On Friday, I headed out with Al and two guests who were scouting for a future project. The seas were fairly calm, but water visibility was varied depending on our exact location. At 16:22 we saw something leaping in the distance and on our way to investigate, we passed a small group of bottlenose dolphins. It turns out we were seeing lots of surface activity from a mixed species group up ahead – both bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins.
Tag: older content
Belated update from UNBSJ in Bimini
Sorry for the delay in posting this field report. The UNBSJ field course wrapped up earlier this month and it was a huge success! The students were a great group and it was great having Dr. Turnbull and Jenn on-island once again. Unfortunately, the final day on the boat was rough and kept us out of prime dolphin areas. We tried our best to will the bottlenose dolphins to cross our paths, but it didn’t happen.
Traveling Home from Roatan
The last session was not in the cards – even though the day presented no wind and clear visibility to the bottom from above the water! Our departure for the airport was in the morning.
This was a very successful trip with 7 hours of MVA data collected. There are 24 dolphins – 13 males and 11 females ranging in age from 1 to 30+ years. Carmella, Gracie and Mika are pregnant and due sometime in the summer.
DCP’s Final Day of Data Collection for 2011 at RIMS
Friday began with overcast skies but spectacular underwater visibility, again. The divers on our team (Bill, Ron, Madison & John) took the early trip to Mary’s Place for a morning of diving. Lisa helped me with data collection in the morning. I was able to collect 40 min of observations before Ronnie’s interest in my fins and Marg’s interest in my arms and shoulders meant it was time to get out.
Kathleen’s Snorkel Talking, again!
The mantra for this morning’s session in the observation notes related to the indecipherable mumbling I made through my snorkel. The session was lively and the weather the best of the week with spectacular underwater visibility! But, it was also characterized by Hector’s intensive interest in my fins! He would not leave them alone. I found myself inadvertently telling him to stop through my snorkel. Dolphins, like humans, seem unable to translate snorkel mumbles because he never did lose interest in my fins. I focused on other dolphins and their socializing – much buzzing, whistles, and social activity.
Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day!
Our evening was punctuated by rain squalls that did not really lessen in number or scope until about 7 AM. So, we did not have a data collection session at 6:30 AM but rather waited until mid-morning to catch a few sessions with dolphins in the back area pools while programs were ongoing in the lagoon. I was able to record 8 minutes with Han and Hector and get some really clear views of their sides.
Tuesday brought us the “Fin Game”
Today, my fingers and toes were wrinkled after much time in the water! The morning session was 30 min long but with EXCEPTIONALLY good underwater visibility! It was 5-6 m but very clear. And, there were dolphins greeting me as I entered the water. In fact, they almost barred my entry because they were so close. French loved my fins today and spent ~20 min with one or both fin tips in his mouth! Even after I put my feet in the air, he was back to my fins as soon as they were back into the water.
Pops, jaw claps and whistles – oh my!
We had a great Monday with two data collection sessions and several dives for our team! The morning session brought much better underwater visibility with me entering the water at about 6:45 AM. The dolphins were very vocal and very social. Ken and Anthony thought my fins were the best toy in the world! They mouthed my fins and poked at my feet. Not something I encouraged but I did my best to ignore them.
The second session had slightly less visibility under water but no less social activity.
We encountered a dolphin wall!
We began Saturday with a lecture about dolphin senses and communication, followed by photo-ID work. We departed the dock at 1403 and went to “The Road to Atlantis!” We saw many species including angelfish, trumpet fish, barracuda, lobster, queen triggerfish and sergeant majors. Kel saw a turtle from the boat, but it wasn’t interested in checking out us snorkelers. Some people think the stones might have been human-made while others are going with a natural formation.
During our search for dolphins, we passed a large loggerhead turtle, which quickly dove down as the boat passed.
Sunday – our first swim and first data collection for 2011 at RIMS
Our day began EARLY (5 AM) but because it was warm and light, it was ok! The sun makes its daily appearance at about 4:45 AM. Ron, Bill, John and I all sat on the porch and chatted over a strong morning coffee. We also showed each other our new camera toys (ok, mine is still the MVA, but they had new toys).
Our team had a dolphin encounter/swim at 9 AM and got to know Bailey, a 5.5 yr old female. Cedena is Bailey’s and Pigeon’s mom.