FacebookTwitterYouTubeInstagram

Trip Reports

What a terrible day…

…to welcome our Tour #6 participants to San Diego! It was anything but “sunny” as an unusually cold storm front moved through our region. (Colder here than in England, where many of them travelled from!)

But I believe they have all forgotten about the chilly temperatures and off and on rain showers by now because they are surrounded by two humpback whales, two fin whales, two blue whales, and a growing list of seabirds (including common loons, black-footed albatross, rhino auklets), all under a blue and sunny sky,  as they head south, deeper and deeper into Baja California and away from civilization.

Stay tuned for more details on this day!

Thank you to Lee Morgan for the use of his photo of a blue whale off the bow.

2011-04-09T13:51:57-07:00April 9th, 2011|Trip Reports|
Read More

Tour #5 Last day in Baja April 4

Hello whalewatchers,
We enjoyed another beautiful day in the Sea of Cortez, with calm seas and no wind. This is weather we dream about. We made a quick visit to Nopolo for a pre-breakfast walk and the endemic Xantus hummingbird showed well. We headed south towards Los Islotes .
After a skiff ride to look at the sea lions and birds with the highlight being the courting blue-footed boobies, the snorkellers went in. The visibilty was the best we’ve seen in quite some time with clear water and lots of fish.
After leaving there we came across a big group of bottlenose dolphin. This group wanted to perform, with several animals leaping in the wake as  high as 20 feet in the air. It was impressive! We saw one more humpback whale and a great sunset to end a great trip.
See you all next trip,
Capt Art

2020-07-15T16:35:22-07:00April 5th, 2011|Trip Reports|
Read More

Tour #5 Agua Verde fin whales and more April 3

Hello whalewatchers,
Today was another remarkable day. Our weather and wildlife sightings were great again. With sunny skies and calm seas, it doesn’t get better than this. We saw a few more fin whales and 10 humpbacks, some of them giving us great fluke shots when they dove. We did something different today as well. We followed a large group of bottlenose dolphin, at least 100 animals, for over an hour as they cruised by the coast in fairly shallow water. We had a great time with them, observing their actions and photographing.
This morning we had a great stay at Bahia Agua Verde. There was a good walk in the morning and a great snorkel afterwardsl. We also had a Krazy Koastal Kruise with Kapt Kenny to Roca Solitair–the place in the attached photo.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2011-04-04T06:36:09-07:00April 4th, 2011|Trip Reports|
Read More

Tour #5 Santa Catalina and a whaley day April 2

Hello whalewatchers,
Today was a glorious day at Isla Santa Catalina. We went ashore a little earlier because of the heat. The temperatures are in the mid 80’s mid-day, so earlier was better. The island is changing a little from previous trips. With the warmer temps the lizards are more active and there were lots around. Also the cardon cactus are in the process of blooming with lots of buds and a few flowers.
The snorkelling was excellent with great visibility and 70 degree water. Kapt Kenny’s Krazy Koastal Kruise had a good trip with a few bottlenose dolphin sighted.
We left at noon to look for whales and what an afternoon we had! We saw at least 15 fin whales, three different groups of common dolphin with at least 1000 animals in each group, a small group of bottlenose dolphin, and one blue whale.
There was also lots of birdlife with pelicans, boobies, murrelets, grebes and gulls.
The seas were calm and so it made for a wonderful day out looking for whales.
More tomorrow from Bahia Agua Verde,
Capt Art

2011-04-03T08:48:56-07:00April 3rd, 2011|Trip Reports|
Read More

Tour #5 Classic Sea of Cortez day April 1

Hello whalewatchers,

We’ve enjoyed a classic day in the Sea Of Cortez today with calm, hot conditions and loads of wildlife. It all started with a beautiful sunrise at Punta Colorado, Isla San Jose. Then we offered a skiff ride along the coast, a hike up the arroyo and then a snorkel–all before lunch.

We went looking for whales and found some feeding fin whales along with a big group of common dolphins., then a lonley humpback whale which we don’t normally see this far north in the gulf.
Then a red-billed tropicbird, plenty of black storm petrels and a few Craverri’s murrelets.
A great day and lots of fun for everyone.
More tomorow from Isla Santa Catalina,
Capt Art

2011-04-01T21:12:49-07:00April 1st, 2011|Trip Reports|
Read More

Tour #5 Humpbacks! March 31

Hello whalewatchers,
We had a phenomenal day overall with great weather sunny skies, light winds, and warm temperatures. That made for a great day with the humpback whales offshore Cabo San Lucas. The humpback whalewatching was excellent as we followed two groups of 6 and 8 whales with multiple breaches and flipper flapping. We were able to get up-close looks at the whales and it was pretty exciting following those groups. These were the highlights. We saw lots of whales in the distance that we didn’t follow or watch. We spotted lots of manta rays jumping as well. We made a quick stop at Bahia Los Frailes for a beach walk and a snorkel in the 72 degrees water was enjoyed by all.

We are headed north to Isla San Jose in calm weather tonight.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2020-07-15T16:35:22-07:00April 1st, 2011|Trip Reports|
Read More

Tour #5 March 30 humpbacks!

Hello whalewatchers,

We had some wind to deal with today that made whalewatching challenging, but we did get a really close look at a breaching humpback. We were able to follow the humpback after it quit breaching and we had some great views. It’s always exciting to watch these acrobats. To top that, we came upon another humpback whale with a calf and the calf was breaching! We were able to follow them for a while and then we lost our lighting at sunset.
We are headed south to spend some more time with more humpbacks tomorrow at the Gorda Banks.
More then,
Capt Art

2011-03-30T21:47:46-07:00March 30th, 2011|Trip Reports|
Read More

Tour #5 Offshore sightings March 30

Hello whalewatchers,
This morning off of Bahia Magdalena we have been busy with multiple whale sightings. We saw a huge herd of common dolphins, a humpback that stayed down along time and didn’t fluke, a Bryde’s whale, four blue whales )one of which we had a good look at) and another humpback during lunch.
We are looking forward to this afternoon and hopefully the wind will diminish a little so we have better conditions. It is a little difficult to see the whales with the swell and wind we currently have.
More later,
Capt Art

2011-03-30T15:24:40-07:00March 30th, 2011|Trip Reports|
Read More

Tour #5 Gray whales March 29

Hello whalewatchers,
We had another great day in Laguna San Ignacio, starting with a pre-breakfast mangrove skiff ride and ending with a trip to the beach. The birding in the mangroves was really great and everyone likes a chance for a walk on the pristine beach here.

We had lots of close encounters with gray whales in between! The whalewatching from the Searcher was excellent since mothes and  calves spent time aro0und the boat all day! WE had sunny skies and some breezy conditions but not enough to matter. Everyone had a great time in this special place.
We are headed south tonight and are hoping for good weaather conditions to look for more whales.
More then,
Capt Art

p.s. Photo taken by Charles Howell

2011-03-30T07:15:13-07:00March 30th, 2011|Trip Reports|
Read More

Tour #5 Friendly Gray Whales of Laguna San Ignacio March 28

Hello whalewatchers,
What a  remarkable day in Laguna San Ignacio, with cows and calf everywhere we look! We even had them hanging around Searcher all day. Everyone had a close encounter on both trips today. I think everyone was a little overwhelmed and a little reserved in the pangas today. I think that might change tomorrow and I hope we will have the same conditions. The weather was good with just a little wind to deal with after lunch. The whale watching from the boat today was also phenomenal.
Our plan is to start the day tomorrow with a trip to the mangroves since the tide is high at sunrise.
Also I wanted to mention that after posting  yesterday’s blog, we had a blue whale sighting after leaving Islas San Benito. It was single whale, that was a” long winded” as we say, staying down for 10 minutes and only staying at the surface for 3 or 4 breaths. We hope to have other opportunities to see blue whales later in the trip.
But this means we now have seen five different species of baleen whales in our first two days of this trip which is remarkable! We have seen nine different cetaceans so far, along with four pinnipeds.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

p.s. photo by Charles Howell

2020-07-15T16:35:23-07:00March 28th, 2011|Trip Reports|
Read More

© Searcher Natural History Tours. All rights reserved.

Baja Whale

Captain's Blog

Categories

Archives

x
Go to Top