Today, Friday, dawned bright after an evening of thunderstorms that affected the early AM underwater visibility. Still, I was able to collect data during an early morning session and a second morning session on our last day at RIMS/AKR for 2015. Champ and Calli were as attentive as ever to me in the early morning as were French, Ronnie and Ritchie. Even Bailey spent a bit of time investigating the hydrophones.
The second morning session brought better underwater visibility (up to ~3.5 meters but still silty). And, I was able to observe Paya and Maury swimming together in a group that also included Beasley, Alita, Gracie and Tilly. Tilly is growing by leaps and bounds but still hangs more with her mom, Gracie, than any one else. At least while I am observing!
Our DCP RIMS 2015 team spent some time in the water with the dolphins today also! They had an encounter Maury on the beach, as you can see in this photo, and then swam for about a half hour with the group. Several games of seaweed toss and tag were enjoyed by all! Members of our team also enjoyed the dolphins’ vocalizations – many whistles and echolocation click trains were audible.
Tomorrow is our travel day home – and Halloween! Bill regaled us with his pirate costume this evening … He got his trick-or-treating in a day early since I doubt they will allow it on the plane!
I’ll upload a summary of our data collection details once I’ve returned home and caught up a bit.
Thanks for reading and sharing our field season from afar!
Cheers
Kathleen & the DCP RIMS 2015 team!