It's off early this morning for a trip in the motor boat to Punta Arena. Our boating buddies have stars in their eyes dreaming of all the great shells they will find beach combing. We have visions of dolphin pods screaming along beside us on the flat water. We are not disappointed!
Court, Ann, Debbie and John speed along in the aluminum boat. Even we make fair speed with today's water conditions, in the little Portebote.
The Sea of Cortez, also known as the Sea of Cortes, Gulf of California, and the Vermillion Sea, is 62,000 sq. miles and has 4,000 km of coastline and over 37 islands. We are cruising in a little pocket about half way down the Baja Peninsula, (second longest peninsula in the world) called Conception Bay.
Deckhand Sparky is ready to roll....or...motor.
Cruising along scanning the water, it's easy to see the first fins! Then those first fins, turn into a lot of fins!
Bottlenose dolphins hang together in pods of 10 -250 individuals. They can reach lengths of 12 ft. And weigh as much as 1,400 lbs, living as long as 40 years.
(These two great photos thanks to Debbie Morrow)
Common dolphins are either short beaked or long beaked, range in length up to 8 1/2 ft. and weigh in around 300 lbs. You might expect these swift and beautiful marine mammals to celebrate about 30 birthdays.
I don't know much about dolphin ID field work, but I know I will be on the lookout for "Captain Hook" next time I am graced with the presence of dolphins in Baja.
On the grocery list is schooling fish, squid, sardines, smelt and lantern fish. They work hard to make a living...crushing shallow spots or diving down to depths of 600 ft. using ecolocation to target prey and 200 pointed teeth for a grab and go meal.
Every time we wind up near these amazing cetaceans, it's hard to leave. The buddy boat has long since gone into the beach to hunt for shell booty, and we are still taking pictures....
.........."just one more."
No comments:
Post a Comment