A heavy blanket of fog laid over National Geographic Sea Bird as the last day of the voyage began. After a brief stretch class, guests enjoyed a healthy breakfast to prepare for a morning of whale watching. Pangas full of guests sped along the sand dunes that line Canal de Soledad as eyes were set on the horizon, hoping to see the distinct heart-shaped spout of the gray whale. It didn’t take long for the panga drivers to find a mother and calf floating at the surface of the water, apparently enjoying a restful sleep. After a period of quiet observation from a distance, the whales began to stir into motion. Guests were greeted by a friendly giant as the young gray whale prodded the fiberglass boats with curiosity. We wrapped up a productive morning of whale watching when guests came back aboard for lunch. We made a short transit through Hull Canal with navigation by our longtime pilot, Sergio Camacho. The ship anchored near the southern tip of Isla Magdalena so guests could make the short trek to Sand Dollar Beach as the last adventure of the day.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 03 Feb 2023
Canal de Soledad and Sand Dollar Beach, 2/3/2023, National Geographic Sea Bird
- Aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird
- Baja California
Kyle Bowman, Naturalist
Kyle was born and raised in North Carolina and now lives, year-round, in the mountains of Alaska. As a child he became enamored with birds and wildlife while camping or hiking with his family. He attended the University of North Carolina and spent ti...
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Wild Baja California Escape: The Whales of Magdalena Bay
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What a full day of richness and birding galore! Our day started off with early morning hikes on Isla Magdalena, taking in the impressive desert plant life of this exotic terrane, filled with whale skeletons and osprey nests. A stunning midday journey through Hull Canal brought with it enough herons, egrets, terns, gulls, frigatebirds, cormorants, shorebirds, and camera shutter clicks to last a lifetime. After anchoring at Lopez Mateos, we boarded pangas for a late afternoon of wildlife watching and a lovely little beach landing. We found a bald eagle’s nest, some of the southernmost nesting bald eagles (!), and examined incredible shells and beautiful sand. To top off our wonderful day, we enjoyed live music from Los Coyotes and dancing from The Desert Flowers! It was another spectacular day here in Baja California Sur.
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Puerto Magdalena
We weighed anchor shortly after breakfast and traveled to Puerto Magdalena, a small fishing village (population 85) and the only inhabited area of Isla Magdalena. Enroute, presentations by naturalists were offered in the lounge in addition to wildlife watching from the bow. After anchoring, we embarked on a late morning hike through a desert harboring several plant species unique to Isla Magdalena and along a mangrove forest between the desert and adjacent Bahia Magdalena. After lunch, some guests toured a part of the island on fat-tire bikes then joined the rest of us for a mid-afternoon tour of Puerto Magdalena and the all-important desalination plant. As there is virtually no potable water on the island, drinking water must be brought over by panga from the mainland. Water used for other purposes is obtained from the desalination plant, which produces ~1000 liters per hour for up to 40 hours of operation per week. After the tour we relaxed at Chejos’s, a classic open-air cantina. We enjoyed light beverages and avocado tostados, listening to Chejos’s oral rendition of the village’s history, and playing fetch with Lola, a beloved ‘guardian’ dog at Chejos. The day concluded with an after-dinner assembly on the sundeck for constellation identification and viewing.