Silver blows in the scintillation of sunrise greeted us outside La Entrada, one of only a few openings to Bahia Magdalena, Baja California Sur’s southernmost gray whale calving lagoon. Throughout the morning under the expert navigation of a local pilot we traversed the narrow, scenic and sandbar-laden Hull Canal, in the protected waters of this large bay system. Waves of rolling sand dunes and stretches of entangled mangroves comprise the outer barrier island that buffers mother whales’ preferred birthing habitat from the rollicking Pacific Ocean.
En route to the northern end of Isla Magdalena, birdwatchers delighted in the diversity of winged species found among the mangroves and waterways. Audubon Society members onboard the Sea Lion viewed over thirty-five species of birds in only a few hours. Whimbrels, white ibises and especially long-billed curlews boasted improbable decurved bills. A spectrum of wading birds roosted and foraged along the mangrove networks – tri-colored herons, reddish egrets, and little blue herons, to name a few.
Flocks of godwits, cormorants, and brant streaked the soft cerulean sky. Osprey carted fresh fish catches off to nests and magnificent frigatebirds plundered royal terns for their loot. Several times bottlenose dolphins appeared ahead in the green sandy water and intercepted our trajectory to bowride. But the raison d’etre of our travels were gray whales and we were not disappointed.
Beyond Devil’s Bend and Colina Coyote we began to sight the heart-shaped blows. Deep within the protected lagoon system, we glided through nursery waters where eight brand new calves breathed their first days’ breaths. Tiny and dark they swam tight alongside their gargantuan barnacled mothers. It was a heartfelt experience to be in the presence of such a cluster of these newborn whales-in-training.
The Mexican government’s excellent protectionist regulations prohibit stopping and whalewatching in those sanctuary waters; we maneuvered our ship to anchorage near the Boca de Soledad for Zodiac touring in a designated area. With permit-bearing local guides aboard our rubber fleet we sought the whales near the Boca, Magdalena Bay’s other prominent opening to the sea. Here the whales come and go with the tides, seemingly taken to orienting into oncoming currents.
From our Zodiacs we enthused in the near approaches of mothers and calves, and marveled at slow rising spyhops and blustery breaches. From our water’s level view we rode amongst these mysterious migrating behemoths. From summer sifting through arctic seafloors to breeding in sandy shallow warm waters here in Baja, the gray whale is indeed a wonder. This animal is a success story in conservation as well, having rebounded from near extinction to population numbers now above pre-whaling levels. Today we witnessed further evidence of this recovery in the form of several newborn of this species, while enjoying the beautiful habitat and diversity of life in the whales’ chosen winter quarters.
