Bahia Magdalena – Day 2

7:00 a.m. brought the morning announcements from our Expedition Leader, Michelle. The Sea Lion is at anchor near the mangroves of El Barríl on the east side of Isla Magdalena.

Also a 7:00 a.m. there was Morning Stretching with Laura, the ships Wellness Coordinator. We observed this activity but did not participate.

Breakfast was at 7:30 a.m. so we headed down to the dining room. It was breakfast buffet of: Choice of Yogurts, Hot and Cold Cereals, Fresh Fruits and Fruit Juices, and freshly Baked Muffins. Hot selections were: Choice of three different Scrambled Eggs, Buttermilk Pancakes and Bacon. We soon learned the each morning the buffet was the same but with different hot selections.

At 8:30 a.m. there was a mandatory briefing in the lounge covering safety and procedure for loading Zodiacs.

The morning activity was kayaking or Zodiac cruising in the mangroves of El Barríl. We took advantage of the spring tide to explore this richly productive ecosystem by Zodiac, for photographic opportunities and the ability to cover more terrain.

Nosing in close to the mangroves, we learned the difference between the three species that occur here, near the northern limit of their range. Black mangroves are the extruders, simply “sweating” out their excess salt on the surface of their elongate leaves. Red mangroves are the excluders, using reverse osmosis to limit their intake of salty sea water. White mangroves are the extruders, concentrating the salt they’ve taken in and eliminating it through two pores at the base of each leaf. All unrelated and perfectly adapted to this inhospitable, salty environment.

This was the first time I learned about “birders”. I have never seen such excitement then a blue heron was spotted.

Lecturer/Staff/Naturalist Sharon Grainer with a Zodiac of “birders”

The list of bird sightings was long, with light winds and a falling tide. White ibis, snowy egret, whimbrel, yellow-crowned night heron, willet, little blue heron… our binoculars and cameras were put to good use this morning.