Hello friends:
All is well here on our first day! We entered Mexico smoothly. Then we saw a breaching humpback whale outside of Isla Todos Santos. Then we spotted several Cassin’s auklets, Black-vented shearwaters, and a few Brown boobies.
The weather is good, with light winds. We are headed toward Isla Guadalupe, with a stop at a seamount northeast of the island. We should be there at daylight. And we should arrive at the island after lunch.
Team Searcher
We are proud to host the historic Mexico Pelagic Tour, sponsored by WildWings, which left today. Leaders aboard are Chris Collins and Steve Howell. Stay tuned to this blog for daily reports from the field. Their first stop will be Isla Guadalupe.
Good day on the pelagic birding trip! Blue whale, Guadalupe fur seals, red-billed tropicbird, Laysan albatross, and much more. They have good weather for exploring the deep-water areas around the Rodriguez dome and San Juan seamount.
Capt Aaron called in a report tonight from the Channel Islands area. They spent time with some marine mammals today: Bryde’s, humpback and fin whales, and Risso’s, common and bottlenose dolphins. They came upon a huge feeding frenzy of sea lions and seabirds that was quite impressive. The bird list included Buller’s shearwaters, brown boobies, common murre, Cravieri’s murrelet, and lots more.
The 25 birders and 4 leaders left around noon yesterday to head out for an afternoon of local birding, before heading north to the Channel Islands and offshore deep water. They are in search of pelagic birds, whales, dolphins and any other life they can find. The weather forecast looks terrific! Stay tuned for reports.
p.s. Brown boobies were spotted before they left San Diego Bay!
Hello whalewatchers: I had to share the sighting of a northbound gray whale off the Washington coast. Celia and I were on vacation between seasons, visiting the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. We saw a blurb in a guide book about Rialto Beach where you might see gray whales and bald eagles, so we decided to make a visit. We stayed in a gorgeous, forested campground in Mora, close to a tiny harbor called La Push. We went to Rialto Beach, walked, birdwatched, beachcombed, and sat on a big log for a break to scan the horizon. It didn’t take long before I saw a spout! A single whale was out there. We’re sure it was an adult, headed north with the typical migration behavior of three spouts and down for three minutes, and then repeating that pattern.Celia and I gravitate to the ocean when we are on vacation and we almost always see some sort of marine mammal. It was a moment of fate to see a species close to our hearts, a gray whale.
To finish the walk we saw a pair of bald eagles, flying high above the treeline above the beach., just like the brochure said.
Capt Art and Celia
But these came next to the boat to feed on the plankton attracted to the lights. What a show! https://youtu.be/ph7tW_Uqs3Y
Today we started the day with Bryde’s and fin whales. We were able to get on the right side of the fin whale with great lighting and see the white lower jaw plainly. Not a bad start!
We travlled around the northern end of the island so we could get into deep water with hopes of a toothed whale. We didn’t see any toothed whales initially but we did see a 25 foot whale shark on the surface up close– a first for several people. After that we continued on and we came across 8 orcas, What a thrill to see these whales with great looks and in great conditions. The photo of the day is of a single whale on the surface. Espiritu Santo is in the background.
Later we saw a flock of 40 long-tailed jeagers–that was a hit for the birders.
What a great trip to end the season! We enjoyed lots and lots of wildlife. All in all, the entire season was fantastic.
Thanks to all the clients who traveled far to joins us. Thanks to our great naturalists who enhanced our trips this season. Thanks to Team Searcher for a job well done.
Capt. Art
Hello whaewatchers: We had some communication gliches yesterday so we weren’t’t able to send a report. We were busy with plenty of activities–a skiff ride into the mangroves at Isla San Jose to start and then whalewatching on our way to Los Islotes to snorkel with the sea lions. We came across some pilot whales and a few Bryde’s whales. We were able to get good looks at both whales. We then had skiff ride and then a snorkel with the sea lions and everyone enjoyed time with sea lions. Next we dropped the anchor at El Candalero, Isla Espiritu Santo and everyone went ashore for a hike.
To finish the day we had margaritas and a buffet on the back deck. What a day!
Team Searcher
