Day 1 – 30^th March

The day started early for some of the WildWings group as we visited a variety of habitats around San Diego.  Recent birding competitions have proven this to be the American city with the greatest variety of birds.  We observed over ninety species and were not disappointed.  About a third of these would not be seen on the Baja cruise.  Those species included Wood Duck, Ring-necked Duck, and Red-shouldered Hawk, California Thrasher, Bell’s Vireo and Anna’s Hummingbird.  Those that were less ‘bird driven’ relaxed around the hotel pool or enjoyed some of San Diego’s sights before boarding the Spirit of Adventure.  Naturalists Scot Anderson and David Wimpfheimer greeted us and then gave us an orientation to our forthcoming adventure.  Shortly before 10:00 pm, the Spirit weighed anchor and we departed on our voyage of discovery.  A short stop at the bait tanks gave us great views of pelicans, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron and California Sea Lions.  We were tired, but excited about our journey.  The lights of Tijuana and Mexico beckoned in the distance.

Day 2 – 31^st March

After a calm night of running, we cleared customs at Ensenada.  Many Surf Scoters and smaller numbers of Western Grebe and Common Loon dotted the harbour.  Dan, our great cook, established a pattern of three filling meals a day for us with our first hot breakfast.  The boat experienced some motion as we headed to Todos Santos Island, which guards the entrance to Ensenada Bay.  However, most got their sea legs fairly well.  Just as we dropped anchor David pointed to the top of the southern part of the island.  A Peregrine Falcon perched on a large cross there. The crew quickly and efficiently lowered the skiffs into the water and after Captain Mike instructed us on the proper technique for entering and exiting the boats, we started our exploration.  The island is perfect habitat for Harbour Seals and we saw many with young pups from our skiff rides.  This island is the southernmost breeding area for this pinniped.  Our naturalists explained that warm ocean temperatures this year might be signaling an El Nino, a period usually associated with less productivity and reduced seabird nesting.  Therefore, we were glad to see at least a few Brandt's Cormorants on their sturdy nests.  A few showed their distinctive sky blue gular throat patches, only displayed in the breeding season.  One boat saw a Surfbird, a wader that breeds solely in Alaska and is only seen infrequently on Baja cruises.  Other bird sightings included Black Oystercatcher, Wandering Tattler, Whimbrel and Brown Pelicans in rich breeding plumage.  During our skiff rides, the wind came up abruptly and forced the cancellation of any additional ones.  Even getting back on the Spirit proved adventurous and difficult for some of us.  However, we soon started seeing more wildlife as we continued cruising to the south. 

A group of Common Dolphins swam in and looked up at us from under the bow.  Scot informed us that these were of the Long-beaked variety.  Some authorities believe this and the Short beaked are distinct species.  At this point most of us were less focused on distinguishing different forms and just enjoyed being near these wonderful cetaceans.  We also saw a few Gray Whales and our first tubenose, the Black-vented Shearwater kept the birders happy.  In the afternoon, there was time for tea, a familiar custom.  Certainly more unusual was the sighting of two Blue Whales.  This was a species that many of us had at the top of our “most wanted to see animals” and Scot and David did not expect to see them so far north.  They explained that these two must have been migrating to feeding areas along the coast of central California.  We had great views of the throat grooves, a pectoral fin and the tip of the flukes as they rolled at the surface.  A stunning sunset proved an exclamation mark to our first full day in this rich coastal habitat.

Day 3 – 1^st April

Shortly after 5:00 am, there were clear skies and a queue for the heads.  Clearly, people were adjusting to getting up early.  By 5:25 am, a Black-footed Albatross flew by the boat.  It was the beginning of another rewarding day.  By 7:30 am, we were at anchorage just south of West San Benitos Island and moving ashore to begin our exploration.  The abalone and lobster fishing season was over and few fisherman occupied the empty houses.  After an orientation on the geography of this unique island and learning about the endemic species here, we walked towards a beach covered with dozens of Northern Elephant Seals.  Now, after the breeding season, we were thrilled to see recently weaned “weaners” and sub-adult animals that had returned here to moult.  Many Ospreys added to our exploration of the island, although they did not seem to be nesting.  Again, this may be the result of an El Nino year and reduced food in the adjacent waters.  Warmer ocean water that has moved northward from equatorial waters is indicative of an El Nino year.  Those warm waters often create above average rainfall.  Moreover, our visit has benefited from this phenomena as the island now is covered with bright yellow Tarweed and other flowers.  David and Scot were impressed with such an unusual display on this desert island that normally receives only about five inches of rainfall a year.

Some of the group took the longer, five-mile hike to the lighthouse with David and were rewarded with splendid view of Horned Larks.  They also saw most of the plant species that are endemic to the island.  The bright purple flowers of the San Benitos Mallow were particularly striking against the red chert rock.  Some in the other group saw a small group of Bottlenose Dolphins from shore.

In the afternoon, we motored over to the east island and then took skiff rides to see a group of Guadalupe Fur Seals.  The calm sea conditions allowed us to get very close to these beautiful, playful animals.  We learned that their numbers are now expanding after hunting had brought them to near extinction levels in the early 20^th century.  Both oystercatchers, Wandering Tattler and Surfbird were other highlights of these skiff rides.  As we cruised over the deep water south of the island we saw both Black-vented and Pink-footed Shearwaters and Black-footed and Laysan Albatross.  Even more exciting, but not seen well, was a juvenile Masked Booby that flew over the bow of the boat.  Just before sunset, some folks were lucky enough to see a pair of Pacific White-sided Dolphins, a species more typically found in colder waters to the north.  We enjoyed another Baja tradition at sunset, amazing colour patterns in the sky.

Day 4 – 2^nd April

At daybreak, we arrived at the entrance to San Ignacio Lagoon.  Mike carefully entered the lagoon through a narrow channel with many Gray Whales passing near us.  A few of us had never seen a whale before yesterday.  Now we were seeing over a dozen spouting, fluking and even breaching near our boat.  A Magnificent Frigatebird seemed to escort us in and the number of jaegers harassing the Royal Terns was greater than usual.  These skuas that nest in the British Isles and many other parts of the sub-Arctic were familiar to us.  It seemed strange to us to see them harassing terns in this subtropical water.

Shortly after anchoring in this magical place our skiff, drivers Luis, Romolo and Gabriel arrived.  During our stay in this International Biosphere Preserve, they showed tremendous skill operating their pangas and shared their knowledge about the inhabitants of this sanctuary.  A lot of our focus was on Gray Whales naturally, as there are few areas around the world where one can see so many whales in such close proximity.  However, this preserve was created to celebrate all the animals and unique plants that are in this rich tidal estuary.  Flocks of waders and a few White Ibis flew overhead.  Small groups of Brant swam by our skiffs.  All the whales we encountered were cow-calf pairs getting ready to head north on their migration to feeding areas in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.  From the very beginning, we had friendly behaviour.  One skiff had a calf entangled in their line; it was a scary moment.  The line was secured inside the bow and the whale was seen several times later and seemed fine.

We all encountered friendly whales and experienced the treat of reaching out to touch a whale!  We had so many expectations of this experience that David reminded us “it’s not so important that you touch a whale, but that a whale touches you”.  Indeed, they did.  They chose to come to the pangas to be rubbed, patted and scratched.  They opened their mouths to let us touch their baleen and tongues.  Some of us kissed their noses.  They looked us in the eye.  They knew what they were doing and they chose to communicate with us.  In the evening Scot gave us a program on Gray Whales to help us appreciate these amazing animals more fully. 

Day 5 – 3^rd April

Shortly after sunrise, we enjoyed a panga ride into the mangroves that grow along a tidal slough.  A lower tide than usual gave us excellent views of Clapper Rails, White Ibis and Green Herons.  Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Tricolor Heron, Reddish Egret, Short-billed Dowitcher and Willet were the wading birds that we saw well.  The brightly coloured Mangrove Warbler was harder to see, but in the breeding season now they regularly sang from exposed branches affording us good views after some effort.  We returned to the main part of the lagoon where we enjoyed more close encounters with Gray Whales, especially one calf that opened its mouth repeatedly to show off its newly grown baleen plates.  With the advent of digital cameras we excitedly shared with others these wonderful animals that we had captured photographically.

There was a great diversity of all species.  In addition to birds, some saw sea turtles, dolphins and an occasional shark.  After lunch, most of us had final experiences with Gray Whales.  The naturalists led two different shore excursions.  On one, we saw waders such as Long-billed Curlew and Marbled Godwit, and many Royal Terns.  On the other walk, we enjoyed a myriad of shells, dolphin and whalebones.  As we left the lagoon through the narrow and turbulent channel we realised that we had been treated to a special and unique experience; to see, and feel so many whales and to witness an amazing variety of behaviors: spyhopping, breaching, lobtailing and friendly behavior.  We listened to their sounds, were doused by their blows and even kissed some.  This was an incredible, wonderful experience.  It’s memory will stay with us for a long, long time.  After leaving the lagoon, we turned to the south and enjoyed our ride on smooth seas.

Day 6 – 4^th April

Just at daybreak, we were off Magdalena Bay.  There was a dramatic sunrise, and we had very good views of a Blue Whale slowly swimming northward.  Then we had breakfast.  Hundreds of Black- vented Shearwaters glided over the waves, but they were not feeding on the even more numerous pelagic red crabs.  We turned the boat to look at a large flock of Sabine’s Gulls and then found some- thing even more exciting.  Mike positioned the boat expertly and we had great views of large group of giant Humboldt squid, a species rarely seen on Baja cruises. We learned that these unique animals are almost never seen in the daytime.  We were lucky indeed and almost felt sorry for the poor pelagic red crabs that were being grabbed by the squids suckered and tooth-covered tentacles.  The squid quickly consumed these crabs that looked like miniature lobsters.  These squid are not the true giant squid that can reach lengths of over ten metres, but they are big, one metre plus, and weigh ten to fifteen kilos each. 

Later in the day, we had some good views of two Pacific Ridley Sea Turtles.  They were so close to the boat that we could easily see barnacles and algae on their backs.  We also saw large groups of Common Dolphins.  Less common was a small pod of offshore Bottlenose Dolphins.  These animals  were considerably larger and more robust than the ones we saw in the lagoon.  Our last whales of the day were Blue whales.  We followed a group of three swimming north before we continued our course toward the southern tip of Baja.  After dinner, David gave a presentation on seabirds.

Day 7 - 5^th April

Another incredible day started with Dan’s huevos rancheros for the adventurous.  Some people remarked that they liked Indian food, but not for breakfast!  We were east of Cabo San Lucas over a feeding area called the Gorda Bank.  Soon we were looking at a group of four Humpback Whales.  Some of us had seen these amazing animals before in Alaska or New England and knew why they were so special.  The many Humpback behaviours we saw demonstrated why this species is almost everyone’s favourite whale.  One breached in the distance, but we saw some lob-tailing and slapping their huge, five-metre long pectoral flippers against the water.  David and Scot remarked that they knew there were some good things happening by the sound of all the shutters clicking.  Later in the morning, we saw a Humpback mother with her three to four month old calf.  We learned that the chance of seeing this cow-calf pair was much smaller than seeing Gray Whale mothers and calves.  There are fewer Humpbacks and they calve in a much greater area.  The mother’s huge pectoral flippers glowed wonderfully through the clear water.  The calf stayed at the surface most of the time while the mother dived and was most likely nursing at the time.  Between these whale sightings we saw Common and Bottlenose Dolphins.  Many of these animals swam in front and alongside our boat.

Among the avian highlights was a Franklin’s Gull that flew over our boat several times allowing us to see the white primary tips that separate this species from the more common and very similar Laughing Gull.  David remarked that this was the first one he had seen on many, many Baja trips.  Another special bird, the Red-billed Tropicbird was seen flying and sitting on the water’s surface.  The scientific name, Phaethon, is in honor of Apollo’s son who crashed his chariot into the sea.  We could see the long pointed tail feathers held up out of the water.  Apparently, they do not have a drying mechanism for these streamers so they have to keep their tail high out of the water.  Several Black Storm Petrels flew by the boat, but these thrush-sized members of the tubenose group were much harder to see than the larger birds. 

After anchoring near a dramatic, granitic rocky hillside called Los Frailles, some folks enjoyed their first views of the undersea life of Baja.  While snorkelling, they saw a Moray Eel and many colorful fish.  The kids were not the only ones that had fun playing in the surging waves along the beach.  

This was our first opportunity for an extended walk on the Baja peninsula.  We were impressed by the diversity of plants, lizards and of course birds that the desert ecosystem displayed.  David explained that the Cape region here gets many hurricanes and higher rainfall than the rest of the peninsula.  The result is a desert full of plants.  We learned the difference between a Cardon and a Cholla, both cacti.  In these and such desert trees as Palo Verde, we saw many birds including colourful Hooded and Scott’s Orioles, noisy Gila Woodpeckers and gnatcatchers that were more secretive.  It was great to get excellent views of Gray Thrasher, a species endemic to Baja.  The Cardinal like Pyrrhuloxia was more difficult to see, but we eventually got good views.  Everyone enjoyed dinner at this calm anchorage.

Day 8 – 6^th April

With all the good weather we had so far we were due for some wind and unfortunately we got it

right on the nose.  The boat pounded into the chop all night and we awoke to sunrise off Espiritu

Santo island.  We were able to take a desert walk on San Jose Island which showed us Zebra-

tailed Lizard, California Gnatcatcher White-winged Dove and other birds.

The mangroves here were much taller and more extensive than those we visited at San Ignacio

Lagoon. We took a panga ride through them that gave us another appreciation for this unique

habitat.  After lunch, we looked at seabirds on a volcanic rock outcrop.  There were both Blue-

footed and Brown Boobies, pelicans, and frigatebirds.  One of these large, dramatic birds showed

off his bright red throat pouch, a breeding display, although the nearby females did not seem too

impressed.

We headed north into the San Jose Channel.  Dozens of Heermann’s and Yellow-footed Gulls

followed our boat. Both of these gulls were much more colourful than the typical “seagull.”  The

Heermann’s seemed to show off it’s distinctive bright red bill.  The Yellow-footed seems poorly

named as its entire leg is brightly coloured. They are endemic to the Sea of Cortez.

The wind had dropped off and we enjoyed a smoother ride up to a protected anchorage for the night at Isla Santa Cruz.

Day 9 – 7^th April

This morning was our chance to see the endemic, giant Barrel Cactus on Isla Santa Catalina.  The very large Cardon cacti were quite photogenic here as well.  The naturalists said this was one of their favourite places of all the islands in the lower part of the Gulf of California.  We soon found out why.  Our walk up the desert wash not only showed us these dramatic cacti, but many birds and reptiles as well.

Loggerhead Shrikes were particularly conspicuous here.  In fact, several young birds were being fed.  Gray Flycatchers hid in the shadows, but Ash-throated Flycatchers sang out from many exposed perches.  Wild Cucumber vines covered many of the shrubs here indicating that this area of Baja too, had experienced a rainy winter.

The turquoise, endemic race of Side-blotched Lizard was as colorful as any hummingbird or oriole that we saw.  Several scampered about.  It took a bit more careful searching, but our group was able to find several Rattleless Rattlesnakes. Santa Catalina, is the home of the Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake (Crotalus Catalinesis.)  Known as the Rattleless Rattlesnake. it is in every other respect a true rattlesnake, but the tails of these snakes terminate in an abrupt non-tapering fashion and do not rattle. These unusual snakes are not found anywhere else in the world. 

After the walk, most enjoyed skiff rides along the dramatic volcanic rock shoreline.  Some of the rest of the group donned mask, fins and flippers and developed a better appreciation for the undersea life here.  They were careful to stay away from some very large Chrysora jellyfish.  Just as we left the island, the glassy sea allowed great views of many Smooth-tailed Mobulas (Mantas) gliding by the boat.  We had seen these strange rays jumping out of the water previously, but to see them slowly, silently swimming by the boat was truly wonderful.

We had seen groups of Common Dolphins near the boat before, so there was less excitement than during the beginning of the trip.  However, Scot noticed that one was dark all over with a different shaped dorsal fin.  We stayed with this group of dolphins and with careful viewing, we were able to pick out this different dolphin.  It was a Spinner Dolphin, a species named for it’s unusual twisting, jumping behavior.  Captain Mike has been leading natural history tours in the Sea of Cortez for almost thirty years and he said it was the first time he had ever seen one here.  It was truly an exciting find.

The sea was almost glassy calm.  These wonderful viewing conditions allowed us to find more dolphins, but even more uncommon were the many large fish seen.   Over the course of a few hours, those folks who stood on the bow or the bridge were rewarded with views of four Striped Marlin, two Sailfish, five Hammerhead and two Thresher Sharks.  We discovered that it is moderately easy to see dolphins swimming along at the surface, but one has to be lucky to see fish that normally swim a considerable distance below the surface.  The calm sea helped us pick out numerous Craveri’s Murrelets and Least Storm Petrels.  These seabirds were quite small, but feed on some of the same krill that larger baleen whales feed on.

Just before sunset, we were able to see some of those baleen whales.  Two Bryde’s Whales surfaced near the boat and Mike positioned us several times so that we could see the diagnostic three ridges that these rorquals showed stretching forward of the blowhole.  These whales may have been looking for some of the same food the seabirds were feeding on.  Of course, their appetite is different.  Some whales need to eat two to four tons of food a day!

Day 10 – 8^th April

Everyone enjoyed the calm night at anchorage near San Carlos.  In the early morning light there

were more dolphins and a couple of Humpback Whales.  The special, small community of Nopolo

was our next destination.  In this dramatic canyon we saw Phainopepla and Canyon Wren amongst many other birds.  The wren’s beautiful song of descending whistles was more striking than the view of this small white and brown bird.  After searching over many yellow flowering shrubs we finally got great views of Xantus’ Hummingbird, not only a Baja endemic, but a very handsome bird.

We headed offshore to look for cetaceans, but did not find any.  Undoubtedly they had travelled

somewhere else to find food.  However, there were great seabirds on Isla Animas.  In the afternoon

there was a wonderful feeding frenzy of sea lions, Bottlenose Dolphins and many birds.  A fishing

boat churned by.  It was dramatic to see over fifty Magnificent Frigatebirds sitting on the wires of

the boat.  We had some great views of these birds swooping by our boat with their six-foot wingspan

looking very Pterodactyl like.  Although they are huge, they have tiny unwebbed feet that prevent

them from sitting and paddling off the water surface.

Punta Colorado lived up to its name.  This was on the eastern side of Isla San Jose.  We enjoyed

skiff rides and snorkelling below the dramatic pink and white cliffs.  The snorkelling was great with

a large Golden Grouper, Dog, Blue and Gold Snappers and Bulls-Eye Stingray.  These cliffs are full

of embedded shells and whale bone as well.  They are 5 to 10 million years old.  A walk up a beau-

tiful canyon showed us desert birds and gave us a great feeling for a special place.

Day 11 – 9^th April

In the morning, we visited Los Islotes, a group of volcanic rocks and spires at the northern end of Isla Espiritu Santo.  Many of us took the opportunity to swim amongst friendly, but still exciting California Sea Lions.  This unique experience ranked as a highlight of the whole trip for some.  Skiff rides afforded great opportunities to see nursing sea lions and many birds.  Blue-footed Boobies perched on the top of the rock while Brown Boobies occupied the narrow ledges closer to the sea’s surface.

Mike, Scot and David had scheduled a morning visit to Los Islotes to allow more time in the afternoon to search for whales.  This planning was rewarded handsomely.  Some careful observers on the bridge were able to see a couple of Dwarf Sperm Whales.  These shy animals only were at the surface for a few seconds so we had to be satisfied with a brief view.  However, everyone was able to see the more common and much larger Sperm Whales.  We found a group of twenty by mid afternoon.  For over an hour we enjoyed these marvellous, unique animals.  Our group noted their unique angled blows and we marvelled as they rocked, and then raised their huge flukes out of the water.  Captain Mike persistently stayed with the whales even longer.  Then an enormous bull swam in front of the boat allowing us to see his entire 22-metre long body all at once.  It was an amazing rare view.  As we left them, we headed south with Cerralvo Island to our east.  The late afternoon sunshine created a magical glow.  Just then, Brian appeared with a pitcher and served us wonderfully cold, refreshing Margaritas.  What a great finale to a great cruise. After dinner some shared their highlights, and there were many, on this wonderful trip.

Day 12 – 10^th April