San Jose Channel
As the sun rose behind Isla San Fransisco, the MV Sea Bird continued her voyage heading north through the San Jose Channel. This channel is quite deep and rich in the smallest organisms that feed some of the largest mammals in the sea. Several species of baleen whales spend much of the winter months cruising this channel in search of food.
The El Norte, a common winter wind, was blowing and the channel we were passing through offered some protection from the wind. Our natural history staff were stationed on the bow, searching the waters for marine mammals. In the distance, a small puff appeared suddenly, and disappeared just as fast….our first whale of the trip! After some conversation, the naturalists agreed that the erratic behavior belonged to a Bryde’s whale. We were fortunate enough to have this elusive marine mammal pass very close to the port bow of the MV Sea Bird. As the First mate expertly maneuvered our ship, we enjoyed close but brief looks at this baleen whale as it passed slowly past us.
The sighting of the morning that seemed to be most spectacular belonged to one of the flying species of Baja. A tropic bird was spotted sitting on the water…..it seemed very curious about the large white object that was passing fairly close, and just as we all moved to the side of the MV Sea Bird, this magnificent sea bird took flight, showing us its long tail feathers. These birds are generally solitary when not breeding and have been recorded at nesting sights through the Gulf of California. Tropic birds are highly pelagic foragers, coming to land only during the breeding season. They usually nest in rocky areas, mostly notably islands in the Gulf, and are monogamous, often for life.
During lunch, the officers of the MV Sea Bird searched for some protection from the El Norte. The anchor was dropped at approximately 1:00pm and the afternoon was spent in the protection of Half-moon bay, a body of water on the western side of Isla San Francisco in the lee of the north wind. Kayaks were brought ashore and hikes, tidal pooling and kayaking were offered for the remainder of the afternoon. The protected position of Isla San Francisco provided a wind buffer as hikers explored a desert by the sea and all its inhabitants. The kayakers journeyed north in the bay towards a point, while the long hikers made their way to a ridge with a spectacular view in the blustery winds.
As the sun moved rapidly towards sunset, we returned to the beach, where Zodiacs ferried everyone back to the MV Sea Bird. The waters of the Gulf still rose in whitecaps as the prevailing north winds continued throughout the evening. After sunset, we adjourned to the forward lounge of our ship, and were regaled by the Natural History staff on events of the day….a mix of natural history, human history and the culture of Mexico…..showing us all, the diversity of this tiny corner of Mesoamerica.
As the sun rose behind Isla San Fransisco, the MV Sea Bird continued her voyage heading north through the San Jose Channel. This channel is quite deep and rich in the smallest organisms that feed some of the largest mammals in the sea. Several species of baleen whales spend much of the winter months cruising this channel in search of food.
The El Norte, a common winter wind, was blowing and the channel we were passing through offered some protection from the wind. Our natural history staff were stationed on the bow, searching the waters for marine mammals. In the distance, a small puff appeared suddenly, and disappeared just as fast….our first whale of the trip! After some conversation, the naturalists agreed that the erratic behavior belonged to a Bryde’s whale. We were fortunate enough to have this elusive marine mammal pass very close to the port bow of the MV Sea Bird. As the First mate expertly maneuvered our ship, we enjoyed close but brief looks at this baleen whale as it passed slowly past us.
The sighting of the morning that seemed to be most spectacular belonged to one of the flying species of Baja. A tropic bird was spotted sitting on the water…..it seemed very curious about the large white object that was passing fairly close, and just as we all moved to the side of the MV Sea Bird, this magnificent sea bird took flight, showing us its long tail feathers. These birds are generally solitary when not breeding and have been recorded at nesting sights through the Gulf of California. Tropic birds are highly pelagic foragers, coming to land only during the breeding season. They usually nest in rocky areas, mostly notably islands in the Gulf, and are monogamous, often for life.
During lunch, the officers of the MV Sea Bird searched for some protection from the El Norte. The anchor was dropped at approximately 1:00pm and the afternoon was spent in the protection of Half-moon bay, a body of water on the western side of Isla San Francisco in the lee of the north wind. Kayaks were brought ashore and hikes, tidal pooling and kayaking were offered for the remainder of the afternoon. The protected position of Isla San Francisco provided a wind buffer as hikers explored a desert by the sea and all its inhabitants. The kayakers journeyed north in the bay towards a point, while the long hikers made their way to a ridge with a spectacular view in the blustery winds.
As the sun moved rapidly towards sunset, we returned to the beach, where Zodiacs ferried everyone back to the MV Sea Bird. The waters of the Gulf still rose in whitecaps as the prevailing north winds continued throughout the evening. After sunset, we adjourned to the forward lounge of our ship, and were regaled by the Natural History staff on events of the day….a mix of natural history, human history and the culture of Mexico…..showing us all, the diversity of this tiny corner of Mesoamerica.
