This is a (very!) belated post from late July. Apologies for the delay!
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It’s been a land-based week or so here in Bimini. Nicole wrapped up her first 2016 session and headed back up north, while I remain in Bimini to hold down the figurative research fort. In between day-to-day DCP responsibilities, I’m working to incorporate Nicole’s photo-ID efforts into our Bimini catalog so we have a more up-to-date catalog to reference going forward.
I spent the week of July 16-23 on board the riverboat, La Estrella. This ship is operated by International Expeditions, an eco-tour travel agency. During this week, I had the opportunity to spend a morning recording dolphins in the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve. The conditions in the Ucayali River are optimal for recording dolphins. To record the dolphins, we navigate a small motor boat about 200 meters past the animals, up-stream. We turn the motor off and drift with the current past the dolphins while recording. The Ucayali River is generally 7 meters or less in depth, and not more than 50
Sunday morning was less eventful for DCP than Saturday had been. Kel and Nicole spent the day in the office working on photo ID and other data processing. At 1500, Nicole set off on the boat with Captain Al and his two guests. This time, the pair wanted to stop at "Bimini Road", or the road to Atlantis, for some snorkeling. They loved the spot as much as they did "Three Sisters" on Saturday.
Saturday was an extremely exciting and event-filled day for DCP on Bimini. It started bright and early, and already hot and humid, when we headed over to the Coral Reef II to join the Shedd Aquarium’s High School Marine Biology students.
Thursday was the Sea Crest group's last day on the boat and it began with a 1430 departure. Nicole joined them on their dolphin search which was preceded by a snorkeling stop at the "Three Sisters". After enjoying the coral and beautiful fish around the big sister rock for a bit, as well as an up-close encounter with a tiny (but feisty) remora, we headed out on our regular route. About 20 minutes later we passed another local dolphin boat that had found a group of spotted dolphins.
After spending the morning working on photo ID, Nicole set off with the tourist group at 1500 to search for dolphins. This time, Captain Audley was joining the group! Everyone was excited to have him back on Bimini. And for his first trip back, he must have had a premonition about where to look for dolphins because he found them less than an hour after setting out! At first we saw a group of four sub-adult and adult Atlantic spotted dolphins, possibly including Buster (#04).
Tuesday morning found us doing office work as usual. Around 12:30, however, they headed over to the Sea Crest Hotel where this week's dolphin group is staying. Everyone was interested in learning more about the dolphins around Bimini so we joined them for a lunchtime chat. The group asked many good questions about Atlantic spotted dolphins in general, the individual dolphins of Bimini, the research DCP conducts here and much more!
After the noon-time chat, everyone set off to prepare for the boat which would be departing a bit early at 1430.
Fourth of July Monday started out with data processing and other office work. Later in the morning, Nicole took a brief break from her work to visit some adorable 3 week old kittens with Kaila. They were precious!
By 1500, everyone was ready to set off on our quest for dolphins. Unfortunately, due to some not-safety-related boat delays, we did not leave until closer to 1600.
Saturday was a (much-deserved) rest day for the DCP researchers. Then on Sunday the next Sea Crest dolphin tour group arrived on Bimini. This group is composed of 14 guests from different parts of the US.
After a morning of catch-up on office stuff, we prepared to head out on the boat with the guests at 1500. As we pulled out of the dock there were ominous storm clouds to the northwest that let out a deep rumble of thunder every once in a while.
After breakfast on Thursday we headed to Radio Beach for a beach cleanup. Everyone grabbed a buddy and collected garbage and debris--as a group we collected 9 bags of trash! It is nice that the students are able to give back to Bimini and the environment that gave them so many wonderful experiences over the past 12 days. Then everyone enjoyed the beach one last time with a luxurious cool-off swim!
Once they had dried off, the students headed back to the common room to discuss some final details about the course.