News

(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!

 

The 16 February census from Laguna San Ignacio counted 100 single whales and 64 mothers with calves, for a total of 228 gray whales! Many thanks to Naturalist Rob Nawojchik for use of his photos. His full article here: GRAY WHALES

Gray whale mother with her calf in the foreground.

 

Naturetrek guests and naturalists Rob Nawojchik and Lee Morgan arrived to a rainy San Diego and gathered aboard Searcher during the day and evening. Many were off for a birding tour throughout the county, others shopped at our local nautical book and chart store (Seabreeze Nautical Books), sampled San Diego craft beers and ate our local specialty fresh fish tacos, enjoyed some bayside walks, and prepared for their 12-day ocean journey. Even the weather turned to our favor with clearing skies and a wonderful warm evening.

We had our orientation and safety meeting at 8 p.m. and then it was “lines away” by 10 p.m. The transit south to Ensenada for Mexican clearance went smoothly and the weather report is good. Now they are ready for wildlife!

Enjoy our snapshots of greeting guests and getting settled onto Searcher, their home for 12 days.
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The 4th census in Laguna San Ignacio was completed on 4 February by UABCS biologists: 67 single gray whales and 27 mother/calf pairs, for a total of 121! Searcher Natural History Tours and some lucky eco-tourists will be there on Feb 10-11 to meet them all!

Join them on the March 9-20, 2017 tour! We’ve have two cancellations and so space is now available on this previously sold-out trip!

Our good friend, Steven Swartz, published this book in 2014 to chronicle his history with the gray whales of Laguna San Ignacio. Steven and his wife, Mary Lou Jones, accomplished the ground-breaking study of the whales in the 1970’s. “Lagoon Time” recalls those days and also brings the reader up to date with gray whale behavior and research…in a VERY special place!

Gray whales of Laguna San Ignacio are featured on this tour.

We are gifting our passengers with a signed copy of “Lagoon Time,” so they may cherish the experience even more.

Click the image below if you’d like to order your own copy.

The specially designed, removable bait tank (used for sportfishing trips) is easily moved today to make room for our whalewatchers table with seating and storage for snorkeling gear on the back deck, as seen in the photo. It’s one more step towards starting our season!

Captain Art videoed the process: MAKING WHALEWATCHING SPACE!

The UABCS (Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur) biologists  conducted their second census in Laguna San Ignacio and counted the following: 30 mothers and calves, and 15 single whales, for a total of 75 whales.

A very special mother and calf gray whale in Laguna San Ignacio. Photo by Rob Nawojchik.

The numbers are building! The shore-based census in LA has tracked almost 600 southbound gray whales, most of which will enter one of more of Baja’s lagoons. Keep track of that census here: http://www.acs-la.org/daily.htm.

We’re getting ready to take our lucky eco-tourists south for that family reunion!

 

Travellers on Tour #2 (click for booking details) will be joined by Searcher naturalist, Lindsay Janes. A British Columbia native, Lindsay is a professional teacher, naturalist, marine biologist, and photographer. She has worked as a multi-day hiking guide, high school science teacher, professional interpreter for the Vancouver Aquarium, and as a fish monitor for the department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Lindsay has been working as a professional naturalist and wildlife guide in the Pacific Northwest for more than 15 years where she has assimilated a wealth of knowledge about the wildlife and cultural heritage of the region. She is an experienced bear guide, has a particular passion for marine wildlife and the ecology of temperate rain forests, and a boundless enthusiasm for sharing her extensive knowledge and experience of this subject too.

Lindsay and husband Lee Morgan operate a natural history tour company based in Canada, www.lutrawildlife.com

Join Searcher crew and Lindsay on this amazing adventure, migrating with the whales and wildlife of Baja California!