Naturalist Nat

Clue #3 to my HAL destination—- I sooo want to see these 🥰😍

I’ll soon be off to another adventure with Holland America! Here’s the first ‘clue’ to our destination. 😃 They have these magnificent giants in their waters 🥰😍.

Did you know that Brown Pelicans’ wingspan is similar to bald eagles at 6.5 ft? 🫨 They can also dive from as high as over 60 feet to catch the fish that they’ve detected with their keen eyesight. Their gular pouch which they use to catch fish can hold upto 3 gallons of water, 3x that of their stomach! They are mostly brown until they reach maturity at 3-5 years old when they get their grey and white plumage. One Mexican stop where I like to watch pelicans is Ensenada. This is where most Hawaiian cruise sailings will often stop, before going back to California. Wildlife surrounds you as soon as the ship starts to dock. I don’t even go on any shore excursions as my time is all spent photographing a variety of birds and the ever entertaining California sea lions. 😁

Have a wonderful halloween! 👻

Black bearcubs get to only stay with mama about 16 -18 months so they have to learn how to survive in that short time. Mama is showing them how to catch salmon though the salmon tend to outsmart the cubs for now. 😁. Once they leave their den in the Spring, it won’t be soon that they’ll part ways. 🥹

No! These California Sealions are not doing the back stroke, nor counting fingers and toes, and most especially not showing off their synchronized swimming skills. As humans, when we feel cold we don a sweater and when hot, we remove a clothing layer. Since sealions are unable to do this, they raise their flippers to warm up or cool down. Thermoregulation is achieved when the blood vessels close to the surface of their flipper skin dilate to either absorb heat or release heat. So when you see them do this they’re definitely not putting a show for you. 🤣

Cabo San Lucas Mexico is one of the top 3 cruiseship stops. I always go whale watching here from mid December to March as whales can just pop up next to the boat. Los Arcos has a California Sealion haul out rock as well as a Pelican Rock. If you prefer to just walk the promenade, this is a fantastic place to see ‘wildlife’ in an urban centre. As Cabo is a tender port, you will disembark right at the end of the promenade. As you alight the tender, you will likely already hear the bark of California Sealions. At times they’re right on the very dock you disembark on- like this mom and baby I photographed last January. You can also say hi and watch Pancho II being fed by both locals and tourists. As you clear the security area, immediately turn left and about 100 meters is sort of a dead end. That’s Pancho II’s hangout. If you walk the promenade, you can also encounter more pelicans, California Sealions, Snowy Egrets; watch a variety of fish swim by, frigatebirds and on occasion, Turkey vultures, Tri-coloured herons and Ospreys. For birders, petrels can also be seen while whale watching.

Mazatlan is a regular stop for most cruises. While at first glance there are not as much wildlife as Puerto Vallarta or Cabo San Lucas, don’t let the lack of wildlife shore excursions deter you from experiencing them. While humpbacks are readily seen at the Bay of Banderas and the shores of Cabo, there is still much to see in Mazatlan. Some guests choose to walk the Malecon (seafront walkway) to see many bird species- from terns to cormorants. I am not a fan of the heat so we grab an open air cab at the port and ask to be dropped off at the Fisherman’s Monument about a 12-15 minute ride. You will likely see fishermen cleaning their nets and a lineup of pelicans, gulls and grackle birds waiting for discarded fish pieces. You might also bump into this gentleman who, for a $1 will give you a stick with a fish morsel to feed the Magnificent Frigatebirds. I am sooo not over my fear of birds hence my funny face. It takes all but less than a second for the fish morsel to be swiped off. 🤣. What a fantastic encounter all for $1 and a cab ride!

Last one of Puerto Vallarta- the Vallarta Botanical Gardens is a favourite of mine. We grab a cab from the cruise port by agreeing on a set amount with the cab supervisor and driver before taking off. Last January I think we paid about $100 for the entire trip with the driver waiting for us. We were there about 2.5 hours and the drive is about 45 minutes from port. If you love flowers, butterflies and birds, this is the place for you. Check them out at vbgardens.org for more info. They also have a nice restaurant inside and if you wish to hire a guide - I did so the first time I went, the cost was about $40. It was worth the fee as I would never have seen the butterflies and birds that was pointed out. The map is on the last photo.

Puerto Vallarta: while humpbacks may not be in good numbers until mid to end of December, resident dolphins are present. As the ship is departing PV, I often see them from the starboard side of the ship. They tend to stay close to where Rio Ameca empties into the Bay of Banderas. While Spinner dolphins have been seen in PV, thus far I have seen bottlenose and spotted dolphins. There are also tours that bring one to swim with them, however if the water is not clear, I prefer watching them from a boat. 😊

Bear with me - I have to talk Birds 🤣. However, I cannot NOT- where else can one see Blue footed b***y birds without going to the Galapagos?! Puerto Vallarta! As the ship is sailing away, magnificent frigate birds (this with the red pouch is male) both adults and immatures as well as brown pelicans will be flying so close to the ship. These ones Intook from the aft Lido deck. The blue footed b***y, along with elegant terns, heerman’s gulls were just chilling at the end of the dock past the PV cruiseship marketplace. If you would like other b***y bird species such as masked, brown or even Nasca, I joined the Isla Marietas tour and that was birding heaven! ***ybird ***y

As many cruise ships are now going to warm locales, I will share my wildlife experiences in Mexico, Hawaii and Panama Canal routes, starting with Puerto Vallarta. This is one of my favourite stops especially during humpback whale season which starts mid Dec to about early March. However something else you might want to check into is the release of Oliver Ridley sea turtles at Campamento Tortuguero Boca de Tomates near the airport north of the ship terminal. My sister and I took an Uber and it is about 25 minutes from the PV cruise port. The harder part is getting an Uber on the return so I suggest making an arrangement to be picked up. Watch for when your ship departs as some leave earlier than others. We joined a tour complete with an educational component though we saw some families just show up with donations.

Ahhhh Sunday . A day for relaxing, sleeping in and taking things slow especially on a day like today, the International Sloth day 🥰. Sloths have a gestation period of about 6 months. Babies stay with mom for 6-12 months. Those going on the Panama Canal cruises, if you want to see them in the wild- well as wild as they can be in an urban setting 🤣; here’s what I did. I joined an Old Cartagena Walled City shore excursion with time on your own. I crossed the street from the main old town entrance and went to Parque Del Centenario, a public park where I tipped a guy $2 and showed me where the sloths are. Bonus- you can also check out the adorable Tamarin monkeys and iguanas. Note: We went in the afternoon when there were many people around.

I went out to look for black bears today and checked out a local creek for salmon. The Chum are finally here and they’re huge! Pretty ferocious looking too, with males biting each other vying to be the first to fertilize the female’s egg in the redd she’s just dug up. Now I’ve finally seen first hand why chum salmon are also called dog salmon! See its teeth?! Or should I call them fangs? 🤣 The name Chum really came from a (Chinookan) Chinook jargon term ‘tzum’ which interprets as ‘marked’ or ‘spotted’.

The October Hunter’s Supermoon tonight with some rainbow halo. 😍 This usually happens in cooler weather and caused by the moonlight’s refraction on ice crystals in the atmosphere.

Spent yesterday afternoon birding. Raptors season is upon us here in Vancouver and I was delighted to see my first falcon this month. This is a Peregrine Falcon and those familiar with birds know this is the fastest animal in the planet! I don’t think the feeling was mutual as it zoomed 💨 off as soon as it saw me coming. 🥹