Sea Foam Continuation

Even with these occurrences, Mother Nature can still surprise me. My morning walk to the park to watch the sea brought before my eyes a lumbering, rolling sea with few, though consistent, white caps. Of course, the port is on the northern face of Mikura and so the lazy quality displayed by the ocean is a bit deceptive. Maybe by tomorrow we will be able to launch boats and return to work. One can hope.

I worked on more video analysis yesterday afternoon. For those of you interested, for each hour of video that I record, I watch it no less than ten times (and often many more). The first run through is just to see what is there while I dub to VHS. Then I do a video log … to see when actually dolphins are in the frame. Following this are the photo-identifications of all dolphins possible. Focal follow or behavioral event sampling is the next step … I use the pause button frequently during this time period. After the behavioral analysis is nearing completion, I then return to the tape master and digitize all sounds labeling each file with the screen time code for cross-referencing to the behavioral data. A long process, but each time I see the video, I gain a new perspective. This is where the behavior patterns emerge … and allow me a base with which to return to the field and gather more information.

Oh yes, and for those of you likely reading my reports and thinking, 'Does she eat, sleep, swim with/ record behavior of dolphins, and analyze videotapes ALL the time?' No, but that is what I report here. I actually spent time with some friends here on the island for a long walk yesterday. After which I was taught a card game — millionaire. Interesting to learn a card game in a different language … I teased Kogi-san that he kept changing the rules on me! It was fun and I learned quickly (watching behavior of animals helps when learning the context of a card game!). I actually won a few games, though I won't tell you just how many we played!