It Is Migration Time!

Cousin Sherel reminded me of the migration of critters that we in the hills often forget. I love oceanography, but it was difficult to pursue that particular field of study in college when one lives in the heart of the Appalachian mountains.

Taken off the coast of Mexico's Holbox Island by amateur photographer Sandra Critelli, this breathtaking picture captures the migration of thousands of rays as they follow the clockwise current from Mexico's Yucatan peninsula to western Florida.

Measuring up to 7ft (2.1 meters) from wing-tip to wing-tip, Golden rays are also more prosaically known as cow nose rays. They have long, pointed pectoral fins that separate into two lobes in front of their high-domed heads and give them a cow-like appearance. Despite having poisonous stingers, they are known to be shy and non-threatening when in large schools.

The population in the Gulf of Mexico migrates, in schools of as many as 10,000.

They migrate twice yearly: north in late spring (as pictured here) and south in late autumn.