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Monday greeted us with a bit of wind, but that didn’t stop us from heading in search of dolphins. We had to stay close to shore and partway through the afternoon, we took a break and the passengers were able to snorkel “The Bimini Road” (aka “Atlantis”). Afterwards, we were able to make one more loop to look for dolphins – and they found us! We got a great show of bowriding and saw Tina (#14) and Tilly (#87), among others, including a very young calf. Tuesday morning I spent about 90 minutes talking with this week’s passengers.

Today’s boat trip was scheduled to depart at 1300; however, the squalls were also apparently scheduled for this time. As we waited for the bad weather to pass, I caught up on brainstorming and document editing. By 1600, we were finally given the go ahead to depart. We headed up the coast of Bimini, curious as to whether or not we would see dolphins before being driven home by the nasty weather.  We were in luck! We saw dolphins quickly and the group size was well over a dozen.

Today marked rare Saturday start for a dolphin week with www.biminiadventures.com. Despite some challenges with delayed luggage, this week’s group was ready for dolphins when we departed the dock shortly before 1600. As we looked out into the distance, searching and searching for dolphins, I suddenly shouted out, seeing dolphins right on our bow! They… Continue reading And a new “dolphin week” begins!

Wednesday’s dolphin trip began with a snorkel stop at The Bimini Road (aka Atlantis) – this time, folks explored the section of the stones where fish like to congregate.  Soon we were in the prime zone for seeing Atlantic spotted dolphins. We first saw dolphins at 1630 and watched them for a few minutes before losing sight of them. We had to be patient, but at 1823, we saw more! In this group, we saw Billy (#64), un-named #75 and 6 other adults.

Tuesday morning began with research for an upcoming DolphinPod episode. Unfortunately, I continually request to reschedule the taping because we’ve had so many dolphin trips! I’ve never been more pleased with an excuse…But, hopefully we’ll have the new episode for you all very soon. Next, it was time to have a dolphin chat with a group of dolphin boat passengers. Since I am not joining their daily dolphin trips, it was great to share some of DCP’s work with them – and hear all about their experiences, concerns and appreciation for dolphins and their ocean home.

Monday began with sunshine, flat seas and hot temperatures. We headed to “The Bimini Road” (aka “Atlantis”) for a quick snorkel stop. The boat passengers were mixed in their opinions – is the formation natural? Were the stones placed there by humans? Are these stones part of the lost city of Atlantis? Come to Bimini and decide for yourself! Soon after our snorkel stop, we saw two bottlenose dolphins, including Tt#14, pictured here. The dolphins were on the move and not interested in the boat, so after we all got a good look, we continued on our way.

The wind had picked up slightly for Saturday’s dolphin trip, but it still great conditions for finding dolphins. I departed for the trip without the MVA, but was then invited to observe the dolphins under water while the film crew was working. So, it turned into a rare opportunity for me to personally collect some still photographs. Video and acoustic data are the priority, but still photographs can go a long way to supplementing our digital photo-ID catalog. There are quite a few photographs of adults that I will have to try to match to a catalogued animal.

On Friday, we left the dock at our usual time and went to our usual spots, but unfortunately, it was one of those days when we did not see dolphins. This was not for lack of trying! Our curiosity is always peaked on these days, wondering where the dolphins are and what they are doing. Thankfully the family on the boat, although disappointed, had a great attitude.

I returned to Bimini early Thursday afternoon just in time for a dolphin trip. This was a private charter with Nowdla Keefe by an Animal Planet (Discovery Channel) film crew. It meant that I would not be able to record video and acoustic data with DCP’s MVA, but it was still a chance to see which dolphins, how many were observed as well as where, when and for how long. We first saw a skittish group of five Atlantic spotteds, including Juliette’s calf, un-named #93.

We left the dock today at 1540 with high hopes of finding dolphins. Soon we were in the “dolphin grounds” and there they were….a group of at least 5 bottlenose dolphins. Included in the group is the dolphin pictured here – we need to compare the shape of and nicks in the dorsal fin, but at first glance we suspect this is a “new” animal! It is possible, of course, that it is an already cataloged individual who has new nicks. We were unfortunately dealing with some added boat traffic in the area.