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Report from the field March 15th 2003

by Michael Fishbach

Hello Family and Friends!  Today finds all of our family doing well here in Baja California.  The things we are seeing on the water this year have taken on an almost unbelievable form.

In the past 3 days we had one day with 15 blue whales and a breaching humpback, another with 30 surface feeding finback whales all very close together plus another breaching humpback. Yesterday with the whole family aboard, we saw 20 blue whales including 4 mother-baby pairs and had one friendly whale that we were able to easily get into the water and swim with.  For me, this was a dream come true.  This is a very unusual event to have happen, but we had a very large and curious calf, probably almost 45 feet long and I was able to spend 20 minutes in the water with it.  To see its body - the whole thing - again and again; to see the movements and the coloring; the way she powered through the sea and then became  so calm; the way she seemed to flick her huge tail and disappear and then come back; look at me and glide below me; then erupt to the surface to breath...  was fantastic!  I almost had to throw Heather in the water, as she was intimidated, but she finally went in and had a minute or two of seeing this fantastic whale.  Sather ducked his head over the side with a mask on and saw her, and Delphi screamed with joy as she watched from the deck, announcing where the whale was to all of us as she followed it by its coloration visible  through the surface.  The day before we had 10 finbacks approaching our small boat at one time from every direction, all within 100 yards of us and there we sat, engine off. Wow! It was a fantastic experience. The surface feeding has been incredible!  Many times we have seen wide open mouths, moving through krill patches just at the surface, and many times we have seen swollen ventral pouches up above the surface at times pink with surface blood.  The pictures and memories from this past week are very, very special for me and to share yesterday with my family, was great.  

The dolphins have been fantastic as well, with their daily displays of bow riding and jumping. We have discovered some great new beaches here, one with 7 rock arches, including a room with 4 exits to the sea.

My lasting memory of this season in  Baja is of great old friends,  great new friends, and a sea so alive that it seemed as if I were alive hundreds of years ago before humans began to take the lives of so very many of these magnificent creatures that I am blessed to see many of each and every day the wind does not blow.

Love and peace to you all from this place where the news of the day is what is going on in the natural world.  

Michael

Michael Fishbach
Marine Mammal Specialist for Secret Spot SA de CV