Friday was another great day of summer weather here in Bimini. I headed out shortly after 1500 with Bimini Adventures and a great group of passengers. We headed toward the “dolphin grounds” quickly and before we could even warn folks that it can take a while before we see dolphins, there they were…a group of at least 15 bottlenose dolphins. They were swimming in a fairly tight group, as seen here, so given the sea conditions we were able to get a great look at them from the boat.
Category: Bimini 2012
Dolphins, dolphins, everywhere
Thursday brought with it an unexpected dolphin trip with Bimini Undersea. The conditions were as favorable as they get, with seas that resembled a swimming pool more than the ocean. With a great group of passengers onboard, we did not have to wait long before we saw dolphins. It was another large group and shortly after our observations began, we noticed three bottlenose dolphins in the midst of the spotteds.
Rain, rain went away…for a little bit
Friday began (relatively) early as I saw Kathleen to the North Bimini water taxi to begin her journey back to New England. Unfortunately, some harsh weather was on its way, leaving her stuck for most of the day at the South Bimini airport….
Meanwhile, I tidied up a few computer files while standing by for the final call on the day’s dolphin trip. A few hours and several power outages later, the trip with Bimini Adventures did depart. The skies cleared just long enough to safely head in search of dolphins.
Travel brochure perfect day
On Wednesday the weather was in our favor for Bimini Adventures’ dolphin trip. We departed the dock at 1300 as we planned an extended snorkel stop at “3 Sisters.” The dolphins would not have us rush to that conclusion, however, as we were greeted by at least seven bottlenose dolphins immediately after leaving the harbor. The dolphins were on the move, so our observations were exclusively from the boat, but the flat-calm, Bimini-blue water made for a fantastic backdrop and very good views.
Another rainy day … but it was warm!
It rained and stormed and stormed and rained.
Our morning began (after breakfast) with a beach clean-up (photo to follow). We collected eight bags of trash from the beach, finishing up in a quick downpour. This beach clean-up was sponsored by DCP Conservation Member Steven. Thank you!
The afternoon showed quite a few storm clouds, but we went out for a short time for a snorkel trip. A couple of people were feeling seasick – we had pretty good waves rocking the boat. We did see two sea turtles near to the first spot we wanted to snorkel.
Bimini Y’all
We woke up to rain and thunder, but that omen did not impact the bulk of our day. Although it did rain some more, we covered the topics of mirror self-recognition, an intro to dolphin behavior (and how to study it) and fish ID & lionfish invasion. The boat left at 15:30 and we had a beautiful snorkel at the big sister of the 3 Sisters. Among other fish, we saw tangs, foureye butterfly fish, squid, sergeant majors – but, we did not see any lionfish.
Two countries, Two species (3 if we count ourselves!)
DCP’s Field Course in Ethological Studies, with Georgetown College, is officially underway! The group started the program in Florida on Sunday with a simple layover before departing for Bimini on Monday morning. The plane to Bimini was the smallest that many of us had ever been on. From the air we could see how clear the water is – and how small Bimini is!
After we settled in, ate lunch and had an orientation we headed in search of dolphins. It was a very rewarding first day on the boat.
A lovely Sunday if I do say so myself!
Sunday was busy from start to finish as I made final preparations for DCP’s May Field Course & Bimini Eco-Tour – and went on a dolphin trip in between! The Bimini Adventures dolphin trip departed shortly after 1430 and it was an absolutely beautiful trip! We enjoy our observation and swim with Atlantic spotted dolphins, including Tilly (#87), Noodle (#94), Juliette (#12) & calf, and Leslie (#80) & calf.
Wrap up in GHC and back to Bimini
Saturday and Sunday were my last full days in Great Harbour Cay. On Saturday Kendria and I took the tracking equipment on the boat and were joined by GHC’s nurse and all-around-great-lady so that we could train her to use the equipment to help monitor Rita & Georgie next month. The signals were intermittent, suggesting that the pair might be resting and therefore submerging their tags frequently.
Manatee Update
On Thursday, the weather did not look in our favor for much manatee tracking. So, Kendria and I caught up on our various computer “chores” before making a delivery to the mail boat, bound for Nassau. At around 1700 we received a phone call reporting a manatee at a nearby dock. We grabbed the gear and headed over, but at first, found nothing. Just as we were about to leave, we saw the adult male, who is not yet tagged, swim through the area (followed by a nurse shark!).
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