I arrived safely in Great Harbour Cay (Berry Islands) late Tuesday afternoon and was greeted by Kendria Ferguson, BMMRO’s team leader for this manatee tracking project. At the field house, I also met Russell Morgan (Dolphin Cay, Atlantis) and soon, the three of us were on the boat, looking for Rita & Georgie. We did not have to go far before we picked up the radio signal from their tags.
Category: Bimini 2012
Bye Bimini, Hello Great Harbour Cay!
I’m sitting in the South Bimini airport, awaiting my flight to Nassau where I’ll connect to continue to Great Harbour Cay (Berry Islands, Bahamas). Fear not – this is only a temporary break from Bimini. I’ll be back soon! But, what’s going on in GHC?
I’ll be assisting in tracking efforts of Rita and Georgie, two manatees! (Yes! Manatees in The Bahamas!). Rita had been living in Spanish Wells, where she gave birth to Georgie. But, Hurricane Irene displaced them, and they were found in Nassau Harbour.
Thanks UNBSJ!
This year’s field course with University of New Brunswick Saint John was another success. It was not without its challenges (two days of terrible weather + one day of fantastic weather and no dolphins), but the group stayed in high spirits and engaged in the course, enjoying exciting snorkel stops, a great underwater observation of crater feeding bottlenose, surfing spotteds and more. Thanks to each and every one of you for coming to Bimini!
The UNBSJ crew also completed another successful beach clean-up last Friday.
Jiggly stuffing….after bottlenose dolphins
On Wednesday morning, we had our second guest lecture, this time from Dr. Justin Gregg and on dolphin cognition. It was really interesting and we later thought about whether or not there was one thing that tells us that dolphins are highly cognitive creatures or if we have to take into account a combination of factors.
We had a passionate debate on dolphin hunt – it was a mock IWC debate, and just like the real IWC, things got pretty heated. But, we were all still friends at the end.
What’s all the buzz about?
The sun came out! After which, Courtney got a good luck charm for the group in the form of sea gull poop on her shirt! We split into two groups for snorkel trips to “Shell Beach” off South Bimini. The first group saw lots of cool fish, some of which were hiding under rocks. We even saw an arrow crab and lizard fish. For some of us, this was our first time snorkeling off a boat.
UNBSJ in Bimini
On Sunday, 16 students (plus Professor Steve Turnbull, PhD and a student returning as TA) from the University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) arrived in Bimini. About half of us had just wrapped up our amazing week at the SharkLab. All limbs accounted for! And minds = blown.
My, my, are you feeling a bit shy?
Wednesday was still quite breezy here in Bimini, but it was calm enough for an overdue dolphin trip with Bimini Adventures. We departed at 1500, hopeful, but realistic that we might need to turn back. Well, turn back we did not and, in case you weren’t sure, the title of this field report is very,… Continue reading My, my, are you feeling a bit shy?
So about that “bottlenose central…”
Some of you may have seen my Facebook post earlier about this spring being bottlenose central…Well, it would appear the bottlenose wanted to be sure you got the message! On Thursday’s dolphin trip with Bimini Undersea, the seas were calmer and our patience was not tested. Early in the day we saw our first group of dolphins – at least eight bottlenose dolphins, including a few familiar faces. Well, okay, maybe not familiar faces, but their dorsal fins were familiar! We could tell pretty quickly that the group was crater feeding so into the water we went.
A bumpy ride and a surfing Tursiops
Thankfully, the weather calmed down enough for Wednesday’s dolphin trip with Bimini Undersea. As Adventurer headed out beneath sunny skies, I couldn’t help but notice how cheerful and engaging the day’s passengers were. As we weaved our way through the waves, I enjoyed my conversations and we all searched for dolphins. A couple of hours into the trip, most folks opted for a swim break, cooling off and reenergizing. It was on our way back toward Bimini that we saw the bottlenose dolphin.
Talk about a ninth inning comeback…
Thursday afternoon’s dolphin trip with Bimini Adventures began like all trips – with high hopes and great passengers. The seas were calm and the sun was hot, so swim breaks were welcome. Not too far into the trip we came up a scattered bottlenose dolphin or two. But, aside from a few surfaces near the boat, it/they wanted nothing to do with us. So, we continued in search of others. Hopes were dwindling when we came upon another bottlenose dolphin, but sadly, this one showed no interest in us either.
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