This just in!
Capt Art just texted this photo of a gray whale (one of numerous whales!) right next to Searcher at anchor in Laguna San Ignacio. (Click the MORE button)
Tour #3 Laguna San Ignacio magic February 25
Hello whalewatchers,
Today has been a tremendous day which started with a great sunrise and a group of common dolphin joining us before we entered the lagoon. We crossed the bar at the lagoon entrance and were amazed at the amount of whales. As we traveled up the lagoon there were more and more whales, and when the pangas arrived the pangueros told us the last census taken reported almost 350 whales in the lagoon. Wow!
Needless to say, the whalewatching was superb and everyone came back beaming after their first trip this morning. The weather is great with light winds all day from the north and the afternoon trip was equal to the morning trip with plenty of close encounters–from cows with calves, single animals, and even a pair of whales hanging around Searcher. The crew who stayed aboard even had some great photo opportunities.
What a day! The sunset is also beautiful and we are looking forward to “lights out” and quiet time tonight.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art
Naturalist Report Tour #1
Click on this link for a PDF version of Tour #1 trip report and sightings.
Laguna San Ignacio census update
There are now a whopping 350 gray whales in the lagoon–180 single whales and 85 mother/calf pairs. The mother/calf number is way up from last week!
San Diego Bird Festival
Our hometown wildlife event is coming up! March 3-6 at Marina Village. We are sponsors of the festival and would love to see our local whalewatching and seabirding fans there!
Tour #3 February 24 Islas San Benito
Hello whalewatchers,
Today we were at Islas San Benito. There were plenty of Guadalupe fur seals to observe and photograph on the way to the island this morning. And the group was greeted with four male elephant seals on the landing beach on Isla San Benito west.
Everyone enjoyed the hike around the island today since we had great weather, sunny skies, a little breeze to keep the temperatures just right for hiking. Several people mentioned the great views of osprey on nests. There are still plenty of elephant seals still, though some females will start to leave the island, leaving their pups behind to become “weaners.”
Looking forward to Laguna San Ignacio tomorrow,
More then,
Capt Art
p.s. The photo is of an elephant seal “weaner,” taken last trip by Chef Charles.
Tour #3 February 23 Gray whales and pelican chicks
Hello whalewatchers,
Yesterday we started trip #3. After clearing into Mexico, we visited Islas Todos Santos. The island is still very green and there gas been a change there. There are several brown pelican chicks on nests! It was a pleasant surprise to see all those chicks.
We saw our first whale close to the island and we had great looks at it–a fin whale. A little further south we came across a large herd of long-beaked comon dolphins. It is always great to spend time with dolphins.
We had our first look a gray whales today also, with three groups of northbound whales. We followed them for awhile and we had great looks. There were 4 to 6 whales in each group.
We didnt see much this afternoon except a fin whale right at sunset.
Looking forward to tomorrow,
Capt Art
Tour #3 off and running!
And as an homage to our all-British group of whalewatchers, Chef Charles baked scones at tea time! All arrived safely and their journey has begun. We’ll report on the wildlife news starting later today.
Tour #2 videos up in Gallery
And more to come…keep checking back!
Surface-feeding fin whales here…
Western gray whale heads east?
Here’s a link to the story of tagged Western gray whale “Flex.” It appears that he travelled from Russia to the migration path used by the Eastern gray whales. Let’s stay tuned!
