Our first full day began early! We met at the water taxi at 6:15 AM for our brief ride to Bailey’s Key where we were met by nearly all the dolphins! They whistled and postured and played. It was a great first morning, despite the rain drops. We had a brief introduction to the dolphins, the Key, and the research and peppered Kathleen and Manon with LOTS of questions.
Breakfast was followed by our delayed orientation talk by Jen Keck…
First, Happy Mother’s Day!
Second, we arrived in two groups on two different flights. Kathleen, Manon, Kristin, Poppy, Liz, and Marriah came through Miami and arrived on time – it was the first time Kathleen and Manon were 3rd in the immigration line! We actually had to wait for our bags to come out! Richard, Giulia, Katariina, Shereen, Anna, Daniel, and Amalia flew in from Houston and had about a 5+ hour delay … for a variety of reasons. But they all made it safely and in time for a yummy first dinner together.
Everyone got home safely on Saturday! And, I think everyone took Sunday to rest up … and maybe do some laundry and get caught up on mail and … maybe play with a puppy or other furry family member (I know I did!).
Our program was a success with students learning and….
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Our last day began well with a great data collection session on the dolphins. They were quieter today than previous days. They perked up as did we after breakfast when we had our encounter and swim. We met Gracie and Alita during the encounters and then got to swim with a dozen dolphins with Poli and her calf making tight passes by us and Sandy, Trixie, and Buzz trying to get us to play with seaweed. After our swim, we…
We had a Wednesday full of energetic activities! Our day began with a “bright bang” – so to speak! We had a lightning show and thunderstorm/squall pass by between 4 and 5:30 AM. The squall passed in time for us to head over to Bailey’s Key to conduct our surface observations and space use data collection associated with Kathleen’s underwater video data observations. The dolphins seemed…
Data collection was the name of the game this morning with space use, surface observations, and Kathleen’s underwater video data. There was moderate activity from the dolphins, but we know that Sandy, Rocky, Tank, Poli and her calf spent lots of time around Kathleen. We also were able to collect some space use data…
Monday’s data collection was early, but we recorded lots of observations and a good set of space use data. Our morning went well, and we are all getting comfier with the observations and use of the grid, as well as documenting activity levels of the dolphins. After breakfast, we met near the lobby for the shuttle ride to Maya Key …
Our first morning of dolphin observations and data collection – woohoo! We saw several dolphins and practice recognizing each individual. After meeting the dolphins in person and having a nourishing breakfast, we spent time in the classroom learning about the permanent scars and marks on each dolphin. Click to read more about our day!
Packing day is always a long day! Manon and I are traveling to Roatan one day before our group. We have 3 big bags between us, which should cover our needs for 24 days! Three bags = three weeks … right? We look forward to a hopefully smooth flight day tomorrow and to welcoming CSU group 1 on Saturday. …
Whether you’re a young student interested in learning more about dolphin biology, a college student looking for internship experiences working with dolphins, or a seasoned researcher hoping to connect with colleagues on topics of dolphin behavior, ecology, or cognition, you’ve come to the right place.
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