Bona Island and the Panama Canal, Panama
During the night, we moved around a point of land at the eastern end of the Azuero Peninsula of Panama, and enter the Gulf of Panama. As we approached the small island of Bona, we saw a small group of white houses, home to a few fishermen who make their living off of the rich waters of the Gulf. The trade winds that blow across the Isthmus from the northeast during this time of the year crate a local upwelling system within the Gulf. The surface water is forced to the south by the winds out of the Gulf, and as a result, the area is a rich and productive ecosystem, which can support a good number of species of fishes and seabirds.
After breakfast, all of us embarked on Zodiac cruises around the four islands just outside the Canal entrance. We found that sea birds enjoy a plentiful life along these waters. Blue-footed boobies, brown boobies, magnificent frigatebirds, black-crowned night herons, and brown pelicans in almost innumerable amounts greeted us.
The brown pelican is one of the best-known birds of the Western Hemisphere. Large size, graceful flight, and an easily caricatured shape contribute to making these birds popular attractions along the warm marine coasts from North Carolina south to northern Brazil. Pelican populations in several parts of the United States and around the world showed drastic declines in the 1960s and early 1970s due to contamination by chlorinated hydrocarbons. Since that time, the pelican is showing a marked sign of recovering its successful reproductive status. Brown pelicans are the only members of the Pelecanidae family that is strictly marine and the only species that dives for fish.
Back on the ship for lunch, we headed towards the entrance of the Panama Canal, to await the arrival of the pilot who would lead us across the first part of our transit.
During the night, we moved around a point of land at the eastern end of the Azuero Peninsula of Panama, and enter the Gulf of Panama. As we approached the small island of Bona, we saw a small group of white houses, home to a few fishermen who make their living off of the rich waters of the Gulf. The trade winds that blow across the Isthmus from the northeast during this time of the year crate a local upwelling system within the Gulf. The surface water is forced to the south by the winds out of the Gulf, and as a result, the area is a rich and productive ecosystem, which can support a good number of species of fishes and seabirds.
After breakfast, all of us embarked on Zodiac cruises around the four islands just outside the Canal entrance. We found that sea birds enjoy a plentiful life along these waters. Blue-footed boobies, brown boobies, magnificent frigatebirds, black-crowned night herons, and brown pelicans in almost innumerable amounts greeted us.
The brown pelican is one of the best-known birds of the Western Hemisphere. Large size, graceful flight, and an easily caricatured shape contribute to making these birds popular attractions along the warm marine coasts from North Carolina south to northern Brazil. Pelican populations in several parts of the United States and around the world showed drastic declines in the 1960s and early 1970s due to contamination by chlorinated hydrocarbons. Since that time, the pelican is showing a marked sign of recovering its successful reproductive status. Brown pelicans are the only members of the Pelecanidae family that is strictly marine and the only species that dives for fish.
Back on the ship for lunch, we headed towards the entrance of the Panama Canal, to await the arrival of the pilot who would lead us across the first part of our transit.
