Magdalena Bay
We awoke to bow-riding bottlenose dolphins and a green flash at sunrise. The morning was perfect for exploration by Zodiac and kayaks. Quiet channels lined by salt-tolerant mangrove trees provide shelter for a myriad of birds, fish, and invertebrates. Slender herons and egrets perched in wait for the dropping tide. Marbled godwits, whimbrels, and willets crowded together along the shore, and a few lucky observers spotted the elusive mangrove warbler. Graceful stingrays undulated away from the boats, and puffer fish sculled rapidly as we passed.
During lunch the ship relocated to another anchorage, where we spent the afternoon in a totally different environment. Some took off in search of birds and were not disappointed. Others crossed over a narrow section of Magdalena Island to the pristine crescent beach nicknamed Sand Dollar Beach. It is a well-deserved name. Immense sand dollars (or are they sand pesos?) lay scattered along the upper beach strand. Live individuals covered by tiny spines were exposed by the low tide. These urchin relatives look like they are covered by a short, moving carpet of brown or maroon when you pick them up. These spines are important in locomotion, and their movement allows the creature to slowly bury itself in the sand. Which way is the individual in the photo moving? They may lie flat on sandy bottoms offshore or can orient themselves up on edge, often in dense colonies of up to 1200 per square meter. Holes called slots or lunules strengthen the delicate skeletons, and the beautiful flower-like design, known as a petaloid, adds a decorative touch. Many of them were accompanied by a tiny crab on the underside.
We wandered the hard-packed sand, discovering skeletons, patterned sand, and sea shells, then returned to the ship, leaving our footprints on the sculptured dunes beside those of jackrabbits, coyotes, and tiny crabs. It was only a matter of time before the wind and the sand would cover all trace of our passage.
We awoke to bow-riding bottlenose dolphins and a green flash at sunrise. The morning was perfect for exploration by Zodiac and kayaks. Quiet channels lined by salt-tolerant mangrove trees provide shelter for a myriad of birds, fish, and invertebrates. Slender herons and egrets perched in wait for the dropping tide. Marbled godwits, whimbrels, and willets crowded together along the shore, and a few lucky observers spotted the elusive mangrove warbler. Graceful stingrays undulated away from the boats, and puffer fish sculled rapidly as we passed.
During lunch the ship relocated to another anchorage, where we spent the afternoon in a totally different environment. Some took off in search of birds and were not disappointed. Others crossed over a narrow section of Magdalena Island to the pristine crescent beach nicknamed Sand Dollar Beach. It is a well-deserved name. Immense sand dollars (or are they sand pesos?) lay scattered along the upper beach strand. Live individuals covered by tiny spines were exposed by the low tide. These urchin relatives look like they are covered by a short, moving carpet of brown or maroon when you pick them up. These spines are important in locomotion, and their movement allows the creature to slowly bury itself in the sand. Which way is the individual in the photo moving? They may lie flat on sandy bottoms offshore or can orient themselves up on edge, often in dense colonies of up to 1200 per square meter. Holes called slots or lunules strengthen the delicate skeletons, and the beautiful flower-like design, known as a petaloid, adds a decorative touch. Many of them were accompanied by a tiny crab on the underside.
We wandered the hard-packed sand, discovering skeletons, patterned sand, and sea shells, then returned to the ship, leaving our footprints on the sculptured dunes beside those of jackrabbits, coyotes, and tiny crabs. It was only a matter of time before the wind and the sand would cover all trace of our passage.
