Today was a great 24th birthday for Kel. The day began with our aquarium phone call, when the audience yelled a cheerful “Happy Birthday” over the phone. Then it was to a friend’s for a girls afternoon. We chatted, laughed, make a cake, had a drink and….Darcie painted Kel’s toes. Only those of you who know Kel will find this noteworthy, but Kel has only had nail polish on one other time in the last 2+ years; and that was for a wedding.
Tag: older content
Dolphin IDs
Well, no make-up dolphin trip. Apparently our passengers lost interest. So, today was spent going through still photos- identifying dolphins & updating the digital photo-ID catalog. Then it was out to dinner at Sandra’s, a local spot in Bailey Town. It was an appreciation dinner from Bill & Nowdla to their staff for all of their hard work. We were honored to be included in this & had a great time filling our bellies & having work-free conversations with everyone. There may or may not be a trip tomorrow.
A rainy afternoon
Rain, rain, bummer. We had a single trip today with a group who is here for the American holiday weekend, but the approaching squalls did not make the trip very enticing for anyone. So, after waiting around the docks for an hour, trying to stay dry, the trip was cancelled. It is scheduled to go out tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will cooperate! Until then, Kel &
Ringo-chan is a camera hog
Still averaging a trip a day
Kathleen headed back to Tokyo today. It was a short but very productive visit – she went out on the boat 4 times, and took over the use of the array for me on one trip, which was a nice break. I felt a bit naked without the MVA though. I didn’t know what to do with my hands in the water without a camera! On yesterday’s trip, we ran into that same group of males and subadult females again.
A quick phone call then
Okay, so today’s field report is just from Kel. This morning, Darcie & I did our phone call. It was a quick one; apparently the audience was being shy. After the call, we scooped up our things & headed to the dock for a day on a friend’s boat. Little did I know that the group had been making plans behind my back….As we headed north, I was told we were just going to a favorite fishing spot & I thought nothing of it. Then Darcie looked back at me &
Trip #25 means tired dolphin girls
Today was the final day of our marathon of dolphin trips….and what a day it was! We were in the water for over 45 minutes & had quite a workout free diving with the dolphins. Darcie was in charge of the MVA today & likely got great data. Kel had the still camera & we’re sure we have some nice new ID photos of most in the group. The group included: White Blotch (#29) & baby, Nemo (#76), Leslie (#80), Romeo (#10), Finn (#09), Split Jaw (#22) & Billy (#64).
Our first aquarium phone call since 2004!
This morning was our first official phone link with the aquarium this year- and it went great! Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration (MAIFE) has a “Dolphin Highlights” program in a theatre there. Following a brief video of dolphin behavior, MAIFE calls us for a Q&A session with the audience. We had some great questions- keep them coming! Then it was our afternoon trip. We watched dolphins for quite awhile- first a lone, young juvenile who had no interest in swimming with us clumsy humans.
Quick & Curious Swim
Today was nothing special in terms of return on effort, but it was 2 of the most interesting minutes of the season! At 17:28 we approached a mother/calf pair that we did not recognize. We watched them from the surface for a bit & then saw that they were no longer traveling. So, in the water we went! And just in time to watch the pair vertical at the surface of the water. We recorded their interesting rubbing actions & look forward to watching the video soon! Another trip tomorrow! -Kel &
Hectic few days
More great trips!
Kathleen, John and Sally (a teacher from the Pine Point School) arrived on Mikura on the 25th for a short visit. We had two boat trips yesterday and one today! Things have been hectic! I haven’t had much time to put together a field report, so here goes. Here are the highlights from the past few days:
I have awesome video of Shimibaa (#057) and her new calf! I’ve stuck a couple of pictures of this little cutie in this report.
Another Double Day
This morning was the final trip for last week’s group & unfortunately it was rough & dolphin-less. We headed away from the dock, knowing that it might be a rough, rainy ride- and it was. We tried for just over 2 hours to find dolphins, but the seas & rain were too much. So, it was back to the dock & farewell to our passengers. We hope they had a great time, despite some of the weather challenges thrown in! The afternoon was much more what we normally expect.
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