Day 3 - Tuesday 30 March
Pacific Coast – San Ignacio Lagoon
As we got closer to the entrance of San Ignacio lagoon we started to see more and more birds including shearwaters, pelicans, cormorants and gulls. Soon we saw the distinctive bushy shaped blows of Gray Whales and then the animals themselves. We were also treated to views of Bottlenose Dolphins bow riding.
After anchoring in the lower lagoon, our panga drivers arrived and we set off on a new adventure. It wasn’t long before we saw several Gray Whale calves coming close to our boats. To be so close to these playful cetaceans was an incredible thrill.
Occasionally their mothers would come close to our boats, but the pattern was that the three to four month old calves were bolder and amazingly came close enough that we could touch them! It is impossible to know what these whales were feeling. On the western end of Sand Island there was a large group of birds near the waters edge: Brown Pelicans, Royal Terns, Brandt’s Cormorants, Heermann’s Gulls and Sanderlings.
In the afternoon we went out for more whale watching in the pangas. The number of whales was low for this time of year, we estimated between 20 to 25 whales total. The reason for the low numbers was not clear, however this was an El Nino year, causing the ocean temperature to be warmer than usual. The Gray Whale is a coldwater species, spending half their lives in the arctic. Perhaps the above normal water temperature may have inspired most of the whales to move north earlier than usual.
