South San Diego Bay – a Good Paddle to see Wildlife

A Quiet Place with Few Power Boats

At the end of Grand Caribe in the Coronado Cays is a small park with a sandy beach, an ideal spot for launching kayaks. The Saturday Paddle Group has launched here on occasion at various times of the year. On every paddle we have spotted several kinds of birds nesting or diving for fish, with others poking in the sand for food, or Ospreys just sitting on perches looking back at us. In the fall we have observed large Green Sea Turtles surfacing while munching on Eel Grass, some within 20 ft of our boats. We often hear them breathe before we see them. And on most occasions there have been Mullets jumping out of the water, and Sea Rays swimming under our kayaks. We have sometimes had schools of Mullets under our boats, that surface, causing our craft to rock a little.

The diversity of both Littoral and Pelagic wildlife is abundant here, as the sounds of the city and traffic are distant and soft. There are nesting Least Turns on a land spit, Pelicans diving for fish, and Sand Pipers looking for a meal in the mud. Shearwaters, Egrets, Blue Herons, Cormorants, and Sea Gulls all frequent this environment.

We will be having more of these paddles in the south bay throughout the year, and will announce them through the Club. It is our hope you can join us next time.