Wildlife Weekend: May 2010 “It’s only day 1!”

Hello Whalewatchers!
We had a very productive day today with great sightings of both cetaceans and seabirds. We started off right outside Pt Loma with a group of long-beaked common dolphin and sooty and pink-footed shearwaters, and several elegant terns.

After that we saw three fin whales up close. We were able to see the lower righthand side of the jaw that is white on a fin whale.

Risso’s dolphins were next with a group of 10 animals. Today was Risso dolphin day, as we saw at least 100 animals over a wide area of several miles.


Our rare sighting was a gray whale headed north. I can’t recall seeing a gray whale this late in the spring close to San Diego.

On the seabird front we saw at least two tropicbirds, one blackfooted albatross, several sooty and pink-footed shearwaters, and three south polar skuas.

The weather is great with diminishing wind and seas all day. We are looking forward to tomorrow as we head offshore in deep water where there is a temperature break with hopes of more whales, dolphins and sea birds.
Capt Art

2020-07-15T16:35:28-07:00May 29th, 2010|Trip Reports, Videos|

Nopolo and Islas Los Islotes

Hello all,
Happy Easter to you all! What a glorious day with clear skies and calm seas.
Today we started our day at Nopolo village with a pre-breakfast walk. Everyone enjoyed the Xantus hummingbirds and several other species of birds. After we left Nopolo, we immediately started seeing whales–Brydes, fins and humpback–in a very short period. We also common and bottlenose dolphin. There were manta rays everywhere.
After lunch we visited Los Islotes. Everyone went on a skiff ride around the island to see blue-footed boobies and sea lions, to name a few species. After the skiff ride all the people who wanted to snorkel with the sea lions got in the water. The visibility was great and the water was warm. There were lots of “snorkel screams” from those enjoying the sea lions.
Upon leaving Los Islotes we came across jumping smooth tailed mobulas which was unexpected and everyone got a kick out of the rays.

We ended our day with common dolphin and a great sunset.
What a great trip with wonderful weather and great people!
This is our last trip of the 2010 natural history season and it was a great season with lots and lots of whales. I personally don’t want it to end and wished I was going back to Baja right away. We look forward to next year already, while we enjoy some great memories from this year.
Capt Art

2020-07-15T16:35:28-07:00April 4th, 2010|Trip Reports, Videos|

Isla San Jose and Islas Los Islotes

Hello whalewatchers,
We started our day with great weather! We began the day at Punta Colorado on Isla San Jose. Everyone enjoyed the red cliffs at sunrise and a walk through an arroyo there was great with lots of flowers in bloom.
We left there and headed for Los Islotes looking for whales. We got lucky and found two male sperm whales. we stayed with them for a couple of hours and had great looks. They laid on the surface for a long time and then they both fluked for us.

After staying with the sperm whales, we went to Los Islotes for skiff rides to see the nesting birds. We topped it all off with snorkelling. We all enjoyed a great last day with calm conditions.
We are now headed for Cabo,
Capt Art

2020-07-15T16:35:28-07:00March 19th, 2010|Trip Reports, Videos|

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