La Ventana Stories

 Humpback Whales

Posted on by María Rodriguez-Salinas

 Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Winter is a special time of the year. We get the wind that brings joy to many, and we get some special visitors: whales! From the ones in our area, the most common and acrobatic are humpback whales.

Humpbacks are baleen whales, meaning they don’t have teeth, but keratine plates, packed tight together forming a comb-like structure. The baleen works like a giant sieve for filtering small prey.

Found worldwide, in the Northern Hemisphere, they migrate every year between their high-latitude summer feeding grounds to their low-latitude breeding grounds, where they mate and calve during the winter. Adult males measure between 11.5-15m (37.5-49ft) and females are usually a bit bigger, 12-16m (39-52ft). They are easy to distinguish from other whales by their long flippers and their dorsal fin on top of a distinctive hump. They are more active on the surface than any other whale, performing beautiful acrobatics like breaching, and slapping their pectoral fins and tails (lobtailing).

The ones visiting us yearly breed around Cabo area and migrate north for the summer, to Canada or north of the US. They mate between December and March, the pregnant females will return after around 11 months to give birth. Humpbacks usually don´t feed here, so they must feed intensively in the summer. They feed on small fish like anchovies, herring, or sardines, and krill. Sometimes humpbacks can be seen opportunistic feeding in Baja, like on the big sardine balls of the Pacific, who can resist a good snack?

Another special thing about humpback whales is their songs. Females and males produce a wide variety of vocalizations, but only males sing. They create the longest and most complex songs in the animal kingdom.

Humpback whales can be identified by the unique patterns on the underside of their flukes and the serrations on the edges. Photographing a whale fluke, the individual can be recognized. If you take a good photo of underneath the whale tale, you can send it to happywhale.com, where they will try to find a match to your photo. This way, through citizen science, we can see their movement through different years, which is pretty cool! 

Humpbacks are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, after recovering from the brink of extinction from the whaling times. They are certainly very special creatures and seeing them in our bay every year brings us lots of joy! María Rodriguez-Salinas maria.rodsalinas@gmail.com, salinasmaria.com

Warm, not very windy, and very sunny: Snakes

Posted on by Chance Stevens

The last few days have been warm, not very windy, and very sunny. When you put these three things together, you get snakes!

On Sunday I went on three separate snake-searching expeditions: one in the morning, one in the early afternoon, and one in the late afternoon. I could tell serpents would be out by the amount of lizards scampering about the desert.

In the morning, I found very little in the way of snakes, but some whiptail lizards were darting to and fro, and a few Zebra-Tailed Lizards were relaxing in the sun, waving their tails in the air like irritated cats. I even saw an occasional spiny lizard sitting in the sun, never too far from a hiding place.

On the afternoon trip, even more lizards were out, but I still didn’t see any signs of snakes, so I decided to check on some brush piles in which I had seen coachwhips earlier this winter. The first few piles had ground squirrels lounging on top, a sure sign that no snakes would be present. However, as I approached, one smaller pile started rustling and I had found my first snake of the day!

Finding a coachwhip and catching a coachwhip are Very Different Things. Unlike many large snakes, coachwhips are able to move at amazing speeds, though this one didn’t need any amazing speed because it already had a foolproof hideout. I returned a bit later to see if the snake had re-emerged and, although I could tell that it had, it was like trying to catch a lightning-fast, perfectly camouflaged piece of hay in a needle stack. 

The third outing of the day revealed many snake tracks on the roads, at least for February, but they all seemed a bit old. Judging by the tracks, my guess is that snakes are really out from around 2:30 to 4pm this time of year.

As for which kinds of snakes you may see, most of the tracks were smaller and had the typical curves of fast-moving snakes, so I think they are likely young Baja California Coachwhips and Western Patch-Nosed Snakes, though rattlesnakes are out as well. This is still pretty early for springtime snake movement, so my guess is once this little heat wave goes by, the snakes will retreat back underground until the warmer weather of the first real spring days. Chance Stevens chancestevens123@icloud.com

Breeding season is coming!

Posted on by Chance Stevens

We have made it into March! You know the old saying: March comes in like a lamb, and goes out like a lion. Well, as far as reptiles are concerned, it is very accurate! We are on the fringe of the reptile breeding season and, as temperatures warm, the snakes really start coming out. Be careful on the bike trails because, yes, there are rattlesnakes, but I mostly watch out for snakes crossing trails, since many get run over by cyclists.

On Saturday, I came across a large snake track crossing a dirt road and followed it towards a large bush. After checking the bush, I continued in the direction the snake had been moving and, to my surprise and delight, there was a large Baja California Coachwhip sprawled out in some old palm husks. Finding coachwhips is the easy part; catching them, however, is an entirely different matter.

I crept up and the snake recoiled under a husk. As I got closer, it seemed the snake had nowhere to go, so I quickly lifted the husk only to see the tail disappearing into an adjacent bush. I raced around to the other side of the bush trying to spot it. A movement caught my eye from across the clearing. It was the coachwhip! Apparently, it had teleported across the clearing. I watched as it smugly slithered into a brush pile and knew that I had been defeated.

Spring Reptile Walks! Our next walk will start at the Las Palmas Trailhead, north of town. At 9am on Friday, March 15th. We will be heading up the Las Palmas Arroyo in search of San Lucan Rock Lizards. Be ready for a longer walk in search of these beautiful endemics. chancestevens123@icloud.com

Spring Reptile Walks

Posted on by Chance Stevens

Announcing: Spring Reptile Walks! The snake season is finally returning, and I am planning on hosting three or four reptile walks this early spring, starting on Sunday, March 3rd. Let’s meet at 9:30am at the Punta Gorda trailhead north of town. It is a bit difficult to schedule dates farther into the future, as we are looking for warm, no-wind days, so I will try to schedule walks about a week in advance. chancestevens123@icloud.com

Hammond’s Flycatcher

Posted on by David Bird

What do Baird’s junco and sandpiper, Bonapartes gull, Brewer’s sparrow and blackbird, Cassin’s kingbird and vireo, Costas hummingbird, Forster’s tern, Harris’s hawk, Cooper’s hawk, Hutton’s vireo, Lincoln’s sparrow, Scott’s oriole, and Wilson’s warbler have in common, besides being found here on the Baja Peninsula? If you concluded that they are all named after people, you are partly correct. But did you know that they will also be receiving new names sometime in the coming year? This announcement on November 3 by the American Ornithological Society, which is officially in charge of deciding North American bird names basically means that we will no longer call Cooper’s hawks Cooper’s hawks or Costa’s hummingbird Costa’s hummingbird.

It is a decision meant to dissociate these birds from what are called problematic eponyms. Probably the best example of this dilemma is Hammond’s flycatcher (found in the northern half of the Baja Peninsula) is named after William Alexander Hammond, a former U.S. Surgeon-General who held the view that the mental and/or physical faculties of both Black folks and Indigenous peoples were not much higher than those of an organ grinder monkey!! There are many other examples whereupon someone currently honoured with a bird named him condoned slavery, for example. I was actually engaged in a Zoom conversation with over 100 North American ornithologists and birders about this very matter three or four years ago.

I recall having strong mixed feelings about it because I thought that it seemed a wee bit unfair to take away the legacy of bonafide, deserving people like John Cassin, a former curator of ornithology at the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences, who has a kingbird and vireo found here in our region named after him. William Cooper of Cooper’s hawk fame was no slouch in the field of ornithology either. Costa’s hummingbird, the most common of its kind in our town, was named after Louis Marie Pantaleon Costa who was a collector of hummingbirds (incidentally, that means that he shot or trapped them for a taxidermy collection!). However, I also understand that to cherry-pick the birds named after possibly bad people could take years of bitter debate and that perhaps giving the birds names that somehow connect the person viewing them with a geographical and/or physical identity to help them ascertain the species in the field is not a bad idea.

The good news for those having birds named after them though is that the Latin names will not be changed, thus preserving the legacies of deserving folks who discovered or first described the birds in the scientific literature. The really big winners in all this, of course, will be active authors and book publishers involved with bird reference volumes and field guides because these name changes, once decided upon and written in stone, will automatically mean that all of the current books on our shelves will become as obsolete as the birds’ common names. Maybe not a huge headache considering that we are all headed toward electronic field guides in any case. And perhaps a small price to pay for doing the right thing in today’s society. David M. Bird david.bird@mcgill.ca

Baja Bites

Posted on by Natalie Smith

Known most famously for their mouth-watering fish tacos and tantalizing chili oil, Baja Bites has become quite a poppin lunch spot in La Ventana🤙🌶️🤤💥.

Paula and Alex, the owners, are both originally from different parts of Mexico and just like many of us, they met doing windsports in 1982 in Cancun. Quickly, they quickly fell in love and then with this town for its proximity to the outdoors. They now call this place home. Their favorite thing being that they can step out their front door to go biking and fishing. They are especially grateful for La Ventana’s chill vibe.

The two of them opened Baja Bites officially in 2017 out of a small trailer with a shark mouth painted on the front of it (see slide 4). You may remember that in the beginning there were just three taco options: yellowtail, shrimp, and marlin. Now, the menu features not only various taco options but also soups, salads, and baked goods. Although Alex can’t decide between the yellowtail or Tuna taco being his favorite item on the menu, he can confidently say that he is dedicated to serving good, fresh and local fish. 

Come and see for yourselves! Make sure to bring along your pup and Alex will surprise them with a generous serving of fish. The Baja Bites team is always ready to greet you with a warm smile and excellent service! 

⏰Open Mon – Sat, 11am-3:30pm

📍In El Teso next to KM0 & Diamanté reality. 

📸 Crew pictured above left to right: Roman, Angel, Paula, Alex & Mona.

San Diego Natural History Museum

Posted on by Chance Stevens

First of all, this week, I would like to deeply thank Adam Clause, Prof. Brad Hollingsworth, and the San Diego Natural History Museum for all they have done for me. For all of the people driving up or down Baja come spring, I would highly recommend stopping by the San Diego Natural History Museum. They have an amazing Baja exhibit, some beautiful reptiles, and loads more interesting stuff.

Here in LV/ES, the last few days have been very windy and cold, and most of the local reptiles are underground at the moment. I am planning another set of reptile walks in mid to late March, but it is hard to plan ahead when no wind is crucial.

In the meantime, I have been working on a new seasonal pond for our resident toad population. Because of a newly installed berm, their old pond has been closed off, so this summer it will not fill with water. I have a good location for the new pond, but am still in need of some way to keep the water from seeping into the soil. I am seeking clay, if anyone knows where I can find some. If not, the toads will just have to lose their dignity and use my back-up plan, a kiddy pool. Next week I will return for a normal column. chancestevens123@icloud.com

Mariscos El Cone

Posted on by Natalie Smith

Announcing: Meet the Owner series! 👫

Join us as we share the stories of LV local restaurants and businesses. We will be interviewing owners over the next few months and finding out all about their choices to create these epic spots!

To kick start things off, we will begin with Mariscos El Cone! 🐠🍤🎣🐡🐟

Packed every night of the wind season with chatter of friends and families diving into the rich dishes, Mariscos Al Cone is known and loved by all. What some may not know is that the Mariscos Al Cone we see today is much different than the original restaurant Raymundo and Neyreda started eighteen years ago. Both born and raised in El Sargento, Raymundo and Nereyda have deep ties to this town and community. He is a longtime fisherman, and at the beginning of their gastronomic journey, they would catch goats on the island to sell the meat in Machaca burritos. Her goal was always to start a business, so they took what they knew and created this delicious seafood restaurant!

Their son, Hernan, is also an active part of this business and can be seen onsite more often than not. Hernan found it impossible to select a favorite dish, instead he let me know the most popular dishes: Camarones Rellenos, Pescado a la plancha and Tataki. A first stop for many expats and a longtime spot for many locals, there isn’t a disappointing dish on the menu.

Regulars may be familiar with William, their sweet 14-year old dog, who can be seen lounging out front (slide 4) or beside your table with eyes for whatever you have in front of you. Like William, Hernan loves that La Ventana is such a tight knit community, where people are familiar and deeply connected to each other. When stepping foot into their restaurant, we can see the strong community crystal clear. Come for a happy hour, stay for dinner and meet the whole town!

⏰ Open Monday – Saturday 8am – 9pm, Sundays 8pm – 8pm

📍 Located: on the main road directly across the street form Delfines mercado.
Try their new dish: Lobster 🦞

Spinner Dolphins

Posted on by María Rodriguez-Salinas

Spinner dolphins. One of the last new encounters I really enjoyed, was a playful pod of Spinner Dolphins (Stenella longirostris). It was the first time I ever saw these animals, and now it’s on my top list and I’m looking forward to seeing them again! They are super fun creatures, and the joy and energy they radiate is contagious. Surrounding our boat and swimming with us, spinning and making lots of noise, they filled us up with their joy and put a big smile on our faces.

Locally known as Tornillos (screws), they get their name from their spectacular acrobatic and aerial behavior. They leap out from the water into the air 3 meters (around 9 feet) and spin around their longitudinal axis repeatedly. They can turn up to 7 times before they fall back into the water! They seem to become especially acrobatic after they change from resting behavior to foraging. It’s believed these behaviors are primarily for acoustic signaling or communication, but can also be a way to remove ectoparasites, such as remoras, or courtship behavior.

They inhabit tropical and sub-tropical waters worldwide, with 4 different subspecies, very different from each other in form and color pattern. They are probably one of the most abundant dolphins in the world. Spinner dolphins are relatively small compared with other species. The species’ name, longirostris, is Latin for “long beak,” referring to their elongated rostrum.

Individual dolphins can be identified by their unique dorsal fins. Researchers take photographs of the dolphins’ dorsal fins and then match the shape, nicks, and notches in each fin to a catalog of known individuals.

Spinner dolphins feed at night on species including small fish, shrimp, and squid, diving sometimes more than 600m (1900 ft) to find food. They rest during the day normally, all together in a tight formation.

They are listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List, but the eastern subspecies, which is the one in Baja, is listed as Vulnerable.

Next time you are out in the sea, if you happen to find some very playful dolphins, a bit smaller and with a long beak, breaching, and spinning non-stop, chances are you found them! María Rodriguez-Salinas maria.rodsalinas@gmail.com, salinasmaria.com

Road Runners

Posted on by Natalie Smith

With the stars, the weather, the reptiles, and the creatures of the underwater reefs all getting regular airtime on the Ventana View, I think that it is only fair that our feathered friends get some attention too. And I cannot think of a better subject to start with than the greater roadrunner! Believe me, they look nothing like that bird (Beep Beep!) featured in the long-running Warner Brothers cartoon series! In fact, they look a lot like a highly emaciated light brown chicken with a long skinny tail! Roadrunners reach two feet from sturdy bill to white tail tip, with a bushy blue-black crest and mottled plumage that blends well with dusty shrubs. While they occasionally take flight for short distances, boy, can they run! They have been clocked at speeds up to 26 miles per hour or 42 kilometers an hour, the fastest on record for any flying species on the planet. When they run, they place their head and tail parallel to the ground and use their tail as a rudder to help change direction. While we have had them the odd time showing up briefly in our backyard here in the Baja, I have not yet found a way to entice the little rascals with food. However, I do know they like human chow because I saw one hanging around a wee fast-food tent where the cook was throwing out scraps near the Cabo airport. These monogamous birds lay three to six eggs in thorny platform nests lined with everything from grasses to feathers to snakeskins. And yes, roadrunners do kill and eat rattlesnakes (sorry, Chance!). They usually work in pairs with one distracting the serpent while the second bird moves in for the kill. Their scaly legs and feather coat make it hard for the snakes to land any bites. However, roadrunners mainly subsist on a diet of insects, spiders, lizards, and any other small creatures they can catch. The oldest roadrunner on record to date made it to seven years old, but I suspect that they can live longer than that. They are one of my favourite birds down here in Mexico, always giving me a thrill when they dart across the road in front of me. david.bird@mcgill.ca