Trip Reports

Hello whalewatchers,

Today we spent the morning at Isla Santa Catalina. Everyone went ashore for a walk in the beautiful desert arroyo. After the walk we offered a snorkel session or a “Crazy Coastal Cruise” along the shoreline to see birds and more. Everyone enjoyed the island and the other activities.

As we were retrieving the skiffs to go offshore, I spotted a whale south of the island. We pulled the anchor and headed that way. We found a fin whale adult with a calf!  We had several good looks at these whales, including a couple of very close looks. We were able to see the lower right jaw that is white on a fin whale

We decided to head in a different direction with plans to get over to the peninsula.  We didn’t have to go very far when we spotted two orcas, and then two more showed up, and after a few more minutes two more appeared! Seeing orcas on these trips is a real treat because it is rare. We spent the next two hours with these whales and had several great looks at a male with a big dorsal, four females and a juvenile. We witnessed them feeding on a manta ray which is also something we don’t see very often. It was a very special afternoon.

We are celebrating the orcas with margaritas and a back deck buffet: BBQ ribs and all the fixins!

Capt Art and Team Searcher

(Someone has their lucky whale socks  on today…)

Hello whalewatchers,

We started our day with a beautiful sunrise at Punta Colorado on Isla San Jose. We had breakfast with a view of the beautiful sandstone point in the background. Naturalist Paul Jones calls it one of his favorite places on earth!

After breakfast everyone went ashore for a walk in an arroyo with desert plants and birds. Wish us luck for our afternoon explorations!

Capt Art and Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers:

Happy Valentines Day!

Satellite view of southern Baja California peninsula

We started the day in Bahia La Paz (the large bay on the eastern side of the Baja peninsula, seen at lower left). Our whale shark partner from Chicalera Tours met us to provide the whale shark service. Everyone came back thrilled with the trip with plenty of opportunities to view and photograph a whale shark.

We left there and travelled north in the bay looking for wildlife and came across a group of bottlenose dolphin. We visited one of the bays at Isla Partida to take a look at the nice beaches. We saw a blue-footed booby, an osprey and a peregrin falcon in the bay.

Before lunch we came across a herd of long-beaked common dolphins, about 400-500 dolphins.

A day of love and chocolate, and whale sharks!

Los Islotes: snorkeling with sea lions and reef fishes

We ended the day  with a snorkel session with sea lions and a skiff ride around the islet for the non-snorkelers. The conditions were perfect. Chefs Dan and Sara served a wonderful dinner of rack of lamb, roasted red potatoes, squash, fresh bread, and then peach cobbler with fresh whipped cream for desert.

Capt Art and Team Searcher

 

 

Hello whalewatchers,

We have had a great morning! We’ve enjoyed several humpback whale sightings: singles, doubles and up to four whales in a group. We followed a group of four for over an hour, and we could say they followed us at times too. The whales hung around the boat, they laid under the bow, and with clear sea water we were able to have a great view of them. Loads of photo opportunities for everyone!
For the birders we had great looks at masked boobies, red billed tropicbird, California gulls, pink-footed shearwaters and frigatebirds. Needless to say, we have been busy. We’re really enjoying the great weather with light winds and calm seas too. The photo at the top is of humpback whales watching us.

Day’s end report:

It was a full day of humpback whales today. We saw approximately 35 humpback whales today, with multiple breachings in the distance with some lobtailing and flipper flapping too. Also had good bird watching, some bottlenose dolphin sightings, and the occasional sea turtle. It was a great day for everyone and we are looking forward to some more humpbacks tomorrow.

Here is a photo of a humpback whale surfacing close to the boat. We were drifting and waiting for the trio of whales to come up, and they turned around and headed towards the boat. Two of them laid under the bow as we were drifting. It was great to see them in such clean water.

Captain Art and Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers,

Mangrove birding excursions

We had more wind today but we managed to get two whalewatchings trips in. After lunch the group went into the mangroves for a good birding trip during the high tide.

To read about some of the birds we see on our tours, including mangrove species, click here: Birds of Baja

Unfortunately, they noticed a dead adult whale on the beach on their way back to the boat but everyone could see the size and shape of the whale.

After a quick break, the pangas went out for the final trip to see the whales. As usual, Laguna San Ignacio provided everyone with a chance to visit gray whales in their natural place and it was a successful visit. We have lots of happy people currently enjoying a Baja sunset. We are always grateful for our time spent here, among the whales, birds, fishes, and more.

Captain Art and Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers,

We had a great today with calm seas and light winds. Navigating the lagoon’s entrance was similar to last year and so we had an easy journey in to anchor among the gray whales. After we anchored, two small boats (pangas) arrived to take the first whalewatching trip out by 8:30 this morning. We were able to get four trips in the pangas today. There were close encounters between gray whales and passengers on many of the trips. Everyone is very happy in the galley this evening and the happy hour flag is up!

We were lucky to have an adult gray whale breach close to the boat and that is our photo of the day.

Breaching gray whale next to Searcher!

Capt Art and Team Searcher

(Thank you to Nigel Carter for the large photo above.)

Hello whalewatchers,

Osprey by Colin Barber

We had a great day at San Benito today. With overcast conditions and light winds, everyone enjoyed great hiking weather. The group saw lots of elephant seals and 7 Guadalupe fur seals, a rare and endangered seal. There were female elephant seals with pups on the beach at the village where we land our skiffs, and a pair of osprey on the rocks there as well.

We are headed south again enroute to Laguna San Ignacio. We have seen several Cassin’s auklets on the way with a trio of gray whales headed south as well.

Skiff returns to Searcher with happy hikers!

Captain Art and Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers,

We departed on our first Baja Whales and Wildlife trip of 2019 and we are excited to get started!

We arrived in Ensenada to take care of all the Mexico immigration requirements. Then we made a brief stop at Isla Todos Santos for viewing wildlife at this offshore island. We observed pinnipeds such as elephant seals, California sea lions, and harbor seals. For bird life, we saw oystercatchers, cormorants,

American oystercatchers by Nigel Carter

pelicans and Western gulls. Click here to see many birds to be seen on our Baja trips: Birds of Baja

After leaving the island we saw several southbound gray whales— approximately 30-40 whales. For the seabirds, we saw several black-vented shearwaters, Cassins auklets and the highlight of the day was seeing three black-footed albatross flying and sitting on the water.

Black-footed albatross by Tom Blackman

We are arriving at Islas San Benito tomorrow morning after breakfast.

Captain Art and Team Searcher

A wonderful group of whalewatchers departed San Diego last night for a southbound migration to Baja California!

“San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, and lots of whales and wildlife in between!”

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