Tuesday was my second chance to join this week’s Bimini Adventures group. Our departure was delayed due to a strange squall that was developing immediately to the east. The rain was forming before our very eyes, yet the squall wasn’t actually moving! Eventually we decided we needed to risk the wet weather and get away from the dock. Though we had a late start, the dolphins appeared very early in the trip, yet again! The first dolphin group we sighted was somewhere between six and ten individuals; they were so scattered it was hard to get a firm group count. But, in the mix were Paul (#99), two other juveniles, an older calf/young juvenile and several adults. With a frigate bird overhead, the dolphins appeared to be feeding; but on what, we could not be sure. After observing this group for over 20 minutes, we continued on our way in search of more playful dolphins…
Not long afterwards, un-named #102 was up ahead, along with another juvenile spotted dolphin. We got a few looks at this pair and again continued our search. The next dolphins to make an appearance were bottlenose dolphins! The group of five, including one or two youngsters, may have been feeding on the sea floor, but the poor water visibility made this hard to confirm from the boat. As the passengers gave swim a try, I stayed onboard to collect more dorsal fin images for photo-ID. We soon left these dolphins with hopes that we might get one more chance at spotteds…
And yay! Just before 1900, there they were! A group of Atlantic spotted dolphins who let us observe them underwater. In this group were Tina (#14), Inka (#93), an un-catalogued, but known juvenile and 4-5 other dolphins. I was able to record video, so am looking forward to seeing if I can ID more members of the group. Over 30 minutes later, a boat full of happy campers was on its way back to the dock. But, before we could reach shore, another group of spotteds was on the bow! I was up top at the start of the bow riding, but was able to ID Split Jaw (#22), Noodle (#94) and likely her calf as the final three dolphins to say hello to us today!
It was an unpredictable day, but a great one!
Until next time,
Kel