San Pedro Martir
It’s not every day that you awake to find hundreds of birds flying outside your window. We were approaching Isla San Pedro Martir, and the cool morning air was already filled with curious juvenile booby birds.
We were able to circumnavigate the island and observe the many seabirds and other fauna living here. Only eight species of marine birds nest here, and we clearly observed blue-footed and brown boobies, brown pelicans, red-billed tropic birds and magnificent frigate birds. The island is the third largest nesting site of blue-footed boobies in the world.
California sea lion are also found here in large numbers, and we could see several newborns suckling from their mothers.
Above on the steep slopes could be seen the stone structures built by guano collectors. San Pedro Martir was mined intensively back in the late 1800’s, and it was thought that these structures served as catchment areas for the guano that was chipped off by a man that was working above them.
After stowing our Zodiacs, we prepared to scout the area for marine animals and anything else that might catch our interest. It wasn’t long before we had spotted blows on the horizon of sperm whales. The single nostril is located to the left and far forward on the enormous squared head. It’s generally bushy blow emerges forward at a sharp angle and allowed us to make a positive identification, even from a distance.
We spent some time witnessing the impressive flukes arching up in the air as they propelled themselves deeply. The depth of water here was well over six-hundred meters, and they were possibly feeding on Humboldt squid found in these deep waters. Bottlenose dolphins, a large Humboldt squid, a hammerhead shark and schools of brightly colored Dorado all swam by our bow.
After a quick lunch, we were anxious to get back out on deck once again. Our Expedition Leader then announced that we would be going out in the Zodiacs to take a closer look. This turned out to be the highlight of the day as we found ourselves in the middle of about 50 animals! And they weren’t alone! Several small schools of Dorado fish circled our Zodiacs, flashing iridescent shades of blue and green. Another group of explorers spotted a huge marlin swimming close to their boat. The bottlenose dolphin returned and seemed to be escorting the whales. We observed many juveniles left on the surface while their mothers fished far below. There was just no better way to bring closure to our voyage.
It’s not every day that you awake to find hundreds of birds flying outside your window. We were approaching Isla San Pedro Martir, and the cool morning air was already filled with curious juvenile booby birds.
We were able to circumnavigate the island and observe the many seabirds and other fauna living here. Only eight species of marine birds nest here, and we clearly observed blue-footed and brown boobies, brown pelicans, red-billed tropic birds and magnificent frigate birds. The island is the third largest nesting site of blue-footed boobies in the world.
California sea lion are also found here in large numbers, and we could see several newborns suckling from their mothers.
Above on the steep slopes could be seen the stone structures built by guano collectors. San Pedro Martir was mined intensively back in the late 1800’s, and it was thought that these structures served as catchment areas for the guano that was chipped off by a man that was working above them.
After stowing our Zodiacs, we prepared to scout the area for marine animals and anything else that might catch our interest. It wasn’t long before we had spotted blows on the horizon of sperm whales. The single nostril is located to the left and far forward on the enormous squared head. It’s generally bushy blow emerges forward at a sharp angle and allowed us to make a positive identification, even from a distance.
We spent some time witnessing the impressive flukes arching up in the air as they propelled themselves deeply. The depth of water here was well over six-hundred meters, and they were possibly feeding on Humboldt squid found in these deep waters. Bottlenose dolphins, a large Humboldt squid, a hammerhead shark and schools of brightly colored Dorado all swam by our bow.
After a quick lunch, we were anxious to get back out on deck once again. Our Expedition Leader then announced that we would be going out in the Zodiacs to take a closer look. This turned out to be the highlight of the day as we found ourselves in the middle of about 50 animals! And they weren’t alone! Several small schools of Dorado fish circled our Zodiacs, flashing iridescent shades of blue and green. Another group of explorers spotted a huge marlin swimming close to their boat. The bottlenose dolphin returned and seemed to be escorting the whales. We observed many juveniles left on the surface while their mothers fished far below. There was just no better way to bring closure to our voyage.
