Kathleen, Justin and Kel – Oh, My!

BIM13_T16_LilJess_C2On Saturday, Kathleen and Justin arrived on Bimini, marking the first time that we have all been together at one of DCP’s field sites – ever! It took us no time to get to chatting about all things DCP. Before we knew it, it was definitely time to call it a night as we have a big week ahead of us…

On Sunday morning, we all met at the Sea Crest while awaiting the arrival of the BBC film crew we’ll be working with this week. After a short delay, we headed into the breeze in search of dolphins. Although there was more of a chop than we would have liked, the dolphins could not have been more cooperative. Just before 2 p.m., we saw a large group of spotted dolphins – at least 20! They were surfing the swells and we saw Lil’ Jess (#35), (presumably) her calf (pictured here, taking a breath together) and Tilly (#87). Once in the water, we also saw Inka (#93) and, we think, Leslie’s calf. Wonder if we’ll be able to find Leslie (#80) in the video…

As the dolphins departed, we looked around, and then suddenly there were four bottlenose dolphins. These dolphins went right to the bottom and were gone moments later. Back on the boat, we looked for more dolphins, and did not have to wait long. This time, it was a group of four spotteds, all older. Included in this group were Romeo (#10) and Tim (#69). We ended our day with a third sighting of nine dolphins – Romeo (#10) seemed to have joined some other dolphins, including two young calves. Lots of data to analyze!

Tomorrow, another day on the water!

Until then,

Kel, Kathleen & Justin