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laguna san ignacio

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 #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.

2011-03-14T07:33:55-07:00March 14th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #2 LOLLING

Hello all,
Today’s word, courtesy of our UK friends, is LOLLING–as in, the whales are lolling around today. We are enjoying wonderful weather with calm winds. And top that off with great whalewatching and plenty of whales in the observation zone. We had two trips this morning, and this afternoon we have an option for a beach walk and a mangrove trip. And for those who can’t get enough of the whales, and you know who THEY are, another trip to visit the whales.
More later with the day’s wrap-up,
Capt Art

p.s. Those on the mangrove trip spotted a coyote. Can you spot it in Hilary Thompson’s photo?

2011-02-19T15:17:55-08:00February 11th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #2 Feb 10 Laguna San Ignacio

Hello all,

This afternoon’s trip was a little slower than this morning’s but there was really good whalewatching with plenty of gray whales in the lagoon. We had a mother/calf pair near the boat today too. The weather changed a little and we had a light breeze that made it a little chilly in the pangas. But everyone had a great time. Dinner was excellent and we are planning to shut the generator off for a little while for some quiet time and do some stargazing. Hope we hear some whales breathing…
Looking forward to tomorrow with the weather forecast favorable. We plan on gettting an early start in the morning.
More tomorrow,

Capt Art

2011-02-10T19:39:39-08:00February 10th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Research data from Steven Swartz

Some of our passenger may remember Steven, as he rides down aboard Searcher to his research station on Laguna San Ignacio. We help transport some gear as well. The sponsoring organization has an updated web site with research data on gray whales and other wildlife at the lagoon: http://lsiecosystem.org/2010/08/gray-whale-survey-2010/

2010-11-05T13:18:23-07:00November 4th, 2010|News|
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Laguna San Ignacio’s Gray Whales

It’s Baja California’s “friendly” whales that first attract
many of the people who come here from across the globe.
Eastern Pacific gray whales migrate to Laguna San Ignacio
for mating and calving. Thousands of them gather
between late January and mid-April. We’re honored to be
granted permits from Mexico to share this remarkable
place with our guests, and we make the legendary lagoon-
nursery our home for two days on every Searcher Natural
History Tour.
Due to circumstances no one seems to completely under-
stand, gray whales here—and only here with any regularity
—approach our pangas (small fishing boats) and choose to
interact with humans. Some whales, adults and calves
alike, allow us to touch them on the face and back, and
actually appear to seek out this attention from people.
We’ve been working with local pangueros(fishermen) of
Laguna San Ignacio’s Kuyima co-operative for more than
10 years. We call these men and their families our friends,
and are proud to engage them during the whalewatching
season (when they refrain from fishing so as not to inter-
fere with the whales). Their knowledge of the whales and
the lagoon is vast.

Laguna San Ignacio part of Mexico’s Vizcaino Biosphere
Reserve and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which
provides international attention, concern, and protection to
its gray whales, dolphins, fishes, birds, and other wildlife.
Its pristine state is testimony to Mexico’s efforts to pre-
serve and protect the gray whales and their environment.
A large area of the lagoon is protected from boat traffic
during the gray whale season; here the whales can choose
to be away from boats and people. But the huge lagoon
also includes an observation area where Searcher anchors
and where we can board pangas for a closer look.

2010-11-03T07:33:31-07:00November 3rd, 2010|News|
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