Snorkelers at Islas Los Islotes
Ready or not, sea lions, here come the Searcher snorkelers!
Tour #1 Isla Santa Catalina and Sea of Cortez
Hello whalewatchers: We started our day at beautiful Isla Santa Catalina. There was a nice walk and a Crazy Coastal Cruise and a snorkel session. The island has benefited from some tropical rain — all the plants are leafing out and the cardons look great. The wate is clear but a little cooler here. I think everyone enjoyed their time on the island.
We left at lunchtime and went offshore for whales. We had a great, though brief, look at a Bryde’s whale. A little later we came across a mega-herd of common dolphin. There had to be 3000-4000 animals!! We had a lull until we arrived back in the same zone as yesterday where the orcas were and they found us again! It was the same group of 8 and exhibited the same behaviors, like tail lobbing and even a single breach. Very cool!
The orcas started to move and someone pointed behind us and there was a group of about 30 pilot whales close to the stern. We finished the day of wildlife watching there. The day didn’t completley end since it is “margarita night” and back deck buffet. Looking forward to it, Team Searcher
Tour #1 Isla San Jose and Sea of Cortez
Hello whalewatchers: We have had some different weather this trip, with tropical rain on multiple days and some real downpours. We even had some lightning and thunder last night. We made it to Isla San Jose and Punta Colorada for sunrise and everyone enjoyed seeing that. Then we had a walk ashore and a snorkel. There was even another rain squall as we left the island. Amazing to have this moisture come up from the south…
Later in the afternoon, we saw a pair of spouts in the distant and there were two humpbacks. One was breaching and breaching and breaching, in fact we counted 87 breaches. We have never seen anything like it! 
We had some great opportunities for photos of breaching. The humpback finally stopped and we decided to to look for something else. Capt Aaron found some orcas again. Wow!. There were eight indivduals in two groups, milling around the same zone. No prominant male with a big dorsal ,but there is was a calf. We saw some tail lobbing which is also something we haven’t seen before. What a show! Orcas under the boat and very close at times.
Team Searcher
Tour #1 Cabo San Lucas and Los Frailes area
Hello whalewatchers: We’ve had poor reception with the sat phone for 24 hours for some reason. Sorry for the lag time on the report.
Yesterday was a good day with plenty of humpbacks and good weather. We saw around 30 whales and some of them up close. A group of 5 in particular gave us a good show, and we had a cow with a small calf and two escorts that hung out with us for a while. All in all a successful day around the Gorda Banks area.
Los Frailes was good for a quick walk and our first snorkel. The water was 74 degrees and clear. The snow birds are there for the winter and so the hummingbird feeders were up and producing good looks at Xantus’ hummers, a Baja endemic.
We went ashore again this morning for a walk and then we left there midmorning with windy conditions. The wind died as we went north but we had rain (very unusual!) for most of the afternoon. We then found a large pod of pilot whales to watch. Hoping for a big day tomorrow at Isla San Jose.
Team Searcher
Tour #1 Offshore Bahia Magdalena
Hello whalewatchers: We woke up with nice conditions and it didn’t take too long for us to come across some common dolphin and a pair of humpback whales. We saw a total of 16 humpbacks today with a couple of breaches. We saw a few green sea turtles, a red-billed tropic bird, a large group of sea lions. So we stayed busy until lunch and then we had a slow period.
We ended the day with a very large group of common dolphin, at least 1000 dolphin in the group. Everyone had a great time viewing the dolphins and the photographers filled their cards with images. Looking forward to more humpback whale activity tomorrow.
Team Searcher
Tour #1 Laguna San Ignacio, day 2
Hello whalewatchers: We have had a wonderful morning today with great conditions. Light winds always makes for good whalewatching. We had two trips this morning and everyone had a good time. We had a cow and calf visit us at the Searcher for a short while. The calf was very young. 
Looking forward to this afternoon. It’s a chance for some folks to go ashore including Capt Art.
Team Searcher
Tour #1 Laguna San Ignacio, day 1
Hello whalewatchers: It is so great to be back in Laguna San Ignacio! I always lament leaving here on the last trip every year, and then each year I get excited with the anticipation of returning. The place is like we never left–there are plenty of whales and it still looks as pristine as when we left.
The conditions are great today with good weather, light winds and partly cloudy skies, so it isn’t too hot. The latest census reported 140 total whales here which seems like a lot for this time of year. Today’s photo is of one of the pangas departing for a trip after lunch. Note the weather.
Team Searcher
Tour #1: Islas San Benito
Hello whalewatchers; We had a lovely day at Islas San Benito today. The day started with some clouds and a little rain, and then the skies cleared and there was plenty of sunshine. The island looks like it has gotten some recent rain, as it is green in spots and a few flowers already in bloom.
There are lots of elephant seals on the beaches with males fighting and females with pups. Unfortunately there is some mortality with the pups and as usual they all end up on the same beach. No sign of Guadalupe fur seals in the usual places. There are ospreys on the nest as usual. However, there is some changes with the habitat around the island. There is a shortage of kelp after the warm water last summer and fall. That might be part of the reason the fur seals haven’t arrived yet. The beach at the landing is different as well with less gravel.
Everyone seemed to have an awesome day. We are headed south to Laguna San Ignacio in calm seas. Looking forward to arriving in the morning.
Team Searcher
What a day!
Hello whalewatchers! After a great morning with good weather and plenty of southbound gray whales, we had a nice lunch and the possibility of a little siesta. But then Capt Aaron and the boys located a group of orcas–seven whales total: one male, four females and two calves. They were feeding on something we didn’t get to ID but it sure smelled fishy in the area, with lots of bird life as well. We spent an hour and a half with them and everyone had a good chance at a photo or 200 with great lighting and close up as well.
Team Searcher
Tour #1 2015: Ensenada and Islas Todos Santos
Dear whalewatchers: Yes, we are off and running (south) to Baja! Today is the first day of our season and guests are enjoying gray whales, common dolphin, a green island with nesting seabirds and elephant seals. The weather is beautiful too. Stay tuned for photos and reports from the boat in this space!
