Tuesday’s boat trip started with great weather and a very optimistic group! After learning about DCP, photo-ID and the Bimini dolphins in the morning, the Hunter College students were all ready to get out and practice their newly learned photo-ID skills. The group was very excited to see two bottlenose dolphins early in the trip, but they were moving very quickly and we decided it would be better to not interrupt their travel.
Monday began with a morning of data analysis before greeting the participants of Hunter College’s annual field course, who will be in Bimini for the next two weeks. We gave them a quick introduction to DCP’s still cameras and tips on how to take pictures underwater, and then Alexis and Lauren were off the boat trip with them! We spotted an eagle ray while leaving the harbor which made everyone excited to see dolphins.
On Friday Lauren and Alexis went on another dolphin trip with Bimini Adventures. On our way out to the dolphin grounds the guests decided they wanted a quick snorkel swim along Bimini Road (also thought to be the famous city of Atlantis). This was Lauren’s first time at Bimini Road so she joined the guests for a quick glimpse to see what all the hype was about. Meanwhile Alexis stayed on the boat and happened to see a turtle swimming not too far from the snorkelers.
Thursday the interns split up for 2 dolphin trips. Lauren joined Bimini Adventures and quickly ran into a group of bottlenose dolphins. They were crater feeding, which is quite common, but this time we even saw some mating attempts; a rare sight among bottlenose-only groups. After a short stop to observe this group we moved on to find different dolphins. Hours passed with nothing in sight and we were all starting to lose hope.
With rain and preoccupied dolphins dominating recent days, Lauren and Alexis were hoping for a great day on Wednesday and they got it! In the morning Kel and the interns did a talk with Bimini Adventures' guests and they were very interactive and asked a lot of great questions! Thank you again for having us! In the afternoon Lauren and Alexis went on the boat trip and after searching for an hour and a half a group of 5 bottlenose dolphins appeared.
Sunday and Monday brought several thunderstorms and rough seas, which in turn meant canceled boat trips.
Saturday began relatively early for us as we boarded the Coral Reef II to talk to students from the Chicago City Day School. The group was a bit tired as they had just made their passing to Bimini during the night, but once Kel started talking about DCP's interesting research and the amazing facts about Bimini's dolphins, you could see the students perk up! Lauren and Alexis chimed in with facts about lifespan, age class, and focal follow methodology, as well as answering some of the students’ pertinent questions, especially in regards to volunteer and internship opportunities.
Thursday began on a low note as Amy left to return home, and we were all sad to see the intern trio go down to two. Our boat trip started off looking very similar to Wednesday, with around three hours passing before seeing any sign of life out on the water. Finally around 18:00 we ran into 3 bottlenose dolphins, who were moving about inconsistently and showing no interest in the boat. After watching them for ten minutes, we decided to move on, hopeful that we would find a more playful group.
Wednesday’s trip was a big trip for us. We were fortunate enough to have Kel join all three interns on the boat and it was also Amy’s very last boat trip for the season, as she was heading back to the States to finish the office portion of the internship. So we headed out with high hopes. It was a hot day, so after we had been out for about an hour everyone agreed a swim break was completely and utterly necessary.
Tuesday began with a beach cleanup for the Bimini team! We collected 10 garbage bags and 2 recycling bags worth of trash around the south tip of North Bimini. It was a great way for us to give back to the island by means of leaving it cleaner than when we found it!
In the afternoon the interns went out on another boat trip with Bimini Adventures (again thanks to the donations of those supporting DCP).