Every couple weeks or so depending on weather conditons, the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve in coordination with ESSA, the salt works count the whales in
the lagoon. it is always interesting to see how quickly the lagoon fills up, when the babies are born and how the numbers compare to other years. Here
are the results of the first 2 census this year.
January 6th 236 Adults 106 Calves TOTAL 342
January 17 325 Adults 234 Calves TOTAL 559
wow, that is a couple hundred whales more in only 12 days!!!
Last year on January 16th there were 423 Adults, 237 Calves for a total of 660 whales in the lagoon.
January is an exciting time to visit the lagoon and see newborn babies and if you are lucky....a mom giving birth! There are alot of very rotund
whales there about to have their babies often accompanied by a midwife.
Mother whales who have their calves in the same week often stay together in what I have named..."nursing groups" which usually have 6-12 mom/calf
pairs. These calves grow up together and there is sometimes what I think is a grandmother whale accompanying the group.
Sometimes when a panga approaches a group, the gradma will swim over to the boat first as if to check it out to make sure it is safe...to make sure
it's not a threat to the babies. She will swim around the boat and often lift her crusty head to look at us...satisfied we are OK, she swims back to
the nursing group....she's a good babysitter!
sometimes the babies have to rest on their mother's back...or may just want to get a better look at us!
[Edited on 1-19-2013 by shari]Bob H - 1-19-2013 at 10:46 AM
Great stuff Sheri.... reports here in San Diego reveal a record number of whale sightings heading South!weebray - 1-19-2013 at 05:58 PM
Thanks Shari. Back in the late 70's I used to fly over the lagoon to check out "the fleet". We did not keep track of the numbers but I am sure they
did not approach 600 animals. We used to see quite a few in Ignacio too, I suppose there has been an increase there too? Anyway i appreciate your
photos and reports and encourage you to keep it up. Bobby Rayliknbaja127 - 1-19-2013 at 06:51 PM
Fun picts. cant't wait, to see for my self. will be there 1st. week of feb.
hope we have a chance to meet you. love to here some storys on the
place.Udo - 1-19-2013 at 06:55 PM
Mil gracias, Shari!
Great stuff to pass to my friends.
C U Sooner than later (seriously!)shari - 1-19-2013 at 07:10 PM
con mucho gusto Udo.
Likinbaja..I'm doing a trip around Jan30-Feb2 if you can swing down a wee bit earlier to join us...here are some other dates of my excursions from
another thread. http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=64937rhintransit - 1-20-2013 at 06:12 AM
great shots, good numbers.
does anyone have a count for Lopez Mateos yet?BajaBlanca - 1-20-2013 at 09:40 AM
the whales are indeed heading south in large numbers ! this year they are soooo close to shore, it is unbelievable.
love the photo of the baby lying on her momma !shari - 1-20-2013 at 09:02 PM
usually southbound whales are further out but like Blanca, we have seen many just beyond the surf line...today I saw 5 whales while we were at the
beach all lollygagging about very close to the huge crashing waves...it was kind of strange....they looked to be feeding.
Northbound gray whales travel closer to shore...many swim between the island and our place which is always a treat.jmusic3 - 1-21-2013 at 11:04 PM
Glory! Will be there around 2/14 - can't wait for my annual dose of up close nature bliss...shari - 1-22-2013 at 09:01 AM
maybe we will see you there...some Nomads and I will be at the lagoon on both Feb.13&14th...Valentines day with whales is wonderful. Two years
ago, when I was taking photo ID pictures on that day, we met a sweet whale who had a large white heart shaped scar on her side...of course we named
her Valentina!boe4fun - 1-22-2013 at 09:33 AM
We just can't wait.dirtbikr - 1-22-2013 at 11:34 AM
Same here, this past summer we went to alaska to see whales and wildlife, we saw some whales from about 200 yards, some eagles from afar. No bears,
moose, elk,deer etc. We see more wildlife near our home by the river here in sacto than we saw in alaska. Really looking forward to our trip to
scammons.boe4fun - 1-22-2013 at 12:02 PM
Hey Brent, When we're sitting round a campfire (or the bar at the Cielito Lindo around happy hour) Shelley and I will regale you and Sharon on our 15
week trip to Alaska several years back.dirtbikr - 1-22-2013 at 12:05 PM
Muy bueno!Retireded - 1-23-2013 at 09:09 PM
Shari, do you have openings for any of your whale watching trips? Merry and I are seriously considering going on one, and from all I've heard and
read we want you for our guide.shari - 1-23-2013 at 09:18 PM
It would be a pleasure to have you along on an excursion with us. I have room on my favorite trip of the season which is mid march. We are meeting in
GN on March 8th at Hotel Cowboy, going for dinner then out to the lagoon the morning of March 9th.
I can always add another day to some of my other trips too if more people are interested. Looks like I will do another trip on March 2nd too...or
maybe March 4th. If the weather is nice after any of our morning trips we can do an afternoon trip too....so I'm pretty flexible if you are....check
your U2U.Retireded - 1-23-2013 at 09:27 PM
It took my wife, Merry, all of a heartbeat to decide. Yes,, We would love to meet you March 8th for an adventure we have both been wanting. What is
the procedure to make a reservation?shari - 1-27-2013 at 11:10 AM
I look forward to having you along on my favorite trip of the season!
the latest census a couple days ago is
Ojo de Liebre 486 adults 348 calves total 834
San Ignacio 73 adults 40 calves total 113
It's like the Rose Bowl Parade in front of our place these days...all those plumes one after another all day long!elgatoloco - 1-27-2013 at 02:09 PM
Southbound migration counts are ahead of last years, so far. We are planning to head down mid March for a look-see. woody with a view - 1-27-2013 at 05:28 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Retireded
It took my wife, Merry, all of a heartbeat to decide. Yes,, We would love to meet you March 8th for an adventure we have both been wanting. What is
the procedure to make a reservation?
send her a U2u so she she's you wanna go. basically, you just meet at the hotel the night before and go from there. it's pretty fun, we did it a
couple years ago for our second trip to Ojo. met some Nomads in the process and then bailed back to the surf grounds for the LEGO (Late Evening Glass
Off) as we were camped out 100 miles to the north.
our boat from Shari's perspective.
the entire gang before departure.
sorry to just split in a cloud of dust, but the waves were calling!
[Edited on 1-28-2013 by woody with a view]shari - 1-27-2013 at 05:38 PM
thanks Woody...they are all booked in.
The whale count caught up to last years numbers for this time of year last year there were 808 whales in total...there are more than a hundred more
calves now than last year! wooooo hoooo!liknbaja127 - 1-27-2013 at 06:40 PM
Shari, just showed on ABC, news large pod of grays, in San Diego, headed your way!!Bajatiger - 1-28-2013 at 12:06 PM
Great photos Shari!
Some questions -- we are planning to camp at Ojo de Liebre the week after president's day (a whole group of us). We went two years ago, and there was
no problems getting campsites or getting on the boats -- not that many people around (scared of traveling in Mexico). Is it going to be the same this
year? Or has tourism picked up?
In addition, some of our party are interested in kayaking. I know we can't kayak with the whales in the Lagoon, but are there any places nearby to
kayak? and what else can we do besides whalewatching?shari - 1-28-2013 at 02:17 PM
Hi Tiger! and welcome to the forum....yes tourism has picked up but there are still lots of campsites at the lagoon even though you will be there at
the very peak of the tourist season...most people dont camp. You could kayak from the old lighthouse...turn right after the Banamex in GN and follow
the road through the wetlands till the end. Laguna Manuela is a great place to kayak too...but be extra cautious around whales, make sure you bang
your paddle on the boat so they know you are coming...dont sneak up on them!
Why dont you have lunch with us on Feb. 20 or 21st at the Interpretive Center? Look for all the laughing people! Perhaps you want to join us for a
bird watch which is a fantastic way to spend the afternoon. Our amigo "Coyote" who is a great bird guide should be available for an informative
birding trip. YOu can also tour the salt works, look for petrified sharks teeth way up the canal at the lagoon...or arrow heads out the other
way...the whale watching from shore is great as well....see you there!Bajatiger - 1-30-2013 at 11:14 AM
Thanks so much for the info. I will try to look for you on those dates -- and I know we have birdwatchers in our group! I will mention this to our
group.shari - 2-1-2013 at 09:27 AM
the latest Census in OJo de LIebre (Scammon's Lagoon) was done yesterday Jan.31/13....drum roll please......
Adults 680
Calves 499
TOTAL 1,179 woooo hoooo
For anyone interested in joining one of my guided whale watch excursions, there are seats available on March 2nd and march 8th.shari - 2-26-2013 at 02:12 PM
The latest whale census done Feb.25th indicates more whales present in the lagoons. There are now 592 calves & 792 adults for a grand total of
1,321 in Ojo de Liebre (Scammon's Lagoon) and 354 whales in San Ignacio lagoon. the numbers are down a wee bit from normal as there are usually around
1,500 - 2,000 but seeing as there was a record number last year, I figured there would be less this year....still a crapload of whales eh!Sunman - 2-26-2013 at 03:38 PM
Shari,
Have you heard anything through the grapevine about the count at Laguna San Ignacio?shari - 2-26-2013 at 03:57 PM
354 whales in in an Ignacio...miss ya man!Sunman - 2-26-2013 at 05:03 PM
What a dipstick...just noticing you had the numbers in your original post! Thanks.
Yeah, we need to make it out your way again, long overdue.mulegemichael - 2-26-2013 at 05:59 PM
we were in san ignacio today....wow, wow, wowee!....what a spectacular day!...love those babies kissin my ugly mug!!Sunman - 2-26-2013 at 08:46 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by mulegemichael
we were in san ignacio today....wow, wow, wowee!....what a spectacular day!...love those babies kissin my ugly mug!!
Good to hear...30 more days for us! Hoping for a repeat of last year which was spectacular.woody with a view - 2-27-2013 at 06:42 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by shari
....still a crapload of whales eh!
i believe the technical term is "a metric butt ton" of whales!
