You’ll want to check back for a full report, but Capt Art called after lunch to report a huge feeding area of blue, fin, Bryde’s whales and a herd of common dolphins! This is after a morning on the island bird and lizard watching AND a nice snorkel session. Stay tuned…
Hello whalewatchers,
Today was another great day! We watched several humpback whales seeing all their usual behaviors like breaching, flipper flapping, tail lobbing and more. We also saw a cow with a very young calf along with an escort. Great whale watching today. A special treat was that it got calm enough that we saw four dwarf sperm whales which are rare and we were able to get pretty close to them.
Then we went to Bahia Los Frailes and dropped the anchor for a couple of hours. There was a group that went on a short walk and another group went snorkeling for the first time on this trip. The weather is good so we are headed north to Isla San Jose.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art
Hello whalewatchers,
We had a spectacular day off of Bahia Magdalena today with a lot of life.
It started off with good bird life and a group of six masked boobies (which was a treat), a Laysan albatross and plenty of shearwaters, frigatebirds and gulls.
After identifying the boobies ,we had a humpback whale breach directly behind the boat and while we circled back around to take a look we spotted two blue whales. We spent a couple of hours with the blue whales and had some great looks with clean water and good sea conditions. We saw one other blue whale in the distance.
After leaving the blue whales we came across two very large groups of long-beaked common dolphin with birds associated with them, and some jumping small tuna as well.
After a “Whales of the World” lecture in the bow, we opened the Searcher boutique for some shopping and then finished the day with breaching humpbacks. We saw at least five humpbacks breaching at different times and we were able to get a close look at one breacher. It was a great way to end the day.
Looking forward to tomorrow and more humpbacks.
More then,
Capt Art
Hello whalewatchers,
We’ve enjoyed another picture-perfect day in Laguna San Ignacio with clear skies and light winds. We started the day with a visit from a cow and calf next to the Searcher. The cow was interested in the anchor line and had a good time rubbing on it for a while. They returned for two more visits throughout the day and they were here right up until we had to leave this afternoon
The pangas had good whalewatching all day with great viewing and close encounters on just about every trip. The last trip of the day provided everyone with a trip of a lifetime with close encounters with a cow and calf.
We also had a trip to the mangroves for one panga. There was an interesting sighting made on that trip, a red tailed tropicbird was seen by all and some good photos to make sure of the ID. Not too many sightings of that bird in this area! Also there was enough interest in going to the beach for the final trip this afternoon for one panga.
We are headed south and look forward to the area outside Bahia Magdalena tomorrow.
More then,
Capt Art
Hello all,
Today was our first day in Laguna San Ignacio. It is wonderful to be back in this very special place. The weather was phenomenal with clear skies, warm temperatures and very light winds all day. There are plenty of gray whales here and the group all had a close encounter with a whale. Mostly cows with calves! We viewed all behaviors today with a little mating and a couple of breaches and spyhopping.
The galley is buzzing this evening with happy whalewatchers sharing tales of today. Looking forward to tomorrow as the weather forecast looks favorable.
Can’t stress how great it is to be back here.
Capt Art
Hello whalewatchers,
Today was a glorious day at Islas San Benito. There has been some rain here in the recent past because there were some green areas and flowers in bloom–blue dicks , island mallow, cliff spurge and more. There were plenty of northern elephant seals including hauled out males and females with pups. There was a lack of Guadalupe fur seals in the usual spots, but the large swell might have something to do with it. Some of the group found a colony of about 65 animals on the north side of west island. There were plenty of ospreys on the nests as well. All in all, it was a wonderful day with hiking, photography and wildlife watching
We are currently headed southeast towards Laguna San Ignacio, hoping to arrive just after breakfast tomorrow. We hope to find some whales and dolphins this afternoon.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art
Hello whalewhatchers,
We are excited to be on our first trip of the 2012 natural history season Today we saw several northbound gray whales, big groups of short-beaked common dolphins. three different species of pinnipeds, plenty of black oystercatches, and peregrine falcon at Islas Toda Santos.
The weather has improved greatly this afternoon with a period of wind just after lunch. The seas are calm now andsthe swell has dissipated. The front from yesterday has passed and the forecast for tomorrow looks promising.
Looking forward to Isla San Benito in the morning where we will anchor the boat and take people ashore for a nice island hike among the elephant seals.
Capt Art
After weeks of glorious and sunny San Diego weather, things turned gray and wet today, just in time for our intrepid whalewatchers to wake up in town or arrive by plane. However, they are headed south to Baja where the sun lives and should have wonderful whales and weather soon enough. Some of our UK guests dealt with cancelled flights due to snow in London, so I guess a little bit of rain won’t get them down!
Stay tuned as the boat enters the whale-y waters of Baja California tomorrow. Smooth sailing!
