WHALE SEASON HAS COME TO AN END for 2024
The Tribe at Whale Magic Tours and Baja Magic want to thank our guests & the whales for making 2024 a great season in Laguna Ojo de Liebre! We had a lot of fun playing with mostly mating trios who would take time out of their courtship to win our affection too. The weather was terrific with mostly calm days due to the El Nino phenomenon resulting in warmer water temps. Sirena, Aldo & Danny enjoyed hosting our guests on the beach at Whale Camp.
We really enjoyed everyone gathering for breakfast & lunch at the Hacienda Baja Magic. It has been a great home base for our Whale Magic operations and our guests loved being able to stay onsite in our private hotel rooms, RV camping area, glamping tents and the family bunkhouse. We should have a few more rooms for 2025 as we develop the grounds. Baja Magic hacienda is open all year for travelers so stop in and stay with us any time of the year! We operate a variety of fun tours year round!
The Gray whale numbers were a down a bit this year. We had about 758 whales in the lagoon at the peak in February with about 180 moms and babies. it’s possible that because whales are feeding a month longer up north, most calves are being born on the migration route which means a lower survival rate. We observed lots of mating throughout February and the muggings of many whales around the pangas continued to delight whale watchers this season. We had friendly encounters on all tours starting in late January until mid March.
We did notice that mothers were protecting their calves much more this season and not bringing them to the pangas as often as they used to…probably due to the low survival rate of the calves…so they really need to take extra precautions.
There were many more juveniles in the lagoon this season and whales seemed in pretty good body shape with only a few emaciated whales. In mid March whales were notable thinner and they began to leave the lagoon a couple weeks earlier than usual as they needed to get north to feed.
Here is how the season progressed.
GRAY WHALE CENSUS: LAGUNA OJO DE LIEBRE 2024 TOTAL
15 Jan/24 14 cow/calf pairs 14 individuals 42
24 Jan/24 55 cow/calf pairs 84 individuals 194
29 Jan/24 117 cow/calf pairs 136 individuals 370
12 Feb/24 179 cow/calf pairs 236 individuals 594
19 Feb/24 177 cow/calf pairs 404 individuals 758
26 Feb/24 180 cow/calf pairs 269 individuals 629
14 Mar/24 27 cow/calf pairs 71 individuals 125
28 Mar/24 14 cow/calf pairs 11 individuals 39
Now I will spend the next 2 months pouring over whale ID photos & videos, reliving the season day by day as I examine, edit photos for ID & compile the data gathered this season! Stay tuned to the Whale Magic Tours Facebook page for some fun whale stories as I go through this seasons photos.
2025 INNOVATIONS
Thanks to many of our clients’ suggestions for improving our operations, we are working on a new format to streamline the reservation process so there will be less human error in all the countless emails back and forth. It will take awhile to implement but should really help free up time for me to spend more time doing what I love which is being with whales….and less time on the computer.
As I am realizing at my ripe old age of 68, perhaps I need to take a step back from day-to-day operations and focus on what makes me happy and fulfilled…which is taking people to play with whales after introducing them to the wonders of Gray Whale life that I enjoy presenting to my guests.
I very much appreciate all of you who spread the word about Whale Magic and shared your experiences in posts and reviews. We are growing every year and I simply cannot guide 2 trips a day anymore. I am proud to have my daughter Sirena guiding & running Whale Camp and grateful for our docents Diane & Felicitas who guided wonderful tours this season. I have decided to take a step back from guiding so many tours for my health and well-being but certainly want to continue leading tours.
To that end, next season I am going to try something new. I am designing a new program that is a more intimate experience, a more in-depth whale adventure focusing on education, observation, reflection & discussion about the Gray whales struggles and joys and preserving & protecting their habitat. I want to foster a deeper understanding of the whale world with my guests who want to experience it.
I am not sure what to call it but it will be a Premium Package with 3 nights at our Hacienda Baja Magic and 3 days of hanging out with whales with me as your guide. I will soon have the details worked out and will post the new package here on our website.
Thanks again to all our wonderful guests and our whale friends for a terrific 2024 season!
The mothers and calves couldn’t really approach the pangas much with all the commotion of so many frisky whales at the boats. When the mating whales finally left the lagoon the first couple weeks of March, only then could the mothers and babies get close to us for some nice mother and calf interactions.
We finally have a few hundred whales in Laguna Ojo de Liebre! We only did a few trips in January as there were so few whales here but now dozens more are showing up every day and we have over 300 in the lagoon now. There are more mothers and calves than last season which is very encouraging and the moms have been starting to bring the babies over to the boat to meet us! To see videos and photos of this check out the Whale Magic Tours page on Facebook for daily updates.
We have been getting mugged by friendly whales every day this week so the contact has been fantastic as well as beautiful calm weather. The mating action is hot and heavy with mating trios everywhere!
We are filling up fast so if you want to come out and play with whales with us please make a reservation by sending an email to whalemagictours@gmail.com
What a smile!
The 2022 whale season in Laguna Ojo de Liebre has gotten off to a fantastic start! The whales arrived very late this year so things were slow in January with very few whales but these first two weeks of February have been incredible….the best whale interactions I have ever experienced in 40 years of whale watching!!! There is courtship and mating everywhere you look and the whales are in excellent shape this year…fat and happy! We dont have many calves and the moms are just starting to bring them to the pangas. We have been getting “mugged” by several whales at a time every trip and they are super friendly, delighting all our guests. See the Whale Magic Tours Facebook page for daily updates, photos and videos. Here are some highlights of the last couple weeks.
2022 has finally arrived and we are excited to play with whales starting on January 15! Many dates are already full so contact us at whalemagictours@gmail.com for available dates this season!
We cant wait to see those adorable babies!
Hi there whale fans! 2021 is drawing to a close and we are waiting to see our first migrating Gray Whales…they have been spotted in California lately! Our 2022 season is filling up fast as travel is unrestricted now and people are wanting to do things they missed last year so book as soon as you can to get the date you want!
Our 2021 season has sadly come to an end…a huge thank you to all our dedicated staff and those of you who braved a pandemic to come and play with whales. Stay tuned for the recap of this whale season!
March 28 We are in our last week of whale season now…sadly! Whales are leaving every day but we are still having great encounters. Here are the videos of the week. Our last day was a wonderful way to say hasta luego to my whale friends…I got lots of loving in! I will miss you all and wish you all a safe journey north to the feeding grounds!
March 15 The season is winding down and whales are starting to leave. WE will likely be operating till the end of March if there are still whales to see. The wind has been relentless but the friendly whale action is still non stop! Here are a couple videos of the last few days.
Feb 28/21 The whale action just keeps getting better….best i have ever seen in 30 years in the lagoon so dont miss out! Still lots of time to come down and join the fun s we head into March!
Years can go by and we don’t actually see a whale penis but the last few days we have seen several…..the whales are mating like mad to try to get their numbers back up after losing so many the last 3 years due to starvation. Here are a few examples of the Pink Floyd!
Feb 25/21 This week has been the absolute best whale encounters I have ever experienced in my 40 years of guiding whale tours. I have never experienced so many whales playing with the panga all at once! They are enjoying our love & affections as much as we are. We still have seats left on our pangas for this season so email me for reservations…don’t miss out on this amazing whale season!
FEB 18 was a spectacular day on the lagoon..mating whales everywhere, breaching, spy hopping and mugged by 8 friendly whales!
February 15 2021 OUTSTANDING WHALE ENCOUNTERS EVERY DAY!!!
The whale experiences over the last 2 weeks has been incredible with friendly whales on every trip so far…yesterday we had 4 friendlies who just couldn’t get enough attention from us!
There are over 1,000 whales now in the lagoon but there aren’t very many babies this season but there are mating trios everywhere you look so we expect a bumper crop in 2022! Due to covid restrictions we can only take a few people at a time in the pangas, we do check temperatures before setting out, masks & sanitizing are mandatory.
Here are some highlights of the last couple weeks starting with some mother & baby interactions.
right in front of our camp! 
open wide! 
I see you!
January 27th 2021 FIRST FRIENDLY WHALE!!!!
This was the first calm day all week and a mother whale took advantage to nudge her baby up to the panga to introduce her to humans! She pushed it up to the boat several times and showed the baby it was OK to receive love from us! The mother was very healthy which is a good sign she found the food she needed to survive the migration & birthing. More whales are entering the lagoon every day now!
January 21st 2021
The Whale Magic seasons opener was terrific! Our first group enjoyed a beautiful flat calm day on the lagoon where we saw dozens of whales, many cow/calf pairs and a frisky male who breached 8 times close to our panga!
temperatures taken before boarding the van 
social distancing& keeping safe in the panga 
this baby was resting on it’s mom’s back 
the jumper! 
The first calf we spent time with was interesting as it was opening it’s mouth all the time which is very unusual. It’s mother slept the entire half hour we spent observing them while the baby we called Barbie swam in circles around her, slid up onto her back and rested across her nose and tail. Upon looking at my photographs, I saw the reason for the odd open mouth behavior was that she had whale lice all around her lips and some kind of gum disease on both sides of her mouth which probably caused discomfort. She seemed strong and playful so she must be nursing OK. We will be monitoring her health…I hope she makes it!
Barbie squirted water out her mouth to relieve the discomfort of the lice
The Whale Magic Tribe are getting everything ready for our 2021 season! Despite the chaos, we are looking forward to wonderful whale encounters. With fewer boats going out, the whales are going to be even more friendly than usual!
We are Covid compliant with masks, hand washing stations, antibiotic gel and will take your temperature upon arrival.
If you have been tested or vaccinated please bring your results.
There may be some restrictions on how many people in pangas & vans but the situation is ever changing. At the moment groups that are traveling together have no limitations.
FIRST MIGRATING WHALES SPOTTED
We saw two juvenile Gray whales migrating very close to shore right off my patio in Bahia Asuncion on Dec.7th! All indicators point to the migration being back on schedule & possibly even a bit early. This means hopefully whales will begin to arrive in the lagoon later this month.
The whale watching season officially begins Dec.15th but pangas don’t start operating until there are several whales inside the lagoon to watch.
Now in mid December we are seeing Gray whales migrating nearly every day so they are on their way down!