At first glance the dunes of Isla Magdalena appear stark and devoid of life. Our day's activities, however, showed otherwise. We spent the morning cruising north through the narrow, mangrove-flanked channel of Hull Canal, guided by our local pilot, Alejandro Camacho. The three different types of mangroves provide nesting and feeding habitat for more than a dozen different species of birds, as well as nutrient rich rearing areas for a variety of fish. We saw Great Blue Herons, White Ibis, Tricolored Herons, Snowy and Reddish Egrets, Double-crested Cormorants and American White and Brown Pelicans ~ most in full breeding plumage! We also watched bottlenose dolphins herding fish into tight schools to feed on them.
The afternoon was spent out in the Zodiacs, searching for the late-arriving gray whales, and enjoying solitary beach time at the Boca de Soledad. A short walk through the dunes revealed evidence of even more life ~ succulent sand verbena, jackrabbit tracks, crab tracks and this fresh sign of a local coyote surveying his domain.
