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Bahia Agua Verde

Dwarf sperm whales at sunset

Hello whalewatchers,
Today we are at Bahia Agua Verde, a beautiful spot on the peninsula. We walked on the beach, had a skiff ride along the shore and saw lots of birds, and finally a snorkel in warm, clear water. We stayed until lunch time and everyone enjoyed our visit.
We headed south looking for whales and we added another species to our list. We saw 6 dwarf sperm whales in a 2-hour period and I think everyone got a good look at one of these whales. That brings our total for cetaceans to 13 different species. There is a chance to see 15 different species on our tour, so to accomplish that in the time we have is really special.
Tonight was margarita night and everyone enjoyed a little tequila and buffet dinner on the back deck.
We had a great day and the weather was phenomenal–flat and calm all day.
Looking forward to tomorrow,
Capt Art

2020-07-15T16:35:29-07:00March 3rd, 2010|Trip Reports|

Isla Santa Catalina

Hello whalewatchers,
Today was an incredible day with clear skies, and nice and warm. The group went ashore at Isla Catalina for a couple of hours ands came back very happy with the hike and commented on how beautiful the island was. Part of the group went snorkelling and the visibility was great and the water was warm again.
We left after lunch and headed towards the peninsula looking for whales and dolphins. We came across yet another species of whale that brings the total to 12 different species so far. There were 2 different groups of pilot whales 30 – 40 animals each. We had great looks for a while and then continued on hoping for a large baleen whale.
Shortly after the pilot whales we came across a mega-herd of common dolphin. Just guessing but there had to be 2 thousand dolphin stretched out for over a 2-mile area. It is always great to see that many dolphin.
It didn’t take very long after the dolphin and we spotted a very tall spout and it was a blue whale. We saw 3 whales in the area-a cow and calf and a single adult that was fluking. We had great looks at a large blue whale.
Another great day in the Sea of Cortez.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2010-09-02T19:10:00-07:00March 2nd, 2010|Trip Reports|

Isla San Jose

Hello whalewatchers,
We had another great day starting at beautiful Punta Colorado, Isla San Jose at sunrise with sunny skies and light winds. Everyone enjoyed the walk with lots to see and lots of plants in bloom. We left at lunch time and started looking for whales and dolphin.
Before locating any whales we saw Craveri’s murrelets, red-billed tropicbird, and longtailed jeager. Those are life birds for most people so it was great to see these birds in just a two-hour span.
We then saw some spouts in the distance. We went that way and saw several whales on the surface. We concluded they were sperm whales! The closer we got the more whales we saw. Tt turned out there were at times 20 sperm whales on the surface at once over a 3 or 4 mile area. Who knows how many were there? We stayed with the sperm whales for two hours and the sun went down. The last good look we had was a large male along side of a female. It was great to see the size difference between a male and female.
Looking forward to tomorrow at Isla Catalina.
Capt Art

2010-09-02T19:09:20-07:00March 1st, 2010|Trip Reports|

Offshore Cabo San Lucas and Los Frailes

Hello all,
We had an incredible day of humpback whalewatching! It started with a group of 12 whales, and five out of the group were breaching. We had whales jumping in all directions. What a great way to start the day1
After that we headed to the Gorda Banks and there were at least 20 humpbacks milling around there. It was hard to decide which direction to go, so we just sat in one place for a while and enjoyed whales in all directions. There were several whales breaching in the distance and all the other behaviors as well. We ended our whalewatching with great looks at a cow/calf pair with an escort–the calf appeared very young.
We went to Los Frailes, a shore location on the peninsula, and several people took the opportunity to snorkel for the first time this trip. The water was 73 degrees and clear. The people on the walk had great looks at Xantus hummingbird and gray thrasher–two endemics for Baja.
Today’s weather was awesome with sunny skies and light winds again.
We are headed north in good weather to Isla San Jose.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2010-09-02T19:08:15-07:00February 28th, 2010|Trip Reports|

Offshore Bahia Magdalena

Hello whalewatchers,
We are extremely lucky to have had calm weather today. We could see for miles.
We started with a few common dolphin and some great looks at Craveri’s murrelets which is a special sighting and only happened because of the calm conditions. We also saw hundreds and hundreds of red phalaropes throughout the day, as well as lots of black storm petrels.
As far as whales go we had a fantastic look at a Sei whale up close with clear water so we could see the whole whale. We had good looks at humpbacks, but only a few. Another special sighting was a group of 30 to 40 Risso’s dolphins. I cant remember ever seeing these dolphin in this area before. We have seem them several times outside of Ensenada but not down here.
Another treat today was seeing sea turtles. When the weather is calm you see turtles everywhere. So we were able to get close and get good looks at mostly green sea turtles. We estimated about 40 turtles for the day.
We are compiling quite a species list and we are still on the Pacific side of the peninsula.
Looking forward to humpback day tomorrow,
Capt Art

2010-09-02T19:07:07-07:00February 27th, 2010|Trip Reports|

Laguna San Ignacio: day 2

Hello whalewatchers,
Another magical day in Laguna San Ignacio! The sun is shining, the winds are light, it doesn’t get much better than this weather-wise.
We started the day with a trip into the mangroves to look at the birds. Everyone that went enjoyed the trip. They came back to a wonderful Eggs Benedict breakfast.
There are a lot of whales here–a census done yesterday reports there are 186 whales with 8 cow/calf pairs in the lagoon.
Everyone had a close encounter this morning and we had a group go to the beach in the afternoon. I joined them and had a great walk on a beach with no one else there. There aren’t too many places in the world where you can do that.
Another great visit to Laguna San Ignacio!
We are heading south tonight to look for different whales.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2010-09-02T19:06:09-07:00February 26th, 2010|Trip Reports|

Laguna San Ignacio: day 1

Hello whalewatchers,
Today we entered Laguna San Ignacio and were greeted by several gray whales. There are a lot of whales here again! Everyone had great whalewatching today in great weather with light breeze out of the north for part of the day and sunny skies.
We also had really good whalewatching from the Searcher with several whales going by and fluking since we are anchored in one of the deep channels in the lagoon. There were plenty of bottlenose dolphins in the area as well.
Looking forward to tomorrow with good tides for a pre-breakfast mangrove trip. The weather forecast looks favorable for tomorrow as well.
Capt Art

2010-09-02T19:05:05-07:00February 25th, 2010|Trip Reports|

Islas San Benito

Hello whalewatchers,
Today was a great day with a wonderful start this morning. Right after the sun came up, we spotted about 50 to 70 sperm whales at the surface. There were a few calves breaching and we saw some other cow/calf pairs. It was an exciting find!
So we were a bit delayed arriving at Islas San Benito but it wasn’t all the sperm whales’ fault. We also ran across a blue whale about 5 miles north of the island and that delayed us further!
After finally arriving, everyone got in the skiffs and found several Guadalupe fur seals on the way to the island. In addition, the birders were treated to a peregrin falcon chasing a merlin as the skiffs departed.
The weather was great for a walk–sunny skies and a light breeze.
Everyone saw northern elephant seals on the island up-close with some mating behavior as well as females with pups and weaners. Ospreys were on their nests.
We are headed to Laguna San Ignacio and I am looking forward to being back there.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2010-09-02T19:00:44-07:00February 24th, 2010|Trip Reports|

Offshore Ensenada and Islas Todos Santos

Hello all,
Our first day (of our second tour for 2010) offshore after clearing Mexican customs in Ensenada was spectacular with over 30 albatross (blackfooted and layson), northbound gray whales, 1000 each short- and long-beaked common dolphin and fin whales.
We saw several other species of seabirds including shearwaters, alcids, phalaropes and gulls.
Also prior to going offshore, we saw all the usual suspects (harbor seals, elephant seals and sea lions, plus nesting cormorants and pelicans) at Islas Todos Santos. The island is nice and green.
The weather is fantastic with calm winds and very little seas.
Looking forward to tomorrow,
Capt Art

2010-09-02T18:59:49-07:00February 23rd, 2010|Trip Reports|

Nopolo and Islas Los Islotes

Hello whalewatchers,
Today was an excellent day with great weather, sunny skies and light winds. We started at Nopolo Village, and the bird watching was great.
Then we headed south towards Islas Los Islotes and we saw more humpback whales. I have never seen this many humpbacks on one of these trips! Starting back outside Bahia Magdalena on day 6, we have seen humpbacks every day since. We also found more common dolphins, manta rays and mobula rays.
After all that, we snorkeled with sea lions and saw boobies and frigates up close on a skiff ride.
Certainly another great day and a great finish to a wonderful trip,
Capt Art

2010-09-02T18:57:47-07:00February 17th, 2010|Trip Reports|

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