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We are getting ready to welcome our next group of whalewatchers for their departure to Baja tonight. They’ll surely be dreaming of encounters like these: (as filmed by Capt Art last trip)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqT6aLG2SZU&feature=share&list=UUtoQBhyrjFCsrxIME7FFE2w
March 27
Hello whalewatchers:
March 25
Hello whalewatchers:
Our Immigrations and Customs check in Ensenada for our entry in Mexico went smoothly and we were on our way south. It turned out to be a fantastic dolphin day here on Searcher! At one point, we estimated 3000 common dolphins were around us.
Captain Art and Team Searcher
Join our 12-day tour to whalewatch for up to a dozen different species: gray, blue, fin, sperm, and humpback whales, and several kinds of dolphins along the Pacific side of Baja California, plus an extension into the rich 
waters of the Sea of Cortez where even more whales and wildlife are abundant.
Explore offshore islands for birding and photography, and snorkel with tropical reef fish.
There are currently still spots available on the tour departing March 24, 2018! To learn more about the trip’s itinerary and detail for booking, visit https://www.bajawhale.com/whale/baja-whalewatching-tour-5/.
We’ve put together a Birds of Baja gallery to give you a taste of what you might see on your adventure with Searcher Natural History Tours. 
Hello Whalewatchers!
Steven Swartz, Ph.D., co-director and founder of Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program, has spent decades researching gray whales. A question he often gets from eco-tourists is “Why are gray whales in Laguna San Ignacio ‘curious’ about people in small boats?” In this short article, he offers his thoughts on why gray whales display this curious and friendly behavior…
Also, watch the video below to see this curious and friendly behavior in action! Thank you to Robyn Carmel for sharing your footage!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0uQa4pyWdU
Passengers on Tour #1 were lucky to encounter these wonderful rays one night while they were feeding under the lights of the boat!
“Mobula rays’ elusive nature and skittish behaviour in front of divers has made them difficult to observe in the wild, except when they breach the water.”
Read the full article here, MOBULAS, and watch our video below to learn more about these amazing animals.
Searcher naturalist and marine mammal book author, Tom Jefferson, is offering signed copies of his book “Marine Mammals of the World” to our passengers at a discounted price. If you are interested in a copy, please email us.
Here is the book description:
www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/713331/description#description
Hardbound, 592 Pages
Published: DEC-2007
Imprint: ACADEMIC PRESS
Thomas Jefferson, Clymene Enterprises, c/o Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Marc Webber, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Robert Pitman, Southwest Fisheries Science Center
With coverage on all the marine mammals of the world, authors Jefferson, Webber, and Pitman have created a user-friendly guide to identify marine mammals alive in nature (at sea or on the beach), dead specimens “in hand”, and also to identify marine mammals based on features of the skull. This handy guide provides marine biologists and interested lay people with detailed descriptions of diagnostic features, illustrations of external appearance, beautiful photographs, dichotomous keys, and more. Full color illustrations and vivid photographs of every living marine mammal species are incorporated, as well as comprehendible maps showing a range of information. For readers who desire further consultation, authors have included a list of literature references at the end of each species account. For an enhanced understanding of habitation, this guide also includes recognizable geographic forms described separately with colorful paintings and photographs. All of these essential tools provided make “Marine Mammals of the World” the most detailed and authoritative guide available!
Audience:
Marine biologists, laypeople interested in a guide to marine mammals.
Volunteers at the LA county-based census project have counted over 60 gray whales so far and one southbound calf, so the migration to Baja California is well underway. You can follow their daily log here: http://www.acs-la.org/daily.htm
Pregnant females will sometimes give birth during the southern journey, or as they arrive to the shallow, warm-water lagoon in Baja, such as San Ignacio, Magdalena Bay and Scammon’s.
Gray whale surfaces to breathe next to Searcher while at anchor in Laguna San Ignacio.
We’re excited to meet them in Laguna San Ignacio, where our passengers will spend two days among the whales, incuding mothers with newborn calves! There are still some spots available for 2017 tours. Contact our office for details: searcher@bajawhale.com or 619-226-2403.
And sometimes, close enough to touch. photo by Rob Nawojchik
(Great frigatebird photo by Tom Blackman)
Our inaugural pelagic birding expedition into Mexican waters, organized by WildWings, was a big success, with sightings of both target species (Ainley’s storm petrel and Townsend’s shearwaters) and much more. The itinerary included Guadalupe Island, Alijos Rocks, Socorro Island, and areas in between.
Chris Collins (at left) and Steve Howell were leaders aboard this voyage. Trip report and sightings list are attached below.
We are already looking forward to our 2017 repeat of this exciting and unique expedition! More info here: http://www.bajawhale.com/pelagic/mexico-pelagic-birding-tour/
Take a quick look through the Team Searcher trip reports below:
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