Got back out to sea today and under it. The morning was spent preparing gear … last minute checks and being sure the batteries are charged or fresh. And, reviewing ID sketches from previous trips. I was thrilled at the prospect of getting back in and on the water after ~4 days of no data collection. And the dolphins seemed to welcome us all. There were 7 passengers and two other researchers besides me on this trip. We saw a few mother/calf pairs and some juveniles.
Category: Japan 2002
Wind, Sun, Waves
More 'deskwork' and video ID's The more ID's that I can confirm here on Mikura will make working on the videotapes and analyzing the behavior and sounds that much easier … well, so to speak. If the ID's are done prior to returning to my office/lab, then we can focus on the behavior and sound analyses from the start. That is the interesting portion of the data analyses. Not too much else to add for today. Hopefully the weather will improve tomorrow and we can go out on the water.
Cloudy but better – calm seas.
Many guests, however, keep me on shore. … with fewer guests there are less people in the water during data collection. Still, I meet some of the boats in the afternoon to see how the trips were. Some saw lots of dolphins and had so-so swims while others had longer observations but the dolphins were not really interested in people. Only a few folks felt seasick and everyone had fun watching the dolphins.
Rain, Wind, choppy seas.
Another day spent at 'deskwork' Last weekend and this weekend, about 12 volunteers for the Kenkyuukai visited Mikura, and stayed in the research house (where I stay). A full house is one description. These folks are all friendly and all learning the ropes for volunteering for the summer research program. The weekends are their orientation to the data collection and to meeting the senchoo and other folks related to teh research group. The folks also learn how to work and live together.
A day of rest, replenishment.
The Kuroshio-maru comes today bringing fressh veggies and fruit. It seemed that everyone around today needed a day of rejuvenation. None of the researchers went out on the water today. And as the afternoon progressed, coppy seas appeared and the wind picked up. Grey skies added to the dour feel of the day. All this made for a good day to catch up on some reading and data review. And, yes, I must admit a brief nap. The dolphins seem much more habituated and tolerant to the swimmers this year.
Flat, calm seas with a whipping current.
Social dolphins that include Kathleen in their group, so to speak. It doesn't get much better than what today offered in terms of dolphins, dolphin behavior and data gathered. All factors came together to facilitate mucho observations. We used the research boat with Kogi, Hasegawa and me only. Kogi and Hasegawa were making only surface observations while I was recording dolphins underwater (when possible). Yes, I was the only underwater observer for the entire trip. This is a first for my time studying the dolphins around Mikura.
Processing data, confirming ID’s.
Joana & Robin return to Mississippi via Tokyo. This was Joana and Robin's first trip to Japan, and Mikura Island. It was their first trip to observe and swim with wild dolphins. They got a firsthand idea of what field work requires and how unpredictable dolphins can be in their behavior and actions. Dolphins and their interactions and behavior and communication are always, however, fascinating. Later this year, in the fall, we will post summaries of the research planned by Joana and Robin. The ferry left today in the early afternoon.
Another GREAT trip.
40 minutes of video of playful and socializing dolphins. We waited at the port for a few minutes after a rain squall and watched the clouds leave and the sun arrive. This signaled our departure. It foreshadowed an awesome day. We had MANY dolphins — there were more than 60 dolphins in a large & spread out group. We routinely saw between 5 to 30 dolphins underwater. A large range, but that is what we saw. We saw several mom/calf pairs. Most of the juveniles were in the mood to play.
Two trips to observe dolphins
More than 35 minutes of video, and 35 min of click detector data! We had awesome weather — swells less than 0.5 m, light breeze (WSW), sunny skies and warm (relatively) water (20 degrees C). We saw several dolphins from last year. It is always nice to see that the calves from last year are still around and full of 'vim and vigor'. They swim circles around us and I often have to stop and be sure I still know where the sea surface is for when I need air.
Saturday – with many guests (i.e., tourists)
A day in port to work on data … We had a good day Friday and had expected to be out on the water today. But, more than 60 tourists (known as guests or 'okyakusan' here in Japan) came to Mikura. Thus, the boats were full. But, Robin, Joana and I were able to catch up on some research review — the videotapes, scientific papers that needed to be read. We also spent a bit of time at the port viewing dolphins as they slowly swam past the two piers.
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