Field Notes
2011
Laguna
San Ignacio,
Baja California, Mexico
(26.80N,
-113.25W)
Guides Norma, Patrycja and Caroline report:
April
27, 2011: The lagoons are emptying out and just a few whales
remain. BajaEcotours sent this video so you could see!
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Click and
watch the few remaining whales at nursery Laguna San
Ignacio at sunset.
Video: BajaEcotours |
April
13: Here's a new video clip taken at Laguna San Ignacio.
This is the longest whale blow (exhale) we've seen. Look and
listen! |
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Click to see and hear the longest whale blow ever! |
March
30: Right
now (as is normal), we have mostly mother and calf pairs
in the lagoons and a few single females. By this time many
of the males and breeding females have departed the lagoon. The
whales are deep in the lagoon this season compared to last
year when they
were mostly lingering at the mouth of the lagoon. This
year they are at the back of the lagoon all the way to the
front, with many just logging in front
of our
base camp. I don't have a new count of cow /calf pairs, but
this is a fantastic year compared to last five years.
2011
Season
|
Census
Date
|
Calves
|
Adults
|
Total
Whales |
Mar. 18, 2011 |
68 |
107 |
175 |
Mar.
10, 2011 |
58
|
225
|
283
|
Feb.
10, 2011 |
122
|
55
|
177
|
Jan.
26, 2011 |
35
|
76
|
111
|
Jan.
20, 2011 |
19
|
41
|
60
|
February
24: Ten-year-old guest Alex wrote: "I always
hoped to touch a whale and my hopes skyrocketed when we went
to Campo
Cortez to whale watch. I thought I would be petting whales like
dogs on the first day, but each day I would lose more confidence
because I never got my chance until today when I got to pet a
mother whale and her calf. They are unbelievably soft. You’d
usually think that they would have pretty hard skin. The baby
was in a good mood because it was rolling over her mom and blasting
us in the face with water. When you rub the barnacles on the
mother
she looks up at you with those bead-like eyes and you could tell
that she felt grateful for it because she has been so busy with
her calf."
February
17: Addie, age 9, was a guest this week. She wrote, "My whale watching
trip was the best vacation ever! I got to
touch both a baby whale and its mother! Their skin felt soft
and thick,
sort of like a hard-boiled egg but sturdier. I felt awed by their
big size and yet they were so friendly and gentle."
February
15: Wow! The Feb. 10 census showed 177 whales inside
the lagoon! Guide
Norma describes some close whale encounters in recent days: "Some
days the Great Gray would follow right along with the panga [small
boat] and
allow
us to
rub and
scratch her, and put our hands in her mouth to touch her baleen.
She shared her calf, pushing her up for us to see. One day,
a calf decided to stay with us while its mom was moving out.
The calf
circled
our small boat and attempted a spy hop! On another day we had
a whale at every point: on each side of us, behind,
in front! We were showered more than a few times by the blows,
followed by significant bubble blasts. Once
a mom came over to the panga, rolled over and went directly
under us—just lying there. When she finally moved on,
her calf had moved in front as if to lead the way. She gave a
short
spy hop with her calf on her back, an amazing sight!" February
10: Guide Patrycja writes: "Buenos dias from Laguna
San Ignacio! There are a lot of whales here! all whales seem
to
be healthy
and
in
a good condition. And there are a lot of baby whales who want
to play with us! It’s only the beginning of February
but some of them are already curious and brave enough to take
a close look at the visitors watching them from the boats.
Every day we’ve had interesting encounters with some
of them, and they are coming close enough that we can identify
characteristic features like barnacle and whale lice patterns
to keep track of individuals. We spent a lot of time with another
mom and her little baby who was still too shy to come closer.
Mom was holding her baby on her back almost completely out
of the water, so the baby could have a very close look at us
without swimming in the current or even moving. The little
whale was so shy and still a little bit scared of all these
funny creatures in the boat looking and reaching out their
hands
for a touch."
February
2, 2011: It
looks like it might be a record-setting year for number of
gray whales at San Ignacio Lagoon! Tours are just getting
started; more news and photos next time. Take a look at the
official
whale counts (census) as the season unfolds: (
ONLY whales in the designated whale watching area are counted.
Whales just out of
the area, near the mouth of the lagoon, are not included.
Predict: See
census totals
from past seasons. How do you expect the numbers to change
by our next report? As the season continues?
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Back to Route Map
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Photo Jim Taylor |
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Photo
Jim Taylor |
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Photo:
Jim Dorsey, BajaEcotours,
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Photo: Patrycja
Kaczynska |
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