Hull Canal, Bahia Magdelena, Baja California Sur
Our first full day adventure aboard the MV Sea Lion begins. We started out with a double sunrise. The few folks on deck were awed by the bright sunrise, which faded away. This was followed by a second impressive show of color in the eastern sky. There was a line of cormorants that stretched for miles and miles. They undoubtedly numbered in the 10’s of thousands.
After breakfast we headed for the beaches of Bahia Magdalena and “Sand Dollar” beach. We can’t think of anywhere else to find so many intact and large sand dollars. We even found a live one. We also spotted a particularly interesting little critter, the Ghost Crab. Is that thing ever fast! Those little critters must have eyes in the back of their heads. Our photo of the day certainly proves that. It zigs and zags in an instant and then pops into a hole it has dug in the sand. The walk on the dunes and beach were filled with lots of little treasures, such as plants, shells, bones and evidence of the wildlife on the island.
Our trip up Hull Canal was equally interesting, where we saw mangroves and sighted a large number of bird species. We saw 5 of the 8 cranes and herons that frequent the area. Brown pelicans and Frigatebirds put on a show along with a large number of Marbled Godwits, Whimbels. The small sandpipers did not escape our binoculars and spotting scope. We even got a great look at a White Ibis. It is fun to hear comments like “That was my first Ibis sighting” to “We have them by the thousands at home”. This shows the diversity of peoples, places and experiences represented on board.
We finally found our first gray whale at the northern end of Hull Canal, nothing too close, but a great teaser for tomorrows excursions by Zodiac into the Boca de Soledad.
Our first full day adventure aboard the MV Sea Lion begins. We started out with a double sunrise. The few folks on deck were awed by the bright sunrise, which faded away. This was followed by a second impressive show of color in the eastern sky. There was a line of cormorants that stretched for miles and miles. They undoubtedly numbered in the 10’s of thousands.
After breakfast we headed for the beaches of Bahia Magdalena and “Sand Dollar” beach. We can’t think of anywhere else to find so many intact and large sand dollars. We even found a live one. We also spotted a particularly interesting little critter, the Ghost Crab. Is that thing ever fast! Those little critters must have eyes in the back of their heads. Our photo of the day certainly proves that. It zigs and zags in an instant and then pops into a hole it has dug in the sand. The walk on the dunes and beach were filled with lots of little treasures, such as plants, shells, bones and evidence of the wildlife on the island.
Our trip up Hull Canal was equally interesting, where we saw mangroves and sighted a large number of bird species. We saw 5 of the 8 cranes and herons that frequent the area. Brown pelicans and Frigatebirds put on a show along with a large number of Marbled Godwits, Whimbels. The small sandpipers did not escape our binoculars and spotting scope. We even got a great look at a White Ibis. It is fun to hear comments like “That was my first Ibis sighting” to “We have them by the thousands at home”. This shows the diversity of peoples, places and experiences represented on board.
We finally found our first gray whale at the northern end of Hull Canal, nothing too close, but a great teaser for tomorrows excursions by Zodiac into the Boca de Soledad.
