It had been nearly a week since we got a good swim…
Today we had a group of one-day passengers, all eager to see and swim with the Atlantic spotted dolphins. It was a quiet trip most of the way, but we did get to see a large group–that kept getting larger! Some regulars were there, like #12 (Juliette), #22 (Split Jaw) and #56 (Lone Star), but the entire group was much more interested in each other than us or our boat. There were obvious mating behaviors going on as well as some playful feeding behaviors. One dolphin held a fish in its mouth for what felt like ten minutes! The individuals in the group kept changing as well as the group’s direction of travel. We got in the water just before sunset to see if they would let us film them. They stayed in view for a short period of time, although continued to be more interested in their own agenda than any of us.
Still a great day though! Tomorrow and Friday will be filled with video logging and identification of still photos. Dolphin trips start on Saturday and go through Thursday. Then it’s wrap up time on Friday and Saturday and we’ll be state-side on Sunday. Boy, did the summer fly by….
Until next time,
Kel and Darcie