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Trip Reports

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|
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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|
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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|
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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|
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Tour #5 Islas San Benito March 27

Hello all,
Today we arrived at Islas San Benito. Prior to getting here we had two pairs of albatross in our wake–one pair of laysan albatross and one pair of black-footed albatross. We also had a red-billed tropic bird.
After arriving at the island we put our skiffs in the water and got everyone in for a skiff ride to look at the Guadalupe fur seals, California sea lions and northern elephant seals before going ashore for a hike.

Everyone had a great day and after we departed, we were really fortunate to get a group of Pacific white-sided dolphin that bow rode for quite a while.
We are headed south towards Laguna San Ignacio arriving tomorrow morning.
Looking forward to getting there again.
More then,
Capt Art

2011-03-27T16:44:43-07:00March 27th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #5 Whale and seabird day March 26

Hello whalewatcher,
Today was an excellent day with several whale sightings. We started the day with a group of long-beaked common dolphin in Bahia Ensenada. Then prior to arriving at Islas Todos Santos, we saw a fin whale that we are sure is the same whale we have seen on previous trips.
After a brief stop at the island where we saw all three pinniped species: elephant seal, harbor seal and California sea lion, along with oystercatchers, peregrine falcons and pelicans on the nest with older chicks.
We headed south and came across some short-beaked common dolphin and another group of long-beaked common dolphin. Shortly after that we saw a group of northbound gray whales and just as we were getting in good position to have a close look, a minke whale surfaced on the bow. We spent some time with the minke and had some great looks with perfect lighting so as to see the white pectoral flippers.
After the minke whale we went a little further south and came across a group of three humpback whales and we had some great fluke shots. All this before lunch–pretty amazing!
Also we have had good birdwatching with the highlight being black-footed albatross. We also saw lots of Sabines and Bonaparte’s gulls, sooty shearwaters , black-vented shearwaters, Xantus’ murrelets and Cassin’s auklets.
Truly a remarkable morning….
This afternoon we came across an area that had at least 25 fin whales, and with some up-close looks and we were able to see the classic field mark on the fin whale of the white lower right jaw. Then we found a few more humpbacks and red phalaropes and Bonaparte’s gulls galore.
I believe we have seen over 50 whales today and our total species list is six different cetaceans and three different pinnipeds.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

p.s. photo thanks to Matthew Dillon.

2020-07-15T16:35:23-07:00March 26th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #5 Big First Morning! March 26

Dear whalewatchers:
We have seen 9 species of marine mammals since leaving Ensenada harbor (for our immigration stop into Mexico) and it’s not even lunchtime yet! We’ve seen fin, gray, humpback, minke whales, and two species of dolphins. We also saw elephant seals, harbor seals, and California sea lions at Islas Todos Santos.

The weather is fine too. A full report for the day will follow.

Capt Art

2011-03-26T16:04:49-07:00March 26th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #4 Another whale species and underwater fun March 19

Hello whalewatcher,
Ttoday was another remarkable day with calm seas and wind. We started the day at the south end of Isla San Jose in the mangroves. Everyone enjoyed the skiff ride. We left there and headed south towards Los Islotes for another skiff ride and a snorkel with the sea lions.
Everyone enjoyed the stay at Los Islotes. The water was warm and there was a tremendous amount of life around the islets–lots of bait fish, pelicans diving and lots of sea lions.
We left there and headed south. We travelled for an hour and spotted three dwarf sperm whales on the surface. We were able to get close and I think it was best look we have ever had of these whales. The water was glassy and extremely calm, and we got within 50 feet of these whales. What a treat and a great way to end an incredible trip!

The group was awsome and the naturalists Michael Ellis and Armando Quintero from Footloose Forays were superb.
Looking forward to next trip,
Capt Art

2011-03-20T08:35:41-07:00March 20th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #4 Sunset/moonrise in Baja March 18

Hello whalewatchers,

Today we started at beautiful Bahia Agua Verde with a pre-breakfast walk. One of the local fishermen guided the group up to a small cave that has some cave paintings in it. Everyone enjoyed the cave and the walk.

After breakfast we had a combo skiff ride and snorkel for those interested. The water has warmed up to the low 70’s whish is a huge improvement over the past three trips. Around lunch time we went offshore to look for a whale or two we found a cow and calf Bryde’s whale, a cow and calf blue whale, fin whales in the distance and to finish the day, we came across about 100 to 150 pilot whales. That was spectacular! The moon rise and the sunset with the colors in the sky was as good as it gets. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we shut the boat down including the generator and had complete silence with pilot whales spouting and the sunset along with the moon rise. Now it doesn’t get any better than that. It was a very powerful experience for everyone.
Headed south after the back deck buffet and margaritas.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2011-03-19T06:30:42-07:00March 19th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #4 Pilot whales and more March 17

Hello whalewatchers,
Today we spent the morning at Isla Santa Catalina and everyone had a great morning with a early hike among the amazing cactus, a snorkel before lunch and a few people had a “Crazy Coastal Cruise with Capt Cole.” They had bow-riding bottlenose dolphins in the skiff and that was pretty “Crazy.”
We left and went offshore to see if we could find some toothed whales. We were lucky and found a group of 100 pilot whales with a few bottlenose dolphin mixed in. We spent some time in deep-water looking for the other toothed whale (if you’ve been with us, you know who that is…) with no luck yet.
We did see 7 to 10 fin whales east of Isla Carmen and another herd of common dolphin at sunset. The area had a lot of life with whales dolphin, birds, fish and more. It was a very good ending to a perfect day.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2011-03-18T07:18:15-07:00March 18th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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