Baja, California: Among the Great Whales April 11, 2007
Posted by Marshall Iliff
Marshall Iliff
Marshall Iliff, a lifelong nature lover, began birding at age 11 after attending a National Wildlife Federation Camp in the mountains of North Carolina. He attended VENT...VENT’s first Baja cruise with Lindblad Expeditions was a resounding success. Not only were the ship, the captain, the food, and the staff all terrific, but the whales were incredibly cooperative, and we managed to see a great selection of birds and other animals as well. Baja has become one of my favorite areas, with its rugged desert landscape plunging into the azure waters of the Gulf of California, and there is no better way to see it than by ship!
Our trip began wonderfully with two blue whales traveling alongside the ship for a full hour on our first morning. These largest animals on earth travel to the Gulf in March and April to bear their calves, and we were lucky to intersect them on our very first day.
The many islands of the Gulf of California hold a wide variety of terrestrial animals, and are especially well-known for their unique slate of reptiles. In the afternoon we landed on Isla San José, a rarely visited Gulf island with its own share of unique flora and fauna. Our walk produced the endemic Isla San José whiptail for aspiring herpetologists, but also netted some great birds. Foremost among these was Xantus’s Hummingbird, a striking bird with a bold face pattern and rich cinnamon belly and tail. Another near-endemic to Baja that we encountered was California Gnatcatcher, and we were lucky to see them in direct comparison to Blue-grays. Other bird highlights included Whimbrel, Loggerhead Shrike, and Costa’s Hummingbird, among others.
Our next morning began off Los Islotes, where leaping Mobula rays (like small manta rays) and bottlenosed dolphins provided initial entertainment. A close fly-by Red-billed Tropicbird was seen by only a couple of people. We spent the full morning exploring the small Los Islotes island group in zodiacs and snorkel gear. The California sea lions were a highlight, swimming up to us to check us out and blow bubbles in our faces. From the zodiacs we were afforded point-blank looks at both Brown and Blue-footed boobies, as well as Gulf endemic-breeding Yellow-footed Gulls and a pair of Peregrines.
We cruised south in the afternoon, chasing down a distant Red-billed Tropicbird on the way, and landed on Isla Espiritu Santo. The most special animals on our walk there were mammals, including the endemic black jackrabbit and Isla Espiritu Santo antelope-squirrel. Birds were in evidence as well, and we enjoyed good looks at such striking species as Black-headed Grosbeak and Black-throated Sparrow, along with Gila Woodpecker and others.
Many of us were awakened the next morning by the songs of humpback whales broadcasting over the hydrophone. From that point on we were among these great whales, and the morning’s slate of highlights included almost every possible behavior one could see from humpbacks. We saw flipper slapping and tail lobbing, large males, mothers, calves, and magnificent breaching displays. Most awe-inspiring, and not captured by even one of the 60+ cameras that were in constant action, was a simultaneous, side by side breach by two magnificent males. Everyone on the ship gasped as these two animals lurched from the water in tandem and double-splashed back to the sea. More cooperative for photographers was the animal that breached 50 times consecutively while we followed. That afternoon we visited Estero San José del Cabo, the birding highlight of our trip. More endemic Xantus’s Hummingbirds here were bolstered by endemic Belding’s Yellowthroats, a Zone-tailed Hawk, Tropical Kingbird, Ruddy Ground-Dove, a Sora, and a host of other species for the longest bird list of our trip with warblers, shorebirds, ducks, coots, moorhens, etc. We closed the evening with a sunset cruise past Land’s End, with hundreds of swirling frigatebirds heading to roost.
Our final three days were spent in Magdalena Bay, where the gray whales added a nice personal touch to the end of the tour. Indeed, a curious youngster allowed almost everyone to pet him, and even rub his baleen and pick his whale lice! Magdalena Bay offered birding highlights as well. The mudflats were alive with shorebirds as we cruised past. Aside from the bitterns, we saw every possible species of Baja heron on our cruise, including specialties such as Reddish Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, the endemic Green Heron subspecies, and multiple Tricoloreds. Neotropic Cormorant, American White Pelican, Brant, Redheads, Red-breasted Mergansers, and a host of other species made for interesting birding every day in Magdalena Bay. Our walks on shore were less birdy in the sparse but scenic dunes. Highlights included Mangrove Warbler, Western Scrub-Jay, Horned Lark, and the endemic Savannah Sparrow.
We closed our voyage at Sand Dollar Beach with a splendid sunset and the chance to say goodbye to all our new friends. I hope many of you will have the opportunity to explore Baja more in the future, but I can guarantee you saw it at its best on this trip!