Since this is our first field report, everyone will contribute their most memorable event from today.
Alyssa – for me today, the most memorable part was when one of the dolphins came up and tried to get us to play with it. But because we did not play “correctly” it left to hang out with his/her friends. (Maybe tomorrow I will be able to recognize him/her!)
Zach – One of the dolphins presented us with seaweed … almost tried to drop it onto the dock. But since we did not take it, we hope there’s no hard feelings … before tomorrow’s session.
Sydney – Morgan and me were sitting on the dock and one of the dolphins came up under the dock and startled me with a pectoral fin “clap” while in his/her back.
Sarah – I watched one dolphin do a sort of side/chin slap against the water 4-5 times in a row. Not really sure why but was funny (and cool) to watch.
Katie – I was watching from a distance but saw one of the dolphins try to splash both sides of Platform 2, and the other students on there … intentional? (Yes, those on that dock think it was!)
Ashley – For me, it was watching them interact with Kathleen – to see her flippers go up and their tails go up and down and then they swam underwater. So, I see how it might be difficult not to interact with them but it was fun to watch.
Brooke – I watched what I called a “launch jump” repeatedly and it reminded me of a figurine that I got in Hawaii … it was really cool and really graceful! (The photo is from Brooke … but the dolphins are not launch jumping!)
Cole (aka Nic). I was probably getting overzealous with the GoPro filming … but I got lots of footage and also a wet front port from a forceful exhale near me while filming. Not sure who this dolphin was but to me he/she was “shooter”!
Caleb – I thought it was really cool to go snorkeling this afternoon and see all kinds of fish and then this evening to attend the Fish ID lecture and learn what type of fish we actually saw, and what we might see again when in the water later this week.
Emily – with all the dolphin watching at 6:15 AM and also snorkeling I just felt really lucky to be able to be doing this … here and now.
Hannah – When Jeanie and I were snorkeling w saw sea cucumbers but I thought maybe they were dead caterpillars. They were squishy looking and gross.
Jeanie – OCEAN – the five-factor model for studying personality. And, I spent a long time trying to figure out why the dolphins were swimming sideways – it was because they were trying to look at us on the dock. (fun fact – the only place dolphins have binocular vision is below their throat!)
Morgan – (not in sport mode tonight … but yes during snorkeling!) It was surreal to watch the sunrise on a dock three feet away from a dolphin!
Emma – I thought it was cool to relate what we read and in the snorkeling lessons and then to actually do the snorkeling and realize I was putting into practice what I had learned!
Mel – the whole day was surreal and it is hard to pinpoint one thing. But seeing how large the dolphins were during our observations and then snorkeling and seeing the very small creatures like the feather-duster worms than tuck in when we swim by was just a lot … (I’m still processing!)
Cheers until tomorrow,
Kathleen & the CSU Rams in Roatan