Week 2 was another special one with the sea continuing to be full of krill and large whales observed surface feeding every day we were on the water. We even had a spectacular thunderstorm over the Sierra de Giganta, and rumors had it that hail fell on the nearby mission town of San Javier!
Our larger than usual group was comprised of a number of fabulous first time guests all of whom hailed from England. They witnessed quite a show which the Blue whales dominated. But a large pod of 1500 Common dolphins was also a highlight, as was everyone seeing the Gray whales of Magdalena Bay very close up.
Large krill patches were observed from the surface. The same Fin whale cow and calf pair that was around the first week is still around, as it that famous Blue whale “White Eyes”. The water visibility is not good, as it is choked with plankton. One young Blue whale quite literally adopted our boat for about a half hour one day and even with the whale being less than 10 meters away, underwater footage of it provided us with only a silhouette. Blue whale numbers that we have identified are well up from this time last year. It is also becoming apparent that many of the individual Blue whales we observed at the onset of the 2016 season we are now seeing again at the onset of the 2017 season. Whether this is a new trend or an anomaly, only time can tell.
Many old (human) friends are now with us for week 3. Stay tuned for the next report as the 2017 season, which is off to a grand star,t moves onward.
Michael Fishbach
