Baja Wildlife Expedition Trip Report 2025

Trip # 2
May 3 - 10, 2025

 May 4, 2025 –Day One
The week begins. Our new group arrived yesterday, and today we kicked off day one of the expedition.

It’s a beautiful morning—clear skies, no clouds, and just a light breeze. It might get bumpy later, but we're hoping conditions hold.

We’re headed south in search of pilot whales. They were seen yesterday, so we’re hoping to catch up to them.

We left the dock at 8:00 AM. Judging by the parking lot, there are a lot of boats out today. We’ll see what Baja has in store for us.

11:00 AM
Not much action so far. We did come across a small smooth hammerhead slowly finning at the surface. We followed it for a bit, hoping it would approach the boat, but it kept its distance. We moved on.

12:32 PM
We encountered a super pod of common dolphins—hundreds of them, but they were in a hurry. We enjoyed a short session following them from the boat. These dolphins are notoriously shy in the water, so we didn’t attempt to jump in. Beautiful to watch, though.

3:38 PM
We’re headed back in. It was a quiet day on the water, but still beautiful. We followed a fast-moving pod of bottlenose dolphins for a while.

They swam alongside the boat briefly before continuing on their way.

Just before heading in, we found a lone humpback whale—very shy and kept its distance, so we respected that and left it alone.

Today, we covered 119 nautical miles. We searched hard, covered a lot of ocean, and while encounters were limited, the conditions were peaceful.

That’s the thing about Baja… you never know what the day will bring.

May 5, 2025 – Day Two

We woke up to a cloudy, windy morning. Knowing the wind was only going to get worse, we decided to head out early—leaving port at 7:00 AM in hopes of getting ahead of it.

Unfortunately, by the time we reached the mobula ray area, the wind was already whipping.

Still, we spotted promising signs of life. A large group of birds—mainly pelicans with a few frigates mixed in—were feeding on a fast-moving baitball. As we watched, a pod of bottlenose dolphins arrived, made a quick pass, and just as quickly moved on.

Our first baitball of the season.

We continued to the mobula zone and found plenty of rays, but the water was green and murky, with growing whitecaps.

The swell was building fast, and conditions were far from ideal.

Instead of getting in the water, we opted to shoot topside photos. The mobulas were jumping like crazy, giving us some great opportunities from the boat without having to jump into the soup.

By late morning, I made the call to head in early. The conditions just weren’t worth forcing it today.

Tomorrow is another day.

May 6, 2025 – Day Three

We left port a little later today. The morning started off windy, so we waited for conditions to improve, hoping the wind would die down by afternoon.

By 10:00 AM, we were underway. It’s a beautiful day, clear skies and plenty of sun, with a slight breeze on the coast line, that is much stronger out on the open ocean. No mountains to protect us from the wind out there.

We decided to head north in search of mobula rays. If we don’t find any, we’ll make our way to the sea lion colony at La Reina instead.

Excited to see what the day brings.

We ended up visiting the sea lion colony. It was still a bit windy, with a noticeable chill in the air. The wind stirred up the water, making visibility a challenge in a spot that’s usually stunning.

Rather than jumping in, I chose to stay topside and focus on capturing stills and video of the energy above the surface. The water was a bit murky, I didn’t think the in-water opportunities would be as good as the topside stuff.

5:47 PM – Heading In

The afternoon was completely quiet. The ocean felt like a ghost town. Normally when the waters get this quiet it usually means there are predators lurking about.

We left the sea lions and started traveling South. We were hoping to run into something along the way. The empty ocean felt heavy.

We saw a small smooth hammerhead finning at the surface and caught glimpses of marlin breaching in the distance, but no dolphins, no whales, and no large predators.

A long day at sea—but that’s how it goes out here. We covered ground, put in the work, and tomorrow… tomorrow might just be our day.

May 7, 2025 – Day Four

We departed at 8:00 AM this morning under beautiful conditions—calm seas, light wind, and a perfectly blue sky.

The kind of day you dream about on the water.

We’ve been running for a while now—probably 20+ miles offshore—headed toward an area where pilot whales were spotted yesterday. We didn’t see them ourselves, but a few other boats did. Not sure how close those encounters were, but they’re out here.

So today, we’re in search of the pilots… or whatever else Baja decides to show us.

10:30 AM – We found them!
Pilot whales.
Such beautiful animals.

We tried a few in-water drops, the first ones were good, but the later drops they were avoiding us. So we switched gears and started following them from the surface with topside cameras and the drone. Another boat had been with them earlier, but they left—so now it's just us and the pod.

They’re hunting right now, so we’re giving them space. Sometimes, if you give them time to settle, they’ll come play later.

This pod is huge—easily 60 to 100 individuals, though very spread out. They’ve been tough to approach, and it really made me appreciate my time with pilot whales in Dominica. That encounter was incredibly special.

We did have a beautiful moment this morning when several whales came right up to the bow. Pure magic.

2:20 PM – Heading in.

We spent the entire day with the pilot whales. They were shy overall, so most of our encounters were from the surface. A few of them were curious enough to approach a bit closer during jumps, but for the most part, they kept a safe distance.

Because the pod was so large and so spread out, it was difficult to find and stay with the friendlier individuals. Still, it was a great day. Calm water, a lot of whales, and plenty of time in the field.

I can’t help but wonder—is their presence keeping the orcas away?
Even though orcas are stronger and larger, pilot whales often travel in massive groups, and they’re known to harass orcas when they cross paths. My guess? The orcas are giving them space.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

May 8, 2025 – Day Five

The morning started out beautiful. The Bay was flat calm, the sun was out and not a cloud in the sky.

But there was more bad weather on the horizon. So we left early, hoping to get ahead of the high winds forecasted for this afternoon.

Our first plan was to search for mobula rays, then we followed a promising report of bottlenose dolphins—possibly pilot whales or something else. The report however was about 3 miles offshore.

Conditions were manageable at first, but the further out we went, the ride got bumpier, and we had to turn back.

We returned to the mobulas and managed a few more jumps with them. Visibility wasn’t great, but the energy was good and we managed to snap a few keepers from the session.

After a few jumps, we stopped for lunch.

While we were enjoying tacos, a drone pilot from another boat spotted something unusual—a 7 plus foot mako shark cruising the surface. Tacos were immediately forgotten.

Seven foot makos are extremely rare. Most makos are in the 4-6 foot range, so the chance to see it was pretty exciting.

We geared up quickly and got in the water for a closer look. What we thought would be a single, quick jump turned into three or four drops, chasing opportunities to grab some proof-of-life shots of this big, beautiful mako. Its belly was clearly full—no doubt packed with mobula rays—which might explain why it was so calm and tolerant of our presence.

It was an incredible encounter. That shark, paired with the mobulas, was easily the highlight of the day.

But we paid a price… the ride home was rough.

As we made our way back into the bay, the wind and swell kept building. The conditions turned chaotic, and we got kicked around all the way in. We didn’t like it, but the kite surfers and foil boarders were loving it.

Where our day in paradise was ending, theirs was just beginning.

While we huddled up, dealing with the waves and chop, they were out there riding the wild energy of the sea that had just kicked the hell out of us.

It made me smile watching these guys.

I was standing there drenched from the ride home, looking like a drowned chicken and they were out there as happy as can be.

Another day in Baja… unpredictable, humbling, and unforgettable.

May 9, 2025 – Day Six

We woke up to a perfect Baja morning—warm, flat calm seas, and a few high clouds scattered across the sky. After a week of fighting wind and swell, we needed this break in the weather.

We headed out in search of orcas, hoping to close out the trip with something unforgettable for our guests. I want them to experience the very best of Baja. Fingers crossed, hearts open. Here's to chasing magic on our final day.

1:33 PM
Unfortunately, today turned into a skunker.

The forecast called for 8 knots of wind, but it kept building and building until the ocean became too rough to continue. The further out we went, the bigger the swells got. Eventually, we had to admit defeat and head back in.

I’m still so thankful for the five amazing hours we spent with the pilot whales a few days ago—that memory is carrying us through the disappointment.

To avoid a brutal ride back in the growing wind, we diverted to another marina farther south. It’s well protected, and our captain dropped us off there to keep us from getting pounded by the sea. Grateful for that call.

While we waited for our taxi, we grabbed our masks and snorkels and jumped into the bay—beautiful, clear turquoise-green water with hundreds of tiny puffer fish darting beneath us.

Our captain explained that local fishermen clean their catch in the bay, and the puffers come in to snack on the scraps. It was an unexpected bonus, and we took full advantage—a quick, joyful session with a crowd of cute little ocean weirdos.

One last animal fix before calling it a day.

It’s always tough when weather works against you. We wanted more—we always want more—but nature had other plans this week.

Still, I’m so grateful for everything we saw, for the magic that did show up, and for the incredible group of friends who joined me on this trip.

Thank you Baja for your magic!