Hello Searcher friends,
In the past week we have been seeing some great birds offshore. We are about 85 miles SE of San Diego and 25 miles off the Baja Peninsula.
Here’s what we’ve seen:
Black-footed and Laysan albatross; Cook’s petrel; Pink-footed, black-vented, Buller’s and sooty shearwaters; black and Leach’s storm petrels and Red-billed tropicbird!
Thought you all would like to know!
Capt Art and Team Searcher
Check our new pages with photos on “Birds of Baja” and “Whales of Baja” for passengers to review the 
numerous species we regularly see on our 12-day Baja Whalewatching Tours.
Click on the images below to start learning!
Join our 12-day tour to whalewatch for up to a dozen different species: gray, blue, fin, sperm, and humpback whales, and several kinds of dolphins along the Pacific side of Baja California, plus an extension into the rich 
waters of the Sea of Cortez where even more whales and wildlife are abundant.
Explore offshore islands for birding and photography, and snorkel with tropical reef fish.
There are currently still spots available on the tour departing March 24, 2018! To learn more about the trip’s itinerary and detail for booking, visit https://www.bajawhale.com/whale/baja-whalewatching-tour-5/.
We’ve put together a Birds of Baja gallery to give you a taste of what you might see on your adventure with Searcher Natural History Tours. 
We love to show off the amazing sea life in Baja California! Check out our latest videos for a glimpse of the amazing sightings we’ve captured during our nature tours. Share these videos with your friends! Simply email the following link to our website: https://www.bajawhale.com/wildlife-tours/baja-whale-watching-tours/.
Many thanks to Chris Earley for use of his photo (gray whale and whalewatchers)!
Hello whale-and bird-watchers:
Underwater bottlenose dolphins @ Moira Johnston
You are invited! Grab the opportunity to enjoy world-class whalewatching in Baja California, including Laguna San Ignacio, the winter birthing/mating destination for gray whales.
Two tours are booked directly through our office and are open for booking.
I was reminded how much I learned on the trip, as well as how lucky and privileged we were to see so many fantastic cetaceans, pinnipeds, birds and fish, plus a reptile or two!
-Adrian Johnson, April 2017 passenger (pictured on left)
A shady rest between whale/bird sightings! Photo by Helen Bryon (Traveling Naturalist)
(Thank you to Nigel Carter for the pelican photo and so many others…)
Hello whalewatchers:
We are always sad when our Baja tour season closes, but we are overjoyed that we get to head south again in 2018 with eager ecotourists on board! We thank all our guests, coming from near and so far, for their enthusiasm and concern for Baja’s remote places and the wildlife. We are always grateful to be able to share it with others.
Moonrise over Baja
Gray whale and Searcher @ Grant Serpell
If you travelled with us in 2017, we know you join us in gratitude for our naturalists: Paul Jones, Marc Webber, Rob Nawojchik, Patti Schick Nisbet, and Lee Morgan. It all comes together so well when these experts are aboard with us. Gracias!
Can you join us in 2018? Check our tour schedule HERE!
Formal night on Searcher @ Bob Fisher
And this photo just in from passenger Bob Fisher–Team Searcher!
Here are just a few of our favorite moments from Tour #5!
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Hello Whalewatchers!
We started our day at Isla San Francisco with a yummy breakfast strata, made by Charley and Dan! After breakfast, we hiked and strolled along the beach. The cove here is beautiful with a long white sandy beach. The hike up the trail to the top of the ridge offers great views of the bay.
While everyone was ashore the crew went for a snorkel and reported back that there were several fish species and loads of garden eels in the sand at the bottom. When everyone returned from their on-shore adventures, they also went for the last snorkel session of the trip. Everyone enjoyed it immensely!
In the afternoon, we headed south and spent the rest of the day looking for whales. We’ll report back later on what we were able to see.
Team Searcher
Six sperm whales surface in a line in front of Searcher’s bow.
The afternoon just got better and better for weather and wildlife sightings! Our expert spotters found a large area of scattered sperm whales on the surface. We followed and observed a group of six sperm whales that surfaced, breathed, and then fluked at about the same time. It was a stunning sight! We turned on the hydrophone to hear the sonar clicks of the whales too.
A layson albatross circled the boat several times and then landed next to the boat during lunch, which most people ate while alternatively watching the sperm whales and the albatross. Still later we found a very cooperative group of jumping mobula rays. It was great entertainment for photographers to try to capture a ray or two in the air!
Tonight we will share our last dinner of a wonderful tour.
Team Searcher
Hello Whalewatchers!
A great day for whale watching with flat calm conditions! We started the day off after breakfast with a single humpback
whale, followed by a big group of bottlenose dolphin. While we always hope to see this on each of our trips – it doesn’t actually happen that often. The dolphins were showing off their acrobatics on the bow and in the stern wake repeatedly. We spent over an hour with this group and it was awesome! Later on, we got to see a large group of common dolphin, who also gave us a great show. We continue on and came across some sea turtles and even more dolphins, another group of bottlenose. Today’s theme was clearly “day of the dolphin.”
To finish the morning, we spotted an unusual sighting of whales, a humpback and a Bryde’s whale together! It is extremely rare to see two different species traveling together. We have seen gray and humpback whales together in the past but only once. It is always great to see something unique.
We head to Isla Catalina for a snorkel session, a crazy coastal cruise and a hike. The snorkel session was great with lots of fish and warm water. The hike is always good with great lighting on the cactus. The cardon cactus have bloomed and are now with fruit and close to going to seed. We found 3 rattleless rattle snakes , a few emerald tailed lizard and desert iguana’s. The photo is of the biggest cardon cactus in the arroyo.
The grand finale was our traditional back deck BBQ with margaritas. Charley’s ribs are always a big hit!
Team Searcher
Hello Whalewatchers!
We started our day in one of our favorite places in Baja, Punta Colorado, Isla San Jose! Sunrise at this location are always 
memorable. This morning was a great example. The lighting on the red sandstone cliff when the sun first comes up is remarkable. After breakfast, we went for a walk on the island, then enjoyed a snorkel session. Everyone had an amazing time with both activities.
After leaving Punta Colorado we traveled north up the San Jose channel. The crew spotted a herd of common dolphins. we spent some time with the herd, there were quite a few mothers with their babies in this herd. It is 
always a treat to see baby dolphins!
We continued on and it didn’t take long before we spotted dwarf sperm whales on the surface. The calm seas allowed us to spot the dwarf sperm whales, which can only be spotted in these calm conditions. We were able to get close so everyone had a good look.
A little further north we came across an area where there were a lot of rays on this surface and a single Bryde’s whale. The finale was a tremendous sunset – the beauty of Baja continues to amaze me everyday.
Team Searcher
