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Trip Reports

2024 Baja Whalewatching Tour (Mar 1-12) Islas Los Islotes and Espiritu Santo

March 8

Hello whalewatchers,

We started at an area on the peninsula,  Nopolo,  this morning and birders located the Baja endemic, Xantus’ hummingbird. (photo courtesy of a passenger taken in a previous year)
After getting underway again, we worked south looking for whales on the way to Los Islotes, which are rocky islets and an important haul-out area for California sea lions.
During our transit in windy conditions, we saw two humpback whales but the weather wasn’t favorable for staying with them. We ended the day with a snorkel with the sea lions and the Searcher-special “Back Deck BBQ” at Isla Espiritu Santo.
We’re heading for La Paz next for an expedition with whale sharks for our last day tomorrow

Captain Mike and the boys

2024-03-11T10:59:24-07:00March 11th, 2024|Trip Reports|
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2024 Baja Whalewatching Tour (Mar 1-12) Isla San Jose area

March 8

Hello whalewatchers,

We’ve enjoyed nice weather all day though it’s starting to get breezy this evening. We started at Isla San Jose for an early-morning hike to see the land birds, including hummingbirds, plants and to photograph the gorgeous colorful cliff formations on the island. One sighting of note is that passengers saw a bald eagle soaring high today.

After Isla San Jose we went north east to Las Animas, where there is a healthy sea lion and Guadalupe fur seal colony. We saw lots of boobies as well.

After departing the area, we had a few glimpses of a “stealthy” blue whale who gave us the slip, a pair of humpback whales, and a pod of bottlenose dolphin.

We’re going to explore the mangroves at Isla San Jose tomorrow.

Captain Mike and the boys

Bird flying over ocean
Whale blow hole
2024-03-09T08:05:00-08:00March 9th, 2024|Trip Reports, Uncategorized|
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2024 Baja Whalewatching Tour (Mar 1-12) Offshore Cabo San Lucas

March 7

Hello whalewatchers,

We had a great morning around Los Cabos and the East Cape watching the humpback whales do their thing today. We were treated to lots of jumping and tail lobbing and mother/calf pairs and small groups. It made our day!

After lunch we ventered further into the Sea of Cortez to Punta Arenas for a nice evening beach walk and bird walk on shore. We’re headed up to Isla San Jose for tomorrow morning.

Photos thanks to Tabata O!

Captain Mike and the boys

Bird flying over ocean
Whale blow hole
2024-03-08T07:00:38-08:00March 8th, 2024|Trip Reports, Uncategorized|
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2024 Baja Whalewatching Tour (Mar 1-12) Bahía Magdalena

March 6

Hello Whalewatchers!

Wednesday, we ventured offshore near Bahia Magdalena. Our day began with the delightful sight of a large group of common dolphins, which we observed for a couple of hours. The pod numbered around 2000 individuals, offering an incredible experience. Soon after, we encountered a gathering of majestic blue whales in a relatively compact area, approximately 10 in total. This allowed us to enjoy remarkable views of these magnificent creatures up close. As we head towards the Cabo San Lucas, our sights are set on spotting humpback whales tomorrow morning.

Captain Mike and the Boys

Bird flying over ocean
Whale blow hole
2024-03-07T09:52:53-08:00March 7th, 2024|Trip Reports, Uncategorized|
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2024 Baja Whalewatching Tour (Mar 1-12) Laguna San Ignacio

March 5

Greetings Fellow Whale Enthusiasts!

Today we basked in favorable weather and saw remarkable whale watching in the lagoon. A heartwarming encounter with a gentle mother and calf pair of gray whales left us all beaming with joy. Tomorrow, we head offshore Bahia Magdalena in pursuit of whales, seabirds, and any other wildlife that graces our journey.

Captain Mike and the Boys

Baja gray whale hopping out of the water
2024-07-16T07:21:59-07:00March 6th, 2024|Trip Reports, Uncategorized|
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2024 Baja Whalewatching Tour (Mar 1-12) Laguna San Ignacio

March 4

Hi Whalewatchers!

The Searcher arrived at Laguna San Ignacio Monday morning with beautiful sunny skies. Gray whales greeted us near the entrance. In the lagoon we saw lots of gray whale behaviors, such as breaches, mothers with calves and spy-hops.  Staying the night in the lagoon and excited about gray whale activity tomorrow.

Captain Mike and the Crew

Gray whale spy hoping
Gray whale blow hole
2024-03-05T14:05:31-08:00March 5th, 2024|Trip Reports, Uncategorized|
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2024 Baja Whalewatching Tour (Mar 1-12) Islas San Benito

March 3

Dear whalewatchers:
On our way to San Benito, we observed a few groups of humpbacks this morning. After arriving to the island, passenger did a hike to see the elephant seals, fur seals, and sea lions. We took our time to check out the variety of plant life and see some active ospreys on their nests.
Captain Mike and the boys
2024-03-04T10:05:21-08:00March 4th, 2024|Trip Reports, Uncategorized|
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2024 Baja Whalewatching Tour (Mar 1-12) Ensenada and southbound

March 2

Dear whalewatchers:
We departed last night on our second Baja adventure of the year. We cleared customs and immigration check in Ensenada, plus an additional inspection just before noon, and then we made a left turn for Islas San Benito.
On our southbound travel, we observed gray whales, including a mother with her calf who ventured close to the boat and Pacific white-sided dolphin. Along with lots of seabirds. We’ll be at San Benito mid- morning.
Captain Mike and the boys
2024-03-03T06:58:10-08:00March 3rd, 2024|Trip Reports, Uncategorized|
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2024 Baja Whalewatching Tour: Sea of Cortez (Feb 15-26)

February 24

Dear whalewatchers:
We had a busy day today. We started with a sunrise at Punta Colorado at Isla San Jose. We travelled to the southern end of Isla San Jose and did a mangrove tour for birding opportunities from our skiffs.
We went offshore to look for wildlife midday and found some scattered mobula rays. We ended our day with sea lions at Los Islotes and a back deck BBQ at Isla Espiritu Santo.
We’re  headed to la Paz to swim with the whale sharks for our last full day tomorrow morning.
Captain Mike and the boys
2024-02-26T06:04:00-08:00February 26th, 2024|Trip Reports|
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2024 Baja Whalewatching Tour: Sea of Cortez (Feb 15-26)

February 23

Dear whalewatchers:
What an awesome day in the Sea of Cortez today. We started with a walk around Bahia Agua Verde. The birders picked out four endemic Xantus’ hummingbirds, always a treat to see on the peninsula.
We left around lunchtime and kept tracking north where we saw our first blue whale about 5 miles away. We started seeing more spouts the further up we went we stayed with a single blue whale, which we followed for the better part of a hour.
Captain Ryan spotted some activity closer to the peninsula which looked like  pair of blue whales together. We got closer and we realized we were in for a treat. We watched three blue whales lunge feeding around the boat for two or three hours until the sun went down. We think we saw somewhere between 6 and 10 blue whales today.
We’re anchored for dinner and going to head south for Punta Colorado tomorrow on Isla San Jose.
Captain Mike and the boys
2024-02-24T15:09:50-08:00February 24th, 2024|Trip Reports|
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