Canal de Ballenas, Isla Partida Norte, and Isla Rasa
At first light, the Sea Voyager was cruising along the smooth waters of Bahia de Los Angeles in the vicinity of Punta de la Gringa when up came a fin whale to greet us and the soft, orange light of a new day. We leisurely followed this sleek, beautiful whale for over two hours as it made its way deeper into the bay while those of us aboard the ship drank our first cups of coffee. What a wonderful way to start the day!
After breakfast we passed two more fin whales in the famous Canal de Ballenas and also got a brief view of a blue whale as it sounded into the depths. Fin whales are found in the Sea of Cortez at all times of the year and are a genetically separate stock from fin whales found elsewhere in the North Pacific Ocean. Sea of Cortez blue whales, on the other hand, are found here seasonally and are part of the same stock that is found off the coasts of California and Costa Rica. Although neither of these whale species generally do tricks like the breaching and tail lobbing of humpback and some other whales, it was wonderful to see them cruising the surface briefly and then gracefully sinking beneath the calm waters of this beautiful morning.
After a stop at Isla Partida Norte for kayaking and Zodiac tours, we headed for Isla Rasa and our chance to land on this critically important and internationally recognized breeding bird island. About 98% of the world’s Heermann’s gulls (300,000 nesting pairs) and elegant terns (180,000 nesting pairs) along with about 15,000 nesting pairs of royal terns breed on this tiny island that is only one mile in diameter. Every spring an incredible story unfolds here. First Heermann’s gulls arrive and set up nesting sites on the sand flats and then elegant terns gather around the periphery of the island and begin a nightly intrusion of large flocks into the Heerman’s gull nesting area. Once a large enough colony of elegant terns have arrived that they can defend their eggs from gull predation, they begin laying. In this complex system the Heermann’s gulls provide the terns protection from the larger yellow-footed gulls and the terns provide the Heerman’s gulls with eggs to predate and feed the gull young. It was an unbelievable experience to be surrounded by thousands of terns and gulls, to see the nests and eggs close-up and hear the incredible raucous calls of almost a half a million sea birds.
The day ended for us with 6 feeding fin whales silhouetted against the soft orange light of the setting sun while many of us aboard saw a stunning green flash as the very top of the sun-ball sank below the hills on the western horizon. And so went another incredible day in the Gulf of California aboard the Sea Voyager.
At first light, the Sea Voyager was cruising along the smooth waters of Bahia de Los Angeles in the vicinity of Punta de la Gringa when up came a fin whale to greet us and the soft, orange light of a new day. We leisurely followed this sleek, beautiful whale for over two hours as it made its way deeper into the bay while those of us aboard the ship drank our first cups of coffee. What a wonderful way to start the day!
After breakfast we passed two more fin whales in the famous Canal de Ballenas and also got a brief view of a blue whale as it sounded into the depths. Fin whales are found in the Sea of Cortez at all times of the year and are a genetically separate stock from fin whales found elsewhere in the North Pacific Ocean. Sea of Cortez blue whales, on the other hand, are found here seasonally and are part of the same stock that is found off the coasts of California and Costa Rica. Although neither of these whale species generally do tricks like the breaching and tail lobbing of humpback and some other whales, it was wonderful to see them cruising the surface briefly and then gracefully sinking beneath the calm waters of this beautiful morning.
After a stop at Isla Partida Norte for kayaking and Zodiac tours, we headed for Isla Rasa and our chance to land on this critically important and internationally recognized breeding bird island. About 98% of the world’s Heermann’s gulls (300,000 nesting pairs) and elegant terns (180,000 nesting pairs) along with about 15,000 nesting pairs of royal terns breed on this tiny island that is only one mile in diameter. Every spring an incredible story unfolds here. First Heermann’s gulls arrive and set up nesting sites on the sand flats and then elegant terns gather around the periphery of the island and begin a nightly intrusion of large flocks into the Heerman’s gull nesting area. Once a large enough colony of elegant terns have arrived that they can defend their eggs from gull predation, they begin laying. In this complex system the Heermann’s gulls provide the terns protection from the larger yellow-footed gulls and the terns provide the Heerman’s gulls with eggs to predate and feed the gull young. It was an unbelievable experience to be surrounded by thousands of terns and gulls, to see the nests and eggs close-up and hear the incredible raucous calls of almost a half a million sea birds.
The day ended for us with 6 feeding fin whales silhouetted against the soft orange light of the setting sun while many of us aboard saw a stunning green flash as the very top of the sun-ball sank below the hills on the western horizon. And so went another incredible day in the Gulf of California aboard the Sea Voyager.
