On Friday, I headed out with Al and two guests who were scouting for a future project. The seas were fairly calm, but water visibility was varied depending on our exact location. At 16:22 we saw something leaping in the distance and on our way to investigate, we passed a small group of bottlenose dolphins. It turns out we were seeing lots of surface activity from a mixed species group up ahead – both bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins.
Category: Bimini 2011
Belated update from UNBSJ in Bimini
Sorry for the delay in posting this field report. The UNBSJ field course wrapped up earlier this month and it was a huge success! The students were a great group and it was great having Dr. Turnbull and Jenn on-island once again. Unfortunately, the final day on the boat was rough and kept us out of prime dolphin areas. We tried our best to will the bottlenose dolphins to cross our paths, but it didn’t happen.
We encountered a dolphin wall!
We began Saturday with a lecture about dolphin senses and communication, followed by photo-ID work. We departed the dock at 1403 and went to “The Road to Atlantis!” We saw many species including angelfish, trumpet fish, barracuda, lobster, queen triggerfish and sergeant majors. Kel saw a turtle from the boat, but it wasn’t interested in checking out us snorkelers. Some people think the stones might have been human-made while others are going with a natural formation.
During our search for dolphins, we passed a large loggerhead turtle, which quickly dove down as the boat passed.
Success: Dolphins and NO seasickness!
Some of us got up early on Friday to watch the Royal Wedding – but not all of us. We worked on ID’ing our photos from yesterday’s trip – we confirmed #84, 87 and 93 were present during our underwater observation. After lunch, we were on the boat early for a 1300 departure. First, we saw 2-3 bottlenose, including Tt15 and possibly a new individual. We came upon spotteds at 1540 and observed them under water from 1553 to 1559. We saw Stefran (#82) from the boat and under water.
They do exist!
We began Thursday in lecture, learning about photo-ID. We found photo-ID “sneaky hard.” You think you’ve found a match, but it turns out – you don’t. We departed the dock slightly earlier today, leaving at 1436. At 1730, we were teased by a quick glimpse of 2 – 3 bottlenose dolphins (at which point we were fairly convinced that Bimini dolphins were like unicorns). After more disappointing searching, we finally came across Atlantic spotted dolphins! We saw three dolphins riding the bow, including Tilly (#87) who is easily identified as she is missing most of her dorsal fin.
Better luck next time (we hope)
Wednesday was day one of the University of New Brunswick’s field course. The “new” students were scheduled to depart Fort Lauderdale, FL at 9:30 a.m., but did not depart until 11:30 – because the pilot decided that was a better time for him. The other half of the class was already on Bimini having just completed a course at the Shark Lab. We set up and had lunch, followed by orientation. At 1517, we departed the dock. The sea conditions were a bit rough, leaving some students a bit green (some a bit more).
Officially spoiled!
Today’s dolphin trip once again departed at 1430 and once again we were in the middle of a dolphin group before we knew it!At 1532Split Jaw (#22) pursuing (or showing off for?) the other dolphins! Thanks, once again, to Bimini Undersea’s fantastic passengers!
So many dolphins!
Sunday was day one of Bimini Undersea’s first “dolphin week” of 2011. The mix of week-long and single-day passengers was absolutely wonderful – thank you for your conversation and enthusiasm! Upon entering the dolphin grounds, everyone donned their snorkel gear and had a quick swim. It was a good thing we practiced early because very soon after the dolphins appeared! The dolphins were quite scattered and we saw a mix of mating, feeding and playing throughout the afternoon. There were young dolphins, old dolphins and lots in between.
Getting spoiled!
The start of the 2011 Bimini season really may spoil us. The weather was again stunning and the water was crystal clear. We departed with Al Sweeting Jr. at 14:30 and were with dolphins a mere hour later. There were nine dolphins – it appeared to be eight bottlenose and a single adult spotted. It is quite rare to have a mixed species group with bottlenose outnumbering spotteds. They were very active at the surface and not the least bit interested in us. Nearby there were a slew of other dolphins, so we went to check them out.
A Wow Day – the second in a row!
Saturday’s amazing dolphin trip included a combination of passengers, many from Bimini Undersea and some from Bimini Adventures. It was great having everyone onboard – including the combo crew! The weather was absolutely stunning; it was definitely the best weather day of the week. We were not in the ‘dolphin grounds’ for long when we saw six bottlenose dolphins. They were on the move, but I think at least three will be matches to already catalogued animals. Re-sightings are so exciting!
But, of course, the day only got better.
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