Boca de Soledad, Magdalena Bay, Baja California, México
The Boca de Soledad (Mouth of Loneliness) is frequently shrouded in a thick blanket of fog until mid-morning. This morning, however, winds brought clear skies, cool air and beautiful light.
Four Mexican pangueros (licensed whale watching guides from the nearby town of Lopez Mateos) joined us, as usual, for Zodiac trips in the sheltered bay.
Before getting very far from the Sea Lion we saw blows in several different directions. The wind carried and dispersed the fine droplets of water of the exhalations; the sun turned the droplets into rainbows. The large yet graceful bodies moved above and through shades of deepening blue. At one point I saw blows ahead and behind, to the right and the left. The wind kicked up waves and our boat rose and fell like the backs of the whales.
According to one guide, Alfredo, at this point in the season it is estimated that there are between 30 and 40 cow-calf pairs and an additional 60 or so solitary whales. There are still a few pregnant females here although they are the rare exceptions. The average birth date for the gray whale is January 27th. Some are born earlier, some later, but the majority is born in late January. All of the Eastern Pacific population of gray whales is Mexican, although they are often called California gray whales. Most are Capricorn or Aquarius. According to another panguero, Modesto Camacho, a pregnant female was spotted today. She seemed very close to her delivery time. The breadth of her back was profound. She slowly, deliberately rose to the surface, exhaled, and sank back into the water over and over near the boat. She was observed for a long while. By morning, there may well be one more baby gray whale joining this community. In Spanish, the expression for giving birth is my personal favorite-“dar a luz”. The literal translation is “to give light”.
Today seemed to be a big day for spy-hopping. This is when a whale pops its head vertically out of the water. There are various styles of spy-hops. Some go straight up and down, some at an angle, some add a twist. No one really knows the reason for this behavior, although everyone who sees it has an opinion. I don’t know why they do it, but I am glad they do. It makes for a great sighting and a good image for photos and video. I have seen mothers spy-hop with their baby on their back. The baby goes rolling down into the water. Truthfully, it looks like fun. Like babies of many species, the gray whale calf is playful and will tumble around on the back of its mother, spy-hop, chomp its baleen and squish water out of its mouth in a very silly manner. They look like they are smiling when they do that.
I have come to recognize quite a few number of the whales by the patches of barnacles that encrust their skin in a variety of patterns. Gray whales begin life a glossy shade of dark gray. In time their skin lightens and gathers the colors of the collected barnacles and whale lice, which cling, to the dimples and creases on the whales’ body. Since they are among the slowest of the whales, they tend to accumulate large quantities of barnacles. This can give their skin shades of white, yellow, orange and pink.
Before coming here, I knew very little of the lives and habits of the gray whale. Now they seem like old friends. This will be my last visit to Magdalena Bay and I am grateful to have been able to see so much of the lives of these gentle giants. I also feel fortunate to have met, talked with, and learned from the guides – los pangueros – of Lopez Mateos. These men have a wealth of knowledge, which they generously shared with us all.
The Boca de Soledad (Mouth of Loneliness) is frequently shrouded in a thick blanket of fog until mid-morning. This morning, however, winds brought clear skies, cool air and beautiful light.
Four Mexican pangueros (licensed whale watching guides from the nearby town of Lopez Mateos) joined us, as usual, for Zodiac trips in the sheltered bay.
Before getting very far from the Sea Lion we saw blows in several different directions. The wind carried and dispersed the fine droplets of water of the exhalations; the sun turned the droplets into rainbows. The large yet graceful bodies moved above and through shades of deepening blue. At one point I saw blows ahead and behind, to the right and the left. The wind kicked up waves and our boat rose and fell like the backs of the whales.
According to one guide, Alfredo, at this point in the season it is estimated that there are between 30 and 40 cow-calf pairs and an additional 60 or so solitary whales. There are still a few pregnant females here although they are the rare exceptions. The average birth date for the gray whale is January 27th. Some are born earlier, some later, but the majority is born in late January. All of the Eastern Pacific population of gray whales is Mexican, although they are often called California gray whales. Most are Capricorn or Aquarius. According to another panguero, Modesto Camacho, a pregnant female was spotted today. She seemed very close to her delivery time. The breadth of her back was profound. She slowly, deliberately rose to the surface, exhaled, and sank back into the water over and over near the boat. She was observed for a long while. By morning, there may well be one more baby gray whale joining this community. In Spanish, the expression for giving birth is my personal favorite-“dar a luz”. The literal translation is “to give light”.
Today seemed to be a big day for spy-hopping. This is when a whale pops its head vertically out of the water. There are various styles of spy-hops. Some go straight up and down, some at an angle, some add a twist. No one really knows the reason for this behavior, although everyone who sees it has an opinion. I don’t know why they do it, but I am glad they do. It makes for a great sighting and a good image for photos and video. I have seen mothers spy-hop with their baby on their back. The baby goes rolling down into the water. Truthfully, it looks like fun. Like babies of many species, the gray whale calf is playful and will tumble around on the back of its mother, spy-hop, chomp its baleen and squish water out of its mouth in a very silly manner. They look like they are smiling when they do that.
I have come to recognize quite a few number of the whales by the patches of barnacles that encrust their skin in a variety of patterns. Gray whales begin life a glossy shade of dark gray. In time their skin lightens and gathers the colors of the collected barnacles and whale lice, which cling, to the dimples and creases on the whales’ body. Since they are among the slowest of the whales, they tend to accumulate large quantities of barnacles. This can give their skin shades of white, yellow, orange and pink.
Before coming here, I knew very little of the lives and habits of the gray whale. Now they seem like old friends. This will be my last visit to Magdalena Bay and I am grateful to have been able to see so much of the lives of these gentle giants. I also feel fortunate to have met, talked with, and learned from the guides – los pangueros – of Lopez Mateos. These men have a wealth of knowledge, which they generously shared with us all.
