March 15: an all in one day

We began the day with a pre-breakfast zodiac ride at Isla Los Islotes, an archipelago of small rocky outcrops that are a popular “haul out” spot for California sea lions. It was fun to watch the behaviors as the sea lions swam around us, or slept in the sun, or played “roll someone off the rock so I can sleep”. Young ones darted around the zodiacs and practiced their dolphin imitations, porpoising and leaping out of the water. 

Later in the morning we cruised north to look for whales. We saw very few, some blows near the horizon, but we did have good sightings of mobula rays jumping out of the water and flipping themselves over.

After lunch we snorkeled at Bahia Bonanza. The water was clear and the warmest of the whole trip. After a quick shower we returned to walk through the desert behind the dunes. We were searching (unsuccessfully) for the endemic black antelope jack-rabbit. 

At dinner, we had an early celebration of Kevin’s birthday complete with bird-themed decorations and chocolate desserts. The hotel manager also treated us with a nice bottle of Champagne to add to the celebration.

And just for completeness, on March 16 we disembarked south of Loreto and spent several hours at the local golf course birding with friends. As others had told us, the golf course had a lot of hummingbirds, always a joy.  We start the journey home on the 17th.

Pictured: Mobula ray upside down, California sea lions leaping and sleeping, Xantus’s hummingbird, vermillion flycatcher, Atlantic needlefish, guinea fowl puffer, Kevin in the ship’s birthday sombrero. 

A quiet day

March 14: a quiet day and a word about the weather 

We spent today in the vicinity of La Paz, doing some birding in the morning and relaxing in the afternoon. Others took a trip to a local tin mining town from the 19th century, or learned about the art and history of La Paz itself. 

But the real story is why we were here. You may remember that the original itinerary called for us to travel from Loreto, on the Gulf of California, around the tip of Baja and up the pacific side to San Carlos. Along the way we would spend time in Magdalena Bay with the gray whales. 

Throughout the trip, a looming storm in the Pacific has played havoc with the itinerary. You’ve already read about the change that causes us to bus across the peninsula to see the gray whales in the Laguna San Ignacio. That same storm has kept us from entering the Pacific at all. An interim plan was for us to bus from La Paz to Magdalena Bay to see the whales in a few hour “weather window”. Yesterday the window vanished as the port from which we would have taken pangas was closed for 72 hours. It’s some storm!! Our trip will now conclude back in Loreto on Sunday morning. 

The expedition staff has been amazing in adapting the itinerary over and over again, finding us interesting things to do. Having yet more time in the Gulf may give us an additional snorkeling opportunity tomorrow, which will be great. 

Pictured: the lunar eclipse from the back deck last night, black-backed stilts “waiting for a bus”. 

Birds and dolphins

 We spent the morning birding at the estuary in San Jose del Cabo ( the lovely modest town next to the more famous Cabo San Lucas). It was great to just wander in nature with a talented birding guide — as a group we identified 61 species and saw 5 that were new to us. 

In the afternoon we cruised back north towards La Paz, stopping to watch Mobila Rays, sea turtles (both green and loggerhead), humpbacks and sharks. On the horizon, a dark line appeared— a “super pod” of common dolphins. Their splashing and jumping made that part of the ocean look dark and as if it were boiling. As we got nearer, some of the dolphins diverted to come and “play” around the ship. Estimates of the pod size range from 500 to 1500 dolphins. The pod contained lots of young, but a single picture can’t capture the breadth of the experience. The dolphin feeding behaviors and antics entertained us for over an hour! 

Tonight we went out on deck to watch the lunar eclipse. What a luxury to have clear skies, no ambient light and no overhanging branches or buildings! 

Pictured: loggerhead turtle, jumping mobila ray, beldin’s yellowthroat (an endemic warbler to Baja Sur). 

Humpbacks all day!

 This morning we visited Cabo Palma National Marine Park. This park is the result of work by the local community and conservation groups to recover the coral reefs and marine species after years of over fishing. By 1995 the area had been declared “dead”- no coral, no fish. After ten years of no fishing and no commercial boat traffic, the coral began to recover. It is now a vibrant (and well protected) marine area, one of the most northerly coral reefs in western North America and with enough fish that apex predators like sharks have returned. 

We went snorkeling this morning in a stiff breeze, which made both the swimming and the navigation by panga a little challenging. After snorkeling, our panga headed to the edge of a cliff to visit a California sea lion colony. The original plan had been for us to re-enter the water to swim with them, but the 9-foot swells made that an unsafe proposition. Suddenly a humpback breached about 40 feet from the panga, and our focus changed! We watched a female humpback and a two month old ( estimate) calf breach, slap their pectoral fins and “tail slap” for at least twenty minutes near the rocky shoreline. To be more accurate, the mother did all these things and the baby tried to imitate her. It was mesmerizing— so much so that we forgot to be cold! 

We spent the afternoon cruising very slowly to the south, to Punta Gordo and then past Cabo San Lucas to Finisterre, the southern tip of Baja. This region is a rich wintering ground for humpbacks, and we lost count of how many we saw. We saw some additional female-calf pairs. They were often accompanied by one or more males hoping the mother might be ready to mate.  

There was a tremendous amount of pectoral slapping, tail slapping and breaching. The theory is that multiple males were competing for attention. Some tail slapping involves a partial dive to lift the tail vertically out of the water (imagine children practicing handstands) while others resemble leg lifts with the whale on its back.  The afternoon flew by. At sunset we looked west past Finisterre to successfully witness the green flash at sunset. A great day. 

Pictured: baby breaching, leg-lift tail slap, blenny (a mudskipper type fish)

Under the sea…

 We spent the morning sailing through the Loreto marine reserve to Punta Colorada. We saw a new species of whale (Bryde’s), several humpbacks, fur seals, leaping mobilar rays, and dolphins.  One pair of humpbacks was particularly interesting— a larger whale with nearly all white coloring on the fluke and a smaller whale with a nearly all black fluke. They swam together and dove together. This sighting prompted a discussion about identifying marks on humpback flukes (as the Happy Whale app and researchers do). Often a whale’s fluke may darken with age, but scars of various kinds remain so the identification is retained.  Circular scars (white on black or black in white) come from barnacles, while linear scars are likely from Orca attacks. Irregular patterns are often caused by confrontations between two humpback whales, especially males. 

In the afternoon we went snorkeling at Isla San Jose. The shoreline cliffs resembled an amphitheater and sheltered a coral reef, rare in these cold waters. We had a wonderful time with colorful fish and lovely corals. Later in the afternoon we walked in an arroyo on the shore, marveling at the colors and patterns of the eroded sandstone sides. 

Pictured:  white humpback whale fluke, Guinea fowl puffer fish, arroyo walls 

Gray Whale day

 March 10: gray whale day

We left Santa Rosalia before dawn to travel for 2+ hours by bus and van, crossing the Baja Peninsula to the Pacific side. We travelled first to the town of San Ignacio and then to the Laguna San Ignacio, a protected breeding ground for gray whales. The town was established as a mission in 1672; the spot was chosen because of the ample supplies of fresh water. It was certainly surprising to drive for an hour through a landscape of sandstone, cactus and dust (plus a lone coyote) then suddenly to encounter open ponds and forests of date palms! The central town square is lovely, and the garden next to the church gave us a rare opportunity to see songbirds. 

Laguna San Ignacio is carefully managed to protect the gray whales. Only the government licensed operator can take visitors in “pangas” (open skiffs with six rows of benches) to the designated whale viewing area and only ten pangas can be in the area at a time. Visitors can spend 90 minutes in the viewing area. 

Gray whales are baleen whales (43-47 feet long) that feed on the bottom of arctic waters 10-200 feet deep. Their preferred prey are amphipods, small shrimp like creatures that live in the top layer of the ocean floor and feed on plankton, particularly diatoms. They winter in Baja, as their summer homes in Alaska are covered in sea ice. There are not good sources of food for them in their winter homes. This means that mothers have to produce 50 gallons of milk a day just from her own blubber to feed her calf. 

The population of gray whales has gone through large swings since whaling ended and they gained protection in 1937.  A recent decrease in the population may be related to a decrease in the amount and nutritional value of the aquapods. Autopsies of dead whales have shown them to be malnourished. The theory is that in warm years, there is less sea ice, so less substrate for the diatoms to grow under. The warmer water also encourages zooplankton, which eat the diatoms as they drift down from the melting ice in the spring. This reduces the food source for the amphipods and thus for the gray whales. 

Back to today’s experience. Gray whales are not particularly bothered by the skiffs. Indeed some are curious and will come quite close, either gliding to the surface or even “spy hopping”, where they lift their head vertically out of the water to have a closer look. Their eyes are at the base of the mouth opening, so to get their eyes above water they have to lift their whole head out.

As we glided around at low speed in our skiff, there were whales “everywhere”.  Some came close, others did not. Some “spy hop” out of the water with no warning, while others “blow” before they appear.  You get a very different understanding of the size of these animals, as well as their gentleness, when you are on the ocean surface rather than looking down from a larger ship. In theory one can lure a whale to come closer to the panga by splashing or singing— but it really depends on what the whale wants to do! 

As a quick catchup of yesterday, we walked in the morning at Bahia San Francisquito and then cruised south towards Santa Rosalia. It was a quiet day until nearly sunset, when we were surrounded by sperm whales and had a peregrine falcon circle the ship repeatedly at low altitude. 

Pictured: Phainopepla ( isn’t he gorgeous?), Costa’s hummingbird, gray whale spy-hop with a panga for scale, peregrine falcon 

Feeding frenzy!

 

Saturday March 8

We started the day with a dawn zodiac cruise along a protected peninsula (Peninsula de la Gringa— a good location for International Women’s Day). We saw a number of shore birds and a pair of humpbacks. It was a beautiful calm morning with a lovely sunrise. It was just great to be out in it.  

After breakfast we returned to walk in the peninsula, again with great bird and whale viewing. When we returned to the ship, we discovered that we were in the middle of a huge and extended “feeding frenzy”.  The ship stayed in the same location in the bay for over two hours while the frenzy went on all around us. Photos cannot capture the immensity of the event, where boobies, pelicans and gulls dived in large groups for the fish beneath the surface. We learned that these birds have special adaptations to be able to dive at such high velocities that they stun the fish. Multiple pods of common dolphins participated in the feeding frenzy.  At times we wondered how the various creatures kept from crashing into each other. Some of the gulls would surround a pelican when it resurfaced, trying to steal a snack from the fish in its mouth pouch. After a while, gray whales and humpbacks also appeared. It really seemed that one humpback sought out the “flotillas” of sea birds and then came in to eat their seafood buffet. We watched the humpback disrupt at least four such parties before it moved on.

Later in the afternoon we went ashore at Baia de Los Angeles, and drove up into the hills to a forest of Boojum trees. Forest may not be quite the right word, as it was still desert and pretty barren in this dry season.

And the Boojum are more cactus than trees..  an endemic species of succulent that has leafy spines on the trunk and one or two branches high at the top. They are amongst the slowest growing of plants at a foot per decade. They look like something out of Dr. Seuss and are named from Lewis Carroll’s “the hunting of the snark”.  Their Latin botanical name means “peculiar column”. All a bit otherworldly. It was comforting to see a group of California quail, to ground us in the here and now! 

Pictured: gray whale fluke, to be added when bandwidth is better: feeding frenzy with pelicans diving and dolphins cruising, boojum landscape 

Puerto Refugio

Angel de La Garda is the largest island in Mexico. This morning we sailed into the sheltered cove of Puerto Refugio— and it did feel like a refuge from the continued high winds out in the gulf. The harbor is surrounded by high hills with bright colors from iron-rich minerals. We took a four mile hike to the other side of the island, marveling at the cactus and other flora. While there was no real trail, the walking was easy as we followed the paths of runoff from the periodic rains. 

The cardon cactus (which resemble saguaro but larger) are everywhere here… beautiful in their columnar or multi-branches forms, and up to 500 years old. Somewhat unexpectedly, their structure is underpinned by a wooden skeleton, exposed when a cactus dies and its fleshy surfaces degrade.

This afternoon we chose to go on a zodiac cruise around the cove, exploring the barrier islands that provide its protection. In transit we were amused by the groups of eared grebes, small slender necked diving ducks that float on the surface until they sense your presence. Then the whole group dives at once. The temptation to say “bloop bloop bloop” as they disappear is pretty strong. 

There were large colonies of sea lions, sleeping in the sun in a rocky beach, including one large male per group. When he awoke, he started barking to enforce his ownership of the beach, 

and all the others rushed into the water.  There were also flocks of both kinds of boobies, pelicans, cormorants and both types of gulls. On our way back to the shop we were treated with both flying and perching views of peregrine falcons. While we have in theory seen peregrines in other places, we’ve never gotten such a close look as today.

Pictured: our hike with a lovely Cardon cactus, the woody skeleton of a Cardon cactus, female peregrine falcon examining us, two young male sea lions neck wrestling 

Up close

 Thursday March 6:  wildlife up close!

This morning we continued north, towards our goal of San Pedro Martinez, an island created by a raised sea mount near the middle of the Gulf.  Sea mounts often have steep slopes down into deeper water, encouraging the mixing of warm surface and cold deep water and creating nutrient rich areas.  The nutrients attract many different species both in the ocean and in the air. 

San Pedro Martinez hosts the largest breeding colony of blue-footed boobies in the world.  It also hosts the largest breeding colonies of cocos boobies, brown pelicans, and red-billed tropicbirds in Mexico.  Ironically, all those seabirds also mean that the island has immense deposits of guano, which was actively mined up to  and during WWI for fertilizer and gunpowder. 

We saw all of the aforementioned birds, as well as two kinds of storm petrel, two kinds of gulls, cormorants, murrelets, phalaropes and  terns as we approached the island. At the island we found huge colonies of sea lions and pods of bottlenose dolphins.  As we waited on board the ship for our turn at a zodiac ride, we saw a “split, heart-shaped whale blow”… the telltale sign of a gray whale! There was a pair of them— a very rare sighting. The first time any of this staff saw a gray whale in the gulf of California was a year ago and much further south. We watched the whales for a long time.

On our zodiac ride, we enjoyed bottlenose dolphins bow-running between zodiacs! We also got up close to the sea lions colonies and saw two Guadeloupe fur seals.  It is unusual for the fur seals to be at this location. Throughout the cruise, hearing the calls and sounds of each different creature ( birds and mammals) was fascinating and added to the experience. Being at water surface level also provides a whole new perspective. 

Pictured: Guadeloupe fur seal, bottle nosed dolphin, gray whale fluke, red-billed tropicbird

Bahia Concepcion

 Overnight we traveled north, back past Loreto. We were still underway when we awoke this morning, heading for the sheltered Bahia Conception. The winds had abated some, but it was still a lot warmer in the sun than the shade when out on deck looking for wildlife.  As we approached Isla San Ildefonso we saw a great variety of seabirds. It was fun to be in the “so many that I don’t know where to look” situation. 

Once past the island the quantity of birds decreased.  The avid birders stayed on the bow deck anyway. Shortly after breakfast, three whale spouts were seen ahead of us. It was hard to judge the spouts’ sizes as the wind rapidly dispersed them, but they were fairly dense clouds.  As we got closer, we began to see the backs of the whales— brown and staying at the surface quite a while. Then dorsal fins… yes it turned out to be a large pod of sperm whales, all around the ship!  We were again in the “where do I look next” situation! 

Sperm whales breed in the Gulf of California, where the females and calves stay most of the year. However, their presence depends heavily on the health and availability of Humboldt Squid. Our naturalists, who travel these waters regularly, had not seen Sperm Whales, let alone a pod of them, in several years. Sperm whales were once highly prized not only for the kinds of whale oil that used for lighting, but for a second type of oil from the spermiceti gland in their heads. This special oil was so fine and robust that it was used as the lubricant in Swiss watch mechanisms until the 1960s.  Sperm Whales are unique in that their blowhole is not in the center of the head, but off to the left side. 

As we entered Bahia Conception, a 25-mile long sheltered bay on the peninsular mainland, we were greeted first by flocks of sea birds, and then by a pod of more than 60 common dolphins. The dolphins and the seabirds were having a joint feast ahead of us. The dolphins headed towards us, some continuing past us while others  peeled off to bow run and ride in our wake. All of this before lunch!

After lunch some of us went hiking on a trail that turned out to be much more rugged than advertised. Others kayaked or took zodiac rides.   We sent sail after dinner, heading further north for tomorrow.  Dolphins came to bow run again. We watched them by the light of the moon — seeing their ghostly shapes and hearing them break through the water and splash back down was an eerie experience. 

It is hard to remember that this is only day three of our 14-day adventure: four species of whales, two species of dolphins, sea lions and seabirds… what will happen next?

Pictured (internet permitting) sperm whale profile and fluke, common dolphins feeding and bow running.

Exploring Espiritu Santo NP

 Tuesday March 4th— a quieter day in Espiritu Santo National Park.

Overnight we traveled south in the Gulf of California to a national park near La Paz. Espiritu Santo National Park was established in 2003 after a variety of private entities (including Lindblad-National Geographic) and the Mexican government purchased the islands to protect them from commercial development.  Today was a quieter wildlife day than yesterday, as high winds out in the gulf constrained us to activities in a sheltered cove. We did still do some hiking in the morning, and a zodiac ride in the afternoon. 

On our hike we learned more about the native plants, particularly the three kinds of mangroves that thrive in brackish waters of different salinity levels.  Cardona cactus (which looks like Saguaro but replace them in this latitude) have accordion pleats that allow them to expand to hold water. In a normal year this region gets two inches of rainfall, usually in one or two storms, so it is vital for the plants to be shallow rooted and soak up as much water as possible before it all runs off. We also had the chance to learn about small invertebrates like the parasitic “tarantula hawk” wasp and a variety of crabs that live in these salt marshes. 

The geology here is entirely volcanic, and some of the features created by the ash deposits and lava flows are beautiful and dramatic. The juxtaposition of deep blue ocean, green water in the sandy shallows, and desert cliffs makes for endless photography options. 

Mid-afternoon we headed north again. The wind and rough seas make it harder to spot wildlife (particularly whale blows) as there is “whitewater everywhere”. Suddenly a pod of about 25 Common Dolphins appeared off the bow and we got to watch them “bow running” for 5-10 minutes. It’s the longest example of bow running we’ve ever seen. Quite exhilarating! 

Pictured: tarantula hawk wasp, our cove, sand crab, common dolphins.