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2016 Tour 2 Isla San Benito

Hellw whalewatchers;

We had a  great day on Isla San Benito. Passengers had really good looks at ospreys starting their nesting season and Guadalupe fur seals were active today as well. There were still some large, male beachmaster elephant seals on the beach today. The plant life was dry but there were some good birds to be seen. Two types of hummingbirds (Annas and Costas) were spotted. The highlight for those that walked up to the lighthouse got to see a blue whale not too far off the island.

San Benitos Island light houseAnd those that didn’t make it that far saw one as we left the island and started to motor south to Laguna San Ignacio. It was a very long-winded blue whale, so we only got to see it once. But we were treated to Pacific white-ided dolphins which we won’t see further south. For seabirds, we had a very good amount of Cassin’s auklets, black-vented shearwaters, about a dozen Manx shearwaters, and two peregrine falcons who were chasing seabirds.
Capt Aaron and Searcher crew

2020-07-15T16:34:47-07:00February 25th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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Rob-servations #6 Fin whale identification

The fin whale is one of the largest animal species in the world, second only to the blue whale. During our 12-day Searcher Natural History Tours to Baja, we can see fin whales at any point during the trip (except for the two days when we visit San Ignacio Lagoon to observe gray whales up close). Fin whales on the Pacific side of the peninsula seem to be part of the greater eastern North Pacific population, whereas those in the Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez are apparently a resident population with limited interaction (i.e., low gene flow) with fin whales elsewhere.

Fin whales are among the fastest of the large whales, with burst speeds up to 23 miles per hour (37 km/hr). For this reason, they were able to evade many of the Yankee whalers during the early years of commercial whaling. Unfortunately, modern whaling fleets wreaked havoc on all whale populations, including fin whales. Much is not known about current population trends, but for some populations of fin whales it seems their stock status is improving.

For the most part, fin whales do not usually exhibit the dramatic out-of-water behaviors that we see with humpback whales. Fin whales tend not to breach, fluke, flipper-flap, or lob-tail. In all my years of whale watching, I’ve seen the flukes of a fin whale on only two occasions, once off Long Island, NY and once off the California coast. Between their fast speed, their lack of demonstrative behaviors, and their relative elusiveness (compared to a humpback), it can be difficult to get a good look at a fin whale. Nevertheless, there are some useful traits we can use to help identify them.

Size and shape of spout/blow: The fin whale’s blow is usually tall and columnar, similar to but not quite as tall as that of a blue whale. From a distance, it would be difficult to distinguish the blows of a fin whale and blue whale. Even large humpbacks are capable of producing blows that might be construed as being from either a blue or fin whale. The blow alerts us to the presence of the whale, and we then use other clues to confirm the identification.

Size of animal: Fin whale adults are normally well over 50 feet in length, making them longer than most of the other baleen whales we see (humpback, Bryde’s, gray, and minke). When a whale surfaces for air, only a small portion of the animal is visible, so it takes some practice to develop a sense of the size of an animal based on this partial view.

Color: The overall color of the fin whale is slate gray, but the appearance of the animal will depend on lighting and individual variation. Some animals appear more brown than gray. The fin whale has several color features that are diagnostic, but are sometimes difficult to see. The color of the right lower jaw is white, unlike the gray color of the left jaw or the rest of the head. Asymmetry is uncommon in animals. Another asymmetrical color feature is a swirly color pattern (sometimes called the “blaze”) on the right side of the head. Finally, there is a V-shaped light-gray or white mark on the back called the “chevron.” Please note that these color features are not always obvious. I’ve seen many fin whales, but rarely have I had a good look at the white lower jaw. Many times I’ve been on the left side of the animal and could not see the blaze or the right lower jaw. More times than not the lighting was such that I could not clearly make out the blaze or chevron.

Dorsal fin: The dorsal fin of the fin whale has the classic curved “falcate” shape that we usually associate with whales and dolphins. This shape is in contrast to the lack of a dorsal fin in the gray whale and the hump-like dorsal fin of the humpback whale. The fin whale’s dorsal fin is prominent and appropriately sized for the body, in contrast to the smaller-than-it-should-be dorsal fin of the blue whale. Both Bryde’s and minke whales have prominent dorsal fins similar to that of the fin whale. The fin whale’s dorsal is more swept back than the slightly more-upright dorsal of the Bryde’s whale. The fin whale and minke whale can easily be separated by body size, so don’t let the dorsal fin fool you. As always, account for individual variations in size and shape of the dorsal fin within a species.

Tail flukes: Fin whales almost never show their tail flukes. The flukes are similar in shape to that of the blue whale (i.e., wide and tapered). The color is grayish-white, with perhaps a darker edging on the underside.

Species-specific traits: The unique traits of the fin whale are the asymmetrical color features: the white lower right jaw and the blaze color swirl on the right side of the head.

Behavior: When we see fin whales in Baja, most of the time they are simply swimming and diving. If they are traveling, the Searcher can sometimes match their speed and heading and we can anticipate where they will re-surface. If the whales are feeding underwater, their movements are more erratic and it becomes more difficult to predict their re-appearance.

2020-07-15T16:34:47-07:00February 24th, 2016|Rob-servations|
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2016 Tour 2 Whale of a First Day

Hello whalewatchers! We started out day in fog so thick it was no visibility. Then just before we got to Todos Santos, the fog lifted and we saw elephant seals, harbor seals, California sea lions. and 2 black oystercatchers. Then we found a few gray whales going north. Then we found a cow/calf humpback whale pair! The baby was so small (we called it a “bumpback”) and it was even fluking! We continued on and and then found four fin whales logging on the surface. One actually went under the boat!

2016 tour 2 finWhile watching the fin whales, we were interrupted by a pair of laysan albatrosses circling the boat. And then we found a pair of blue whales that were slowly cruising along under the surface. To finish our look at a blue whale, it waved good bye by fluking for us right off the bow.

Later in the day we added a Bryde’s whale to our list. We managed to get a close look it too.  We had some common dolphin escort us into the last few minutes of daylight before we called it a day.
Capt Aaron and Searcher crew

2020-07-15T16:34:48-07:00February 24th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 1 Sea of Cortez

Hello whalewatchers: We decided to relocate today further south where we knew there were whales for our day’s activities. We started north of the Cabo Pulmo area and headed south. The weather was perfect with glassy conditions–we could see for miles! We saw breaching humpbacks in the distance and on our way there, we came across a single blue whale. We elected to spend some time with the blue whale. And then while we were waiting for the whale to surface, we saw common dolphins, more humpbacks, Guadalupe fur seals and a few sea turtles. We were busy! The blue whale came up right next to us a couple of times so we had some good looks. It’s always a very special experience when the largest animal on the planet is that close.
We left that area and didn’t go very far when we saw a dwarf sperm whale on the surface–it turned out to be two dwarf sperm whales-another special experience. Then an adult male sperm whale surfaced! We had a good look in the binoculars and we waited an hour for the next surfacing. Meanwhile some more humpbacks kept us occupied while we waited. The sperm whale surfaced and we were able to get a good look at it. They are amazing animals. We spotted a few more dwarf sperm whales and then we decided to head south again. All this happened before noon! We came across more humpbacks and another blue whale, by the way, as well.tour 1 flukes
We ended the day with humpbacks fluking around sunset. What a great day! And a good end to our first 2016 tour. We’ll head back south with a new group next week.
Team Searcher

2020-07-15T16:34:48-07:00February 19th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 1 Isla San Jose

Hello whalewatchers, We had a great day starting at Punta Colorado, Isla San Jose. It was an early start with sunrise coloring  the red bluff. Everyone went ashore for a walk, and then returned for a snorkel session and a skiff ride. Then we went offshore looking for whales and dolphins in the San Jose channel. South of there we came across an area of long-beaked common dolphin, two fin whales and a single humpback whale.
We ended the day at anchor in a spot next to the peninsula with a beck deck buffet!  BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, rice, potato salad, corn bread and banana bread for dessert. Charley and Dan did a heck of a job. The ribs were the best!
back deck BBQ
Team Searcher

2020-07-15T16:34:48-07:00February 17th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 1 Sea of Cortez

Hello whalewatchers:
February 14: We started yesterday a little differently due to weather conditions. We started at Los Islotes, where everyone enjoyed the skiff rides and the snorkel session. The underwater visibility was great with lots of fish were reported. We left there looking for whales the rest of the day aboard Searcher. We made it all the way to beautiful Isla Santa Catalina and anchored for the night.
February 15: We went ashore at Isla Santa Catalina after breakfast and the arroyo was lush with cactus, native plants, and bird life. No sighting of a live rattleless rattlesnake, however.
The snorkel session was reported again to be in terrific conditions.  Those opting for a skiff ride took “Krazy Koastal Kruises!” We left the island after lunch and went west towards the peninsula in windy conditions. The weather was better there and we had a look at a Bryde’s whale and some bottlenose dolphins. We are enjoying the beautiful Baja sunrises.
We are looking forward to tomorrow!
Team Searcher

2016-02-16T08:13:27-08:00February 16th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 1 Cabo San Lucas area

Hello whalewatchers: We had a great morning of whalewatching with good looks at humpback whales. There were plenty of whales around the Gorda Banks area. Just about every direction you wanted to look, there were spouts or a breacher. Today’s photo is of a cow (at the surface) and calf that were tail-lobbing together, and the calf was breaching repeatedly.trip 1 humpback lobtail
In addition, we had a rarity today: rough-toothed dolphins. These are animals that we haven’t seen in this area before. We also spotted a few bottlenose dolphin and a red-billed tropic bird to add to the list today.
We stopped at Los Frailes for a beach walk and some birding, and we will have dinner here in a calm spot.
Headed north tonight.
Team Searcher

2020-07-15T16:34:48-07:00February 15th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 1 offshore Bahia Magdalena

Hello whalewatchers: We had a very productive morning off Magdalena Bay this morning–plenty of whales! We’ve seen over 30 humpbacks with some breaching and fluking, but mostly whales travelling. A single blue whale was in the area also, but stayed down for 20 minutes at a time and a bit tough to stay with. But when it was on the surface we were able to get close enough to ID it. And it did fluke for us, so everyone got a look at a fluking blue whale. There were also a few scattered common and bottlenose dolphin, and lots of sea turtles around. We estimated at least 50 or 60 turtles.
The weather is calm and sunny. The water is warm as well with the surface temperature at 74 degrees.
More later, Team Searcher

We love Ally Marsh’s photo of the breaching humpback. Thank you, Ally!

2016-02-13T19:16:53-08:00February 13th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 1 Laguna San Ignacio, day 2

Hello whalewatchers:

We enjoyed another spectacular day in Laguna San Ignacio with great weather and plenty of whales! Once again everyone had an opportunity to have a close encounter with a gray whale. We took 12 people to the mangroves this morning on the high tide for some estuary birding and photography. In the afternoon, we took nine people to the beach on the shore of the lagoon for a nice walk. Lots of fun was had by all today. shaded seating stern w:people
Today’s photo is a view from the seating area showing a passenger enjoying the view in the shade: a gray whale and a whalewatching panga.

Gray whale photo by Rob Nawojchik.
Team Searcher

2020-07-15T16:34:48-07:00February 12th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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Will Baja be your Valentine?

Valentine’s Day is approaching!

Our hearts are full – and we want to share the Baja love!

We asked passengers to recall moments when they fell in love on a Searcher Natural History Tour – and we want to know more! Will Baja be your valentine?

Did you fall in love during a Searcher Natural History Tour?  Tell us about it!

Email your “fell in love” story to searcher@bajawhale.com – we will be publishing a future blog post with your responses!

 

2020-07-15T16:34:48-07:00February 11th, 2016|News, Photos|
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