Meeting the dolphins and Kathleen's array
Of course, the first order of business (after breakfast) was to meet the dolphins at Bailey's Key. There are 16 dolphins. We went to the key for the morning session and introduced all our volunteer researchers (Joane, Binti, Lois, April, David, Dave) to the data forms. The competition for attention was fierce – the dolphins won over Kathleen & Robin. (But, we reviewed the forms later without dolphin commentary.)
After the dolphins, we took the MVA3 out for everyone to try. Participant comments: 'it was much easier to handle in the water than on land.' 'elegant & resourceful.' 'I like the color.' 'it works!' 'I can see better after my mask is cleared.' We added ~10 min of fish footage to our dolphin database.
The afternoon had us at RIMS practicing with the tape recorder and hydrophone. And again, the dolphins eclipsed part of our chat – no problem, as they also provided whistles and clicks for everyone to hear.
'We've landed in an ocean garden of eden and the food is better than the apple.' from the participants.
Till tomorrow
Kathleen, Robin and Team #1