On Friday, I headed out with Al and two guests who were scouting for a future project. The seas were fairly calm, but water visibility was varied depending on
our exact location. At 16:22 we saw something leaping in the distance and on our way to investigate, we passed a small group of bottlenose dolphins. It turns out we were seeing lots of surface activity from a mixed species group up ahead – both bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins. I wasn’t able to get many individual IDs as the group was keeping their distance from the boat and on the move. In this photo, it appears that the bottlenose were in pursuit of the spotteds (at least at this moment!). I did see un-named #75 (an adult male) and possibly Buster (#04). A short time later, I saw Leslie (#80), Lil’ Jess (#35) and possibly Cerra (#38) each with calf in tow and un-named #93 riding the bow! We got a good look at a juvenile male under water; I can’t wait to review the video to see if this guy will be a new addition to our catalog or if he’s an already cataloged youngster who just got a lot of new spots in the off-season.
We had several more water entries including two with Lone Star (#56). She appeared to have her own calf and someone else’s. It also appeared that the adults got bored with the humans first, but the youngsters might have preferred to stick around. It was great being back on the water after a short break at the beginning of the month. Hopefully the winds will cooperate so we can get a few more trips in next week!
Until then,
Kel