The Whale Record
Sightings and Notes

Urmas Kaldveer, 2008 Whale Season

Arrived in El Cardonal on the 5th of January.

Had productive meetings with:

Wendy Rains (Eco Café) in Todos Santos,
Ginny Michaux (One of Al Gore’s staff) in La Playita,
Cactus and Betsy (Talofa),
and my angel Sabrina Lear.

All of these discussions were about presentations to be made in March and April. Looks like a major benefit in the making.

Weather pretty much as usual for this time of year, perhaps a bit colder. North wind blows regularly with 1-2 days of calm in between. Didn’t get my kayak into the water until the 15th. Did a traditional 2 mile trip to the “whale zone” but no friends yet.

[This season's IDs]

Vicente and I began our season yesterday:         

• Jan. 17th, came across at least 4 separate herds of pilot whales about 6 miles east of Punta Pescadero. Altogether, Vicente and I estimated their total numbers as at least 150 perhaps twice that. This was a first for me and one came to the bow, turned on his side and gave me that old whale look….very cool! A few hours later I asked Vicente to take a quick look around Boca Del Alamo before we went in. We both were watching a sailboat in the distance and then saw a large whale dive near it. We rushed out, waited and found him again….a quite large Blue Whale. Stayed with him long enough to get a pretty good ID but on his best dive my camera chip ran out, wouldn’t you know. Delighted to have run across any whale this early in the season. The Blue was moving South but I doubt that has any significance at this time….but who knows?
• Jan. 21st, went out with Vicente and right away picked up a HB coming north right off Las Algodones. Followed him/her for about 1 ½ hrs and got a fluke shot but not good (lighting very difficult and he would not dive deep so fluked quick). Side shots taken and good. This whale stayed in the area until at least April 8th and was sighted and ID’d 5 more times during that period. No other action. According to the guys at John’s they saw numerous spouts yesterday straight out from El Cardonal and a little north.
• Jan. 28th, Ran a usual pattern from Cardonal, 2 miles out, then south to about the beginning of Barriles, out about 10 miles then North to San Isidro/Boca del Alamo. No action till end of run, 10 miles out about at La Linia, one Blue Whale, young, feeding, some very recent scars near dorsal fin.
• Feb. 3rd, One HB
• Feb. 12th, 7 HB’s, mom and calf off Algodones, 5 off Barriles (competitive group?). This was a very young calf (youngest so far I believe, 10 days or less)
• Feb. 13th, 1 HB and 1 Blue. Picked up HB first thing in morning perhaps 1 mile out. Saw a good sized blow further out at same time, pretty sure it was a Blue (high spout). After getting ID on HB we were able to find the Blue about 8 miles out. Alan and I prepared to dive with it but impossible to get in right position. Made three efforts but it was feeding so irregular pattern.
• Feb. 18th, all whales this day from shore. 1 moving north, a mile out, Blue, 7:30, 1 maybe same further out going east by south or HB, 8:30, 2 way out in front of Algodones, HB’s, around 9-9:30.
• Feb. 19th, 2 Blue Whales, around 10:15 on our northern tack Vicente spots a boil, we wait and within 10 min. a Blue surfaces. On way in at 11:15 Lisa spots another behind us and a little north. Good shots all around. Mari, Lisa, Zeypher and Alex along. The two little ones pretty tired and somewhat bored after 3 hrs.
• Feb. 20th, 1 Humpback at PP and then 2 blues off La Linea. First Blue a really big one. Flukes up on all three whales. Nice to be just Vicente and me.
• Feb. 23rd, 2 apparent (far out and seen from shore) Blue Whales, 8:00, heading NE, 2-3 mi out.
• Feb. 27th, 1 maybe 2 whales in very close to reef(seen from shore) going south. Saw little bit of blow but not enough to identify.
• Feb. 28th, started out as usual and Vicente spots a whale a bit south and east of Los Barriles, a Blue, and as we track I see another closer to La Ribera. We get good ID’s on both and head for Boca del Alamo where some HB’s were spotted yesterday. Around Punta Pescadero I spot flukes, Vicente questions but I am sure. 2 Greys, a mother and calf, both really torn up, dorsal gone on both, lot’s of scarring. Get an ID on mother but both seem in bad shape
• Feb. 29th, 6 whales reported by Vicente, 4 Blues, 2 HB’s, Punta Pescadero and further out for Blues.
• Mar. 1st, went out with Vicente and Alan, no luck, saw one Bryde’s whale and saw a HB going north from bodega top around 6:00 pm.
• Mar. 2nd, 2 Blue whales within 2 miles of each other, directly in front of El Cardonal at 10 and then 12 miles out. Feeding with a number of flukes up. Took Cindy out, she adopted both for her kids Paul and Elise.
• Mar. 5th, 1 HB about 3 miles out, 11:15, told by fisherman that 5 others near the beach at about the same time.
• Mar. 6th, 2 HBs seen from shore moving south close to beach, 7:30am
• Mar. 7th, 1 HB (?) seen from shore going north at about 9:00am and one mile or two out.
• Mar. 10th, 3 HB’s (?) seen from shore, 7:00am, big blows but difficult to say what kind, could have been Greys (no flukes and not dark). Problem all week has been wind. Today we could have gone out but Vicente reluctant because of beach surf.
• Mar. 11th, 3 Blues (?) from Bodega, 4:30-5:00 pm,hard to identify (wind chop, little surface action), very close in on reef, ¼-1/2 mile, moving north, one straight out going east. No flukes, looked like Blues (95% sure not Humpbacks), I suppose could have been Greys but I got one pretty good look at it’s flank and 85% sure it was a Blue. Blows also Blue like….but so close in?? Hope to go out tomorrow, wind continues to be an issue!
• Mar. 12th, went out this morning and immediately saw 4 Bryde’s whales, 2-1-1 between Cardonal and Punta Pescadero. About a mile out and doing typical Bryde’s stuff. No other whales. Plan to go out this afternoon again because there was a lot of whale action around the reef yesterday in the late afternoon. Found large numbers of a shrimp I’m unfamiliar with on the beach, very small, will try to identify later (if I remember). That’s probably why the Mobulas were in the other day and maybe all the whale action too. Afternoon run totally a waste!
• Mar. 14th-16th, TALOFA a longer record due to the advantage of being on board Talofa for two sails and staying at Ginny Michaux’s in Palmilla (many whales seen there by everyone, Mexicans too claiming large numbers, especially Greys but Humpbacks too). A word on the Greys. HB first identified as #’s 10, 12 & 13 I now see were actually Grey whales. This has been remedied in the photos and data sheets. The reason for the mistaken identity was the fluke pattern and the dark color. A large scar across the mother’s back could have taken the dorsal fin out because it was, as one would expect, not there. A foolish mistake but my first. Greys were reported by Dawn 2 weeks ago around Vinorama, then I did the mistaken ID up here (never seen Greys this far up before), They are coming in very close, they are ragged and lean. Something is going on. Beau told me that he has seen “30 times” the number of Greys this year. We saw 2 from Talofa while cruising for HBs yesterday. On Friday the 14th I saw from Ginny’s pool deck about 6 HBs at different times cruising between 1 and 4 miles out. One pair, mother/calf, remained in front of her house and cavorted for at least 2 hrs if not more. At one point 4 tourist boats had them surrounded as well as about 4 jet skiers all within 100 ft of them and sometimes less. Still the mother continued her lessons for the baby (no question she was teaching…breaching, tail lobs, rolling, fin slapping etc). I can only assume that it was indeed a female, yet her behavior was more like a male. The question of “training” in HBs is still being debated. Is it the mom or a young adult play group watching males later that impart the skills? Both most likely, I would think. The next morning I was up early and saw another 8-10 HBs passing by in both directions. Upon going out on Talofa we came across another mom/calf and a Grey whale pair also. Other blows could be seen further out. Everyone agrees that there are more whales then have been for some time, yet in the Cardonal area it is a bit down from last year, more Blues however. Interesting year so far. Another possibly important note: we have yet to see any display by any whale in our area (no breaching, no fin slaps, no tail lobs, no spy hops and only one group of more than 2.
• Mar. 19th, All these from Bodega, none showing Blue or HB characteristics, 1 (?) in the morning, 2 (?) off Algodones for some time starting at around 4-4:30, 1 Bryde’s off Ralph’s in close, 1 Bryde’s off Cardonal, also in close.
• Mar. 21, met up with 1 Humpback within 5 min of      going out. About 1 ½ miles out in front of La Linea. Got a good ID and then decided to enter water for intercept. Tried twice, it veered off about 50-60 feet from me. One of only 2 whales we have seen twice in one season. This one was here on the 5th of Mar. also better ID this time.
• Mar. 25th, Spotted a Grey whale moving south real close to shore around 7:00. Vicente and I try to find him/her (got out by 7:45). We go all the way to Barriles and then swing back around as far as Las Tinas but no luck. I would have been real disappointed if it had been a HB or Blue. The sea today was very calm again, green in color and not clear at all. No dolphins, Mobulas, bait fish or anything, reminded me of a desert (hope that’s not a premonition). Word from some neighbors who just came in from Cabo Pulmo is that there are lots of whales there. Pacific side also continues to report lots of whale action. Dove over reef yesterday and saw a lot more bleaching than last year.
• Mar. 26th, 2 whales identified by Shawn and Poppy as Humpbacks from the beach, going south. Sounded like they were about a mile out or so.
• April 1st, 2-3 whales seen breaching in front of Cardonal but far out by Shawn, Poppy, Jason etc.
• April 2nd, 1 HB seen by me while kayaking on reef. First seen by Shawn and then I pursued. Got within about 45-50 feet but I was very tired (off of Las Tinas by this time) and fell behind. No flukes, quite young I would think. Water very clear today. Two more seen by me from shore around 4:00.
• April 4th, two HBs breaching in front of Ralphs about a mile out, 4-5:00.
• April 5th, one HB breached (first one of the year from the boat!) fairly near the boat about 1- 1 1/2 miles out from Las Tinas. After 3 attempts got a fluke ID and waited it’s next appearance to get some flank shots. When it came up it was further away then expected but we got the shots as well as one more fluke shot. Turned out to be a different whale! (the flukes were both black with little marking so not evident until on the computer screen) So really 2 HBs, #’s 14 and 15. As it turns out #15 is also # 11 and #13. Therefore this whale has been in the area for a full month. This is a first time event. Also came across one Bryde’s whale near San Isidro. After coming in I spot 3 Greys going south right at the edge of the reef. Then later Lynn & family come by and announce yet another whale or two going south and they are sure it is a Blue. Description fits except for the spout. Could have been the Grey’s I saw.
• April 6th, saw a HB breach in front of Cardonal at about 12:30. No more than ½ mile out. Is it old number 11? ** interesting points: I have seen more whales in the last 3-4 days then almost any time so far this season. Along with that, the first breaching I’ve seen. Not to mention the number of Grey’s moving through from someplace even farther north? Tie in to article about the polluted sediments off the CA coast. I had intended to go out this afternoon but the wind came up so no go. Going tomorrow with a boatload of volunteers (Susan, Shawna, Shawn and maybe Poppy)!
• April 7th, big day! Went out with Shawna and Shawn and found 2 HBs within a ½ hr. Followed till two fluke shots then dove in with Alan and Shawn. No close encounter. Encountered one Bryde’s whale near Las Tinas. Continued towards Punta Pescadero and spotted two Blue Whales. Got ID’s # 12 & 13. Dove with them too. The two are pictured together in my whale pics. Got within 50-60 ft, very cool! My first dive with a Blue Whale.
• April 8th, just Vicente and me today. Came across good old HB # 11 and got an ID. Then went out to Blue W      hale zone. Vicente spots two. We get one good flank ID and then they disappear. We wait 50 min and no whales? I suggest we go in closer and towards PP. Damned if we don’t find them again. This time both Blue Whales #’s 14 & 15 fully ID’d….very cool!
• April 20th, heard about a whale near PP. Found it around Barriles. It (HB) dove and we did our usual waiting routine but after 45 min it still had not come up? So we lost it! Only second time that’s happened.
• April 21st, saw 2 HBs cavorting in front of Ralph’s around 7:30 pm, from Bodega roof. Tail lobs, fin slaps and a breach, about ½ mile out.
• April 28th, ID’d one young HB about 2 miles out from Cardonal. Vicente told me he heard of 3 whale deaths during the time I was gone (one Blue around los Frailes, one Blue and one HB around Cerralvo). Sean (kite surfer guy) told me he saw some Orcas around the Island about that time. Vicente had also seen 3 Sperm whales near the mouth of the channel and 2 Blues out about 8 miles from Cardonal.
• May 6th, Mary Bowman sees two Humpbacks breaching in front of Las Tinas, wind up haven’t been able to go out for a week.
• May 8th, went out today with V, did our regular grid and then as we turned to return to El Cardonal a HB surfaces just 50 ft to our left! Small (young) but plenty of fluke action. Interesting note: there has only been one single WHITE FLUKED whale this year.
• May 12th, went out with V’s friend Isidro in Adeline I. Normal grid….nothing. 3-4 HB’s were sighted however by some of the fisherman on the 11th.
• May 20th, went out with V but saw nothing. People in Las Tinas saw 3-4 breaching a mile out the day before. This is the end of the season for me.

After the season was over I met Carlos Narro the Director of CONAP (Consejo National de Areas Protegidas). We had a meeting regarding mutual dreams and came to the conclusion that we should work together for our common goals….a sanctuary and a marine lab. When I return in 2009 the action really begins. I have also decided to remain in Mexico from here on in. A palapa over the trailer, and I am as comfortable as can be.

Photo identification image collections