Beach cleanup is on the docket for Tuesday morning but with the sudden burst of rain I am skeptical about if we will keep the schedule today. I hear a couple more showers with the water bouncing of metal and wood as I get ready to meet the others at the beach. Hearing no word of a cancelation I leave for the beach. Scanning and seeing no one in sight I make my way to the suite. I find that we are delayed but not canceled.
Monday starts with some work before I head over to the Sea Crest to hear about Nicole’s research. During the talk many of the group members ask welcomed questions that are happily answered. The talk ends and I am left wanting to hear more about interactions between dolphins. I will have to wait until Nicole publishes her research to quench that thirst. We discuss afternoon plans and agree to meet later with the expectation to go on the boat. I head off to eat a bite and continue my work for the day.
I wake up on Sunday and get some work done before heading off to Kel’s first group talk. That talk consists of an introduction of the Dolphin Communication Project (DCP) and the photo identification process. Since the weather looks questionable we agree to meet up after lunch with a final decision regarding the afternoon boat trip. I leave and head off to grab a bite before the possible trip out. After lunch we meet up and it has been decided that although the sun may be coming out it is the wind that is going to cause a problem.
I start Saturday off by doing some work before heading over to meet our group that just arrived. I walk over and find one of the guests enticed in a book. I continue to the suite and see Nicole and some new faces. I introduce myself and get asked if I am the man with the blue bike. I arrived ahead of the official orientation time so I start to get set up to get some work done in the meantime.
On Friday, I wake up to the sound of rain. It seems like a far too common sound this time back to the island as the forecast shows more rain in the future. I get my day started with a bowl of delicious colorful cereal with a Toucan on the box and get grinding on some data entry. I finally figured out the best way to input the data. I mark anything that is unclear since shorthand written logs on the water are not the easiest to interpret.
On Thursday, I woke with the excitement of SCUBA! I prepped all my gear and checked the location of Neal Watson’s SCUBA Center. Balancing all of the gear while riding a bike proved to be a bit challenging but eventually I got the hang of it. I headed off to the dive shop, passing by kids on their way to school and local law enforcement doing a morning patrol. After riding for a couple minutes longer than I anticipated I had the sneaking suspicion I had gone too far.
There is nothing like waking up on a beautiful island with crystal clear water to make you appreciate a small island in The Bahamas. You tradeoff the creature comforts of the first world for the view and island culture. When you are on an island that is about 7 miles (11 km) long you cannot afford to fit all the franchises and chains that most people have become accustomed to. This really is a nice change of pace to make you appreciate all of the small shops and their distinct character.
Things were so busy – and awesome – at the end of the University of New Brunswick Saint John course last month, that we (okay, me!) never managed to get their final blog posts up. It was an absolutely fantastic course. The final days included a mangrove snorkel, Caribbean reef sharks, southern stingray rays and more dolphins! Great group dinners, an engaging conversation on eco-tourism and the final night out celebrating with Nishka – it was wonderful. We can’t wait to welcome Dr.
DCP has opened two more Short Field Experience Intern openings (SFE interns)! These SFE interns join our Bimini, The Bahamas field site for 12 nights.
Session 1: Arrive 25 June - Depart 7 July
Session 2: Arrive 13 July – Depart 25 July
SFE interns will get a jam-packed experience, learning about DCP's data collection, data entry and data analysis procedures. SFE interns will contribute directly to DCP's research and education efforts while getting a taste of the research life for themselves. The fee for this experience is $600 which covers lodging, utilities and drinking water.
Wednesday began with breakfast and our blog writing. During the blog, a small bird, called “chip-chip” locally, flew right into the window behind us! It was a bit sad to see it on the porch and while we were watching it, two more flew into the window; one individual bird tried twice! Dr. Turnbull went outside to block the window and startled one of the birds back to life (ok, maybe he poked it back to life). Class time focused on lectures on coral reefs and sharks. Who knew that Dr.