited us. This eared grebe, a small diving bird not much larger than a football, was swimming in the surf with its head poked beneath the waves most of the time. It was energetic and active, alert to our presence but seemingly unconcerned. A rocky inter-tidal zone area to one side of the beach seemed of particular interest and at one point, whether by accident or design, it found itself washed into regions without any underwater head room – time to turn around and head seaward little buddy!
This picture gives us a great view of grebe morphology with the hind feet set so far back on the body that they become almost useless on land. Our little friend hopped with both feet together when it had to make its way overland to a deeper pool and barely kept its balance as it did so. But these same feet, with lobed – not webbed, toes work just fine as twin propellers.
The darker dorsal (back) surface and lighter belly (ventral) surface provide effective counter-shading for a bird that is going to spend a good chunk of its winter floating about the ocean, diving for its food and, for the most part, unable to fly while undergoing a synchronous molt of all its flight feathers. Seen from below its white belly blends in with the light coming down from above. Seen from above its dark back blends in with the darker depths below. Eared grebes nest in the U.S. and Canada from the central plains west. They tend to be gregarious at all times of year and certainly here in Baja California we often see rafts of tens to hundreds appearing and disappearing as they dive in unison and then pop up again. Let’s hope our little friend finds deeper water and joins his buddies soon.
