The sun rose through a hazy fogbank that had drenched the decks and rails of National Geographic Sea Bird earlier this morning. Of course that didn’t deter our plans for the day… to take the expedition landing craft out to see the gray whales that come to Bahia Magdalena to mate and give birth. Many females have already borne their young, so that most common sighting is of these cow/calf pairs traveling together through the bay. For the next few months the moms will nurse and exercise their babies, readying them for the spring migration northward. The number of whales here is astounding. The local pangeros who hold the whale-watching licenses and accompany us said the count this year is about 80—twice last year’s count. Aye Carumba! They are everywhere.
The fog lifted by the time the first round went out, and it was a lovely mellow morning watching these magnificent creatures breathe and swim. The babies, only a few weeks old, coming up, rolling on mom, sometimes sticking their heads up to look at us—from curiosity? The common response to this universal interchange between mother and child: “awwwww how cute!” It is difficult to describe in words the experience of witnessing the most basic of life’s functions of another creature—the “pfffft” breathing, the arch of the back as they move through the water, the elegance of the tail—sometimes slow, sometimes more rapid—swirling through the water, the absolute big-ness of the adults. Some of the whales continue on their way, seemingly oblivious (or perhaps mildly tolerant) of our presence. Others seem to enjoy being around the boats, blowing bubbles under the surface, coming near, then teasing away. Occasionally one would poke its whole mouth, head, eyes out of the water as if standing on its tail—known as a “spyhop”—we assume to see what’s going on above the surface. Sitting on the boat I look around to my companions and see they are feeling the same joy, delight, awe, reverence for this experience. At one point we were with two adults interacting, presumably a male demonstrating his interest in a female, and she teasing him. Of course they were aware of us there, but was it the same awareness as we would have of a fly on the wall? They didn’t seem bothered by our presence and if anything, were often very near one or another of the boats blowing bubbles, quick and slow fluke motions, rolling over, coming up very near us. How thrilling for us. (And maybe thrilling for them?) It’s fun to guess what they may be thinking, but of course we will never know.
We also spent time onshore today, again exploring the magnificent dunes and shoreline of Isla Magdalena… the mangroves providing vital habitat for birds and fish. Birds seen included: cormorants, frigate birds, brown pelicans, royal terns, and Herrmann’s gulls. This evening we are gathering in the lounge to recap our day, enjoy a Mexican fiesta, and also have some live music by local musicians Los Coyotes. Another beautiful day in Baja California Sur.
