Record gray whale counts for 2011!
133 mother and calf pairs and 16 singles = 282 whales on 28 March!
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
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
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.
March 20 census Laguna San Ignacio
There are 103 cow/calf pairs and 53 single gray whales in the lagoon.
Tour #4 More gray whales March 13
Hello whalewatchers,
Today we got an early start in the pangas. There was a little wind from the north that made it a little chilly and wet in the pangas but there are so many whales here that I don’t think anyone noticed that much. Great whale watching with a few close encounters on the first trip, but on the second and third trips, everyone had a close encounter with a whale. The wind persisted in the afternoon but not too bad and we sent two pangas with 15 people to the beach and they had a chance to look at a dead gray whale that has washed up on the beach. It is a 45 foot male and unfortunately mortality is part of nature. The walk on the beach was great with very few footprints and lots of shells.
The few people that went out for the last whale watch had a great trip seeing all the behaviors that gray whales do–spyhopping, breaching, mating and a close encounter all in an hour.
Another magical stay in Laguna San Ignacio.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art
p.s. I took the attached photo of a dolphin escorting us out of the lagoon this afternoon.
Tour #4 Laguna San Ignacio gray whales
Hello whalewatchers:
Tday we entered Laguna San Ignacio and were greeted by several gray whales in the entrance. There are a lot of whales here!
Today was a classic day here with a light breeze from the north that diminshed mid-morning, and then swithced to a light breeze from the west after lunch. Everyone had a close encounter with a gray whale today and mostly it was with a cow and calf. Lots of fun was had by all today in the pangas.
We finished the day with an awesome sunset that couldn’t be missed.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art
Laguna San Ignacio census March 9
83 cow and calf pairs and 170 singles!!
A very special whale, Kuyima
She returns to Laguna San Ignacio year after year, and spends time at the boat, rubbing on the anchor rope and mugging for the camera! Notice her distinctive chin “bump!”
Laguna San Ignacio census update
There are now a whopping 350 gray whales in the lagoon–180 single whales and 85 mother/calf pairs. The mother/calf number is way up from last week!
