San Pedro Martir, Midriff Islands
What a beautiful day for an albatross. During the night, winds whipped the northern gulf seas into blue- green waves cresting with pure white foam. Breakfast was served anchored in the protection of Isla San Lorenzo. High cliffs provided the perfect lee and a lovely backdrop to sunrise. Afterwards we navigated to the lonely outpost island of San Pedro Martir.
Plopped squarely in the middle of the Gulf of California, this island is home to huge breeding colonies of blue-footed and brown boobies, brown pelicans and red-billed tropic birds. The bark of California sea lions echoed in the caves lining the rocky shore. Cold productive waters of the gulf provide a back door grocery store for all of these seabirds, sea lions and a plethora of other marine mammal species. Historically, the guano produced by the birds was collected and shipped off the island. It was during this activity that rats were inadvertently introduced to the island. Introduction of an exotic species to an island usually ends in disaster for the native species, but that is not the ending for San Pedro Martir. In recent years researchers have taken measures to eradicate the rats and with monitoring currently in place, believe they may have been successful in the rat removal.
For the afternoon we continued south, now surfing with the waves directly on our stern. It came to be that it truly was the perfect day for an albatross, as we spotted a Laysan albatross gliding the faces of the cresting waves. We gathered on the rail and bow to view another close pass and two more distant looks. None of us ever saw it flap its wings. So perfect is the albatross design for gliding, flapping was not necessary to remain airborne with today’s wind.
So the day was perfect. Once again we found something marvelous and unexpected, two of the defining characteristics of a true expedition.
