Grey Whale Photography Trip Report 2023

Magdalena Bay, Baja, Mexico
February 13 - 18, 2023
Trip # 2 / 2023

 February 14, 2023 - Happy valentines day. Day one of our adventure here in Mag Bay. There were a lot of grey whales out there, I mean a lot. It is very much breeding season because the whales were super flirty and hanging around the boats. Not super touchy-feely, but lots of rolling and playing.

We did have some good interactions today. Not as much as I would like, but a lot of good stuff for our guests to kick off the trip.

There was also a lot of mating going on. Whales were pairing off and getting dirty—super interesting behavior, with lots of power. The winds were high, and it was cold, so pretty uncomfortable out on the water, but really worth it. It was a great day on the water.

I do hope the next few days settle down weather-wise, so we can get out there and do a little swimming. It is too windy, and the swells are too big to try and get out into the ocean to swim. Overall a great first day in the water. Nat videoed some mating on his red, so he is crazy happy right now.

On the way home, we were cruising close to the coast line to help the ride go a little smoother, Mari spotted a coyote walking along the beach. So we turned back to check it out. Our captain thought it was a dog, because it was so close to the village on Magdalena Island, but nope it was a coyote. I snapped a bunch of pics of the beauty. I wanted to stay longer but Mari, reminded me that there were cold tired people on the boat, so we pressed on towards home.

Overall it was a great day at sea. Lots of whales and I got my desert dog!

February 15, 2023 - Day Two - First is, a big meteorite just crashed in our hometown of Mcallen, Texas. The impact shook houses and windows across four or five cities. Reports so far do not know where it hit, how big, or the meteor's impact. I am concerned for my family of course, and the Valley's health. (The final report was that a 1,000-pound meteor crashed somewhere in our area, of course the real details about what happened have not been released.) I know this has nothing to do with the grey whale report, but these are things going on at home that happen when I am out in the world. Reminders for myself when I look back through my journal, or blog of what was happening back home on this day.

Today was a cold, windy, bumpy day out at sea. But it was still a great day, with a lot of whale action. No players, as the whales were super preoccupied with mating. But there was a lot of fighting and rolling around and posturing. It was wild and some of the craziest and most exciting action I have ever seen out there. It was wild.

Tomorrow we go to a spot where the whales are known to spy hop, not really an interaction spot, but it is very cool, with lots of breaching whales and spy hopping (whales sticking their faces out of the water). It is a very different vibe there. Mari doesn't want to go; she prefers the interaction stuff. It will be good, though.

February 16, 2023 - Day 3 - OH DAMN!! What an insane day with the whales. Today we went to Bahia Almejas, where the grey whales will spend a considerable part of their day spy hopping. The area is not known for interacting whales. But the breaching and spy hopping here is really, really good.

It is 42 miles from where we stay in San Carlos, so it is a long boat ride. The kind of ride where you start asking yourself, is the trip worth it? Mari was not really hyped about going because the whales were not friendly last season. The area was great for spy hopping, but for whales wanting face scratches, it was not. So when the captain said, let's go over there, she was not very keen on going. I was because I was hoping for better spy-hopping images, as last year I did not get one.

We went, and after a very long, cold, and bumpy ride, we made it to the area. We were not disappointed. Damn, it was good.

After a couple of hours there with lots of spy hopping whales, I asked the captain if the whales ever played here with the boats. He said yes. He pointed at a boat in the distance, and said there was a whale on that boat right now, and if we wanted to go. Of course we all wanted to go! When we arrived at the area, more than one whale was playing, it was four.

We motored up slowly to the boat playing with the whales. Little did I know it was about to turn into one of the most incredible days of wildlife I have ever experienced.

We watched one of the whales playing with a boat, and the whale opened its mouth, which was awesome. I told Gabino that has not happened to me yet. I have been dreaming of an opened-mouth shot of a whale for a very long time. Thankfully today was the day for that goal to be accomplished. Shortly after that, the whale approached our boat and opened her mouth, allowing us all to give her a mouth scratch, which we did.

The whale truly enjoyed it and stayed with us for a long time. After several minutes, she swam off but returned and opened her mouth again. She did this over and over and over. The other whales were also coming in asking for face rubs. Only one was asking for a mouth rub, the others, were happy with the occasional face rubs. But our open mouth whale kept coming back for more.

We ended up playing with this group of whales for over two hours. It was insane. Gabino said this was his best day of whales in 32 years of guiding trips. That says a lot. We captured so much footage of the interactions; stills, gopro footage, Iphones, Red cameras, and drone footage. I think we covered every angle of the interactions. Even our Captain, Gabino came in asking for a selfie with the whale. It was so much fun and so perfect. Nathan asked," is this really happening?" It felt like a dream. It was so wild.

During one of the encounters, Mari got her arm squished by the whale. It got stuck between the whale and the boat, and it got her pretty good, leaving a bruise on her forearm. She is ok, but it did sting a bit.

We all left the area riding on a cloud. Tatiana was a bit bummed because the whale knocked her Insta360 camera into the water, drowning her camera. Felt bad for her, but thankfully, the whale dropped her camera into the depths and not one of us. So at least she has an exciting story to tell over it.

Overall it was an EPIC day in the water, easily one of my top moments with wildlife ever. We still have one more day with the whales tomorrow, and we are hoping for a good day. A day like today is going to be hard to beat, though. It was pretty damn special.

February 17, 2023 - Day Four. Our final day on the water. We went out to the Dunes this morning. The dunes are always fun. It is beautiful out there. It feels like you are in the Sahara desert. It is a stunning setting. And a fantastic spot for chances to encounter coyotes. We didn't see any, but fresh pug marks always let us know that they have just been there, teasing us. Love those desert dogs.

After we left the dunes, we visited the pelicans to feed them fish scraps and have a chance at photographing them diving for the fish pieces. When we got there there was two other boats there feeding the pelicans. It is so crazy that visiting the pelicans is now a big thing. It started on our trip back in 2017 or 2018, and now all the boats visit the pelicans. Pretty cool.

When we were done with the pelicans we went to find grey whales to photograph. We didn't find any players so we went out into the open ocean to see if we could find humpbacks. We found them, and there were very busy in a heat run. 6 humpback whales were on fire, all trying to win a females attention. The whales were breaching and slapping their tails. It was awesome to watch.

Overall it was a really good final day at sea. Nothing will compare to day three, but it was a fun day at sea and a great way to end our epic adventure.

Thanks go out to my friends who joined us on the adventure. Thank you for sharing the fun with us... until the next one.

NEXT ADVENTURE… Sperm Whales off Dominica.