Happy Mystery Monday!
Can you guess this animal? We decided to make it a bit harder this week. This photo was taken on one of our trips in Baja. We’ll reveal the answer on Friday, so stay tuned for the answer and more from the field!
📷by Team Searcher
Mystery Monday revealed! The answer is: Red-billed Tropicbird
📸 by Tanja Credner
The mystery bird is a red-billed tropicbird. I love tropicbirds and few things are more exciting on a Searcher trip than Captain Art calling out “red-billed tropicbird alert” on the PA system.
Sea Harmony @ Thad Danielson
My first sighting was in 1974 when sailing across the Atlantic aboard a 33′ yawl Sea Harmony. Ever since, they’ve been near and dear to my naturalist heart. This neotropical species and member of the larger order of birds Pelecaniformes is found in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans and breeds on islands in the Gulf of CA. You can see them on Searcher trips often enough, but never in great numbers as they forage alone or in pairs, feeding on flying fish and squid. Their tail streamers, sometimes 2 x body length, are glorious. A mated pair will fly high above a nesting site performing ritual acrobatic maneuvers and calling in their shrill voices, which, long ago, reminded sailors of a bosun’s whistle – thus their nickname “bosun bird.” Phaethon, the name of the three species of tropicbirds, comes from mythical Greek son of Oceanid Clymene and Helios, the sun god. This species’ name, aethereus, means ethereal or aloft. Look for these birds high in the sky on your next Searcher trip! –Paul Jones
Happy Mystery Monday!
Can you guess this animal? We decided to make it a bit harder this week. This photo was taken on one of our trips in Baja. We’ll reveal the answer on Friday, so stay tuned for the answer and more from the field!
📷by Team Searcher
Mystery Monday revealed! The answer is: Orca
📸 by Team Searcher
Video by Paul Jones
That mystery whale ID was a tough one, for sure. Bottlenose, Risso’s or Pacific white-sided dolphins were good guesses, but that’s the dorsal fin of an orca or killer whale – likely a female or young animal. On Searcher trips, we can see the classic transient form which are known to migrate from Southern California. Last year, we got good looks at what is believed to be animals from the Eastern tropical Pacific. That said, orca classification is up for grabs right now as there are at least 10 ecotypes proposed, with little settled about that in the scientific literature. These animals are matriarchal in their social structure and very long-lived. While we don’t see them on every Searcher trip, we did see a small pod on the first 2020 trip, thanks to the sharp-eyed Marc Webber, who is a very seasoned Searcher naturalist and renowned pinniped expert. –Paul Jones
Happy Mystery Monday!
Can you guess this animal? This photo was taken on one of our trips in Baja. We’ll reveal the answer on Friday, so stay tuned for the answer and more from the field!
Mystery Monday is revealed! The answer is: Mobula
🎥 by Paul Jones
Mystery Monday revealed! The answer is:
📷 Team Marc W.
This mystery monster uses its huge eyes to peer into the inky darkness looking for food down to more than 5000’. The northern elephant seal migrates from Isla San Benito in Baja to feeding areas off Oregon, Washington, and Canada. Males, like this youngster, ply the Pacific Ocean waters as far west as the dateline. They also make the this migration twice a year: once for mating and giving birth to their pups and once for molting their fur. They deserve our utmost respect. –Paul Jones
Northern elephant seals are extraordinary travelers and divers. They make two migrations a year, traveling thousands of miles on each trip, between their breeding colony and their feeding areas far to the north and west in waters from Oregon to the Gulf of Alaska and as far across the Pacific as the longitude of Hawaii. While at sea they routinely dive for 23 minutes dive after dive, day after day with almost no breaks, can reach depths of over 6,000′ in search of food, and when pressed can hold their breath for up to 2 hours! While they can look slow and are often inactive when ashore, they are some of the most remarkable travelers and divers in the marine mammal world. West San Benito island. –Marc Webber
Happy Mystery Monday!
Can you guess this animal? This photo was taken on one of our trips in Baja. We’ll reveal the answer on Friday, so stay tuned for the answer and more from the field!
It’s a sperm whale!
Paul Jones shared this sighting report from our last 2020 tour. Check out the recorded underwater vocalizations in the video below!
“On March 18 aboard Searcher we found a group of about 20 sperm whales just east Isla Espiritu Santo in the Gulf of California. We had 20 animals that surfaced very near Searcher in 5-7 smaller groups. One whale swam straight toward Searcher affording a great view of its asymmetric blowhole before it fluked up and dove. Others bobbed at the surface for long periods as they recharged their muscles with oxygen, providing excellent opportunities for passengers to take photos of these impressive, deep-diving whales.”
Happy Mystery Monday!
Can you guess this animal? 🐋This photo was taken on one of our trips in Baja. We’ll reveal the answer on Friday, so stay tuned for the answer and more from the field! 🐋
