It was a bright and sunny day here. Hanabi is the Japanese word for fireworks. But, since the 4th of July is only a US holiday, there was no fireworks display tonight, except if you count the stars in our first clear night in about a week.
I spent the afternoon at the port, not watching dolphins. There were no dolphin watching trips today because the ferry did not bring any tourists. The ferry landed this morning but could not land this afternoon because of the continuing rolling swell.
The final tape was confirmed for IDs – a long but good process. Today was a slow day that included a much needed nap, some reading and letter-writing and the last bit of preliminary analyses of videos in terms of logging dolphin IDs. We have confirmed almost all the dolphin identities from the six videotapes that I have recorded. Now, I need more data. Or, I'll begin the behavioral focal follow analyses.
The evening brought a 'rakuyogo' to the island (via helicopter). The 'rakuyogo' is a comic storyteller.
Two English Classes at the Mikura School Today, I mixed a walk to the park to view the sea surface and wave condition with participation in two classes with students at the Mikura School with finishing the video logs for dolphin IDs. The weather has not changed, except that the sea was covered with white caps and the wind was up (decreased tonight).
For every hour of data that I collect, there is at least 20-30 hours of analysis time.
It's hard to believe I have only 18 days remaining for data collection this summer. The wind has increased significantly and now it looks like typhoon seas from the port. That is, rather than just the swell, we have a sea covered in white water. The ferry was canceled yesterday, did not come today and will not come tomorrow, nor likely Saturday. Miyakejima is ~18 km to our north and could be seen clearly today. In fact, we could see the waves crashing along the shore of Miyake by the ever-changing lines of white at her base.
Today marked the first day for the new Dolphin Immersion program at Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration (MAIFE). This program takes place twice a day in the Immersion Theater at the aquarium and features DCP’s research. It includes a live phone link with Kathleen from Japan in the morning and with us from Bimini in the afternoon.
Typhoon #8 is heading more or less towards us. Typhoon #8 is larger and stronger than the last several storms. It is heading directly north, but is predicted to veer to our right. Still, the seas are already at ~3 meters and will only increase. It was interesting this evening to watch as the waves washed over the pier. I never cease to be amazed and respectful of the power the oceans have, the raw energy is evident to me with each wave and ripple.
Today was a slow day.
Today gave us many dolphin observations as well as increasing seas. We had an afternoon boat trip that brought us 5 sightings of 5 dolphin groups and 6 water entries. The first group had a new calf and I believe (need to confirm with two other researchers) that the ID was 301FS. If so, then this calf would be her first! The group was resting so we only observed them twice before moving on.
Our second group was seen by Shinkuzure and was ~6 dolphins mostly: an adult female and 5 sub-adult or juvenile males.
On the water at 9:00 am. Dolphins at 9:15 am, and regularly during the 2 hr trip. I was lucky enough to be on a boat with only two guests, one guide and one other researcher. (The other three boats were full.) The dolphins were mostly traveling or resting around Mikura, but a few individuals were inquisitive and moving more slowly. Usually, the inquisitive and playful dolphins are the young ones.
We will not be going out on the boat until Saturday, so we have this week to log last week’s data. This will include entering trip logs into our computers, logging video and making as many IDs as possible.
The twice delayed festival for the kids was finally today. The Dolphin Festival is a once a year event which begins with a beach clean up. Technically, Mikura does not have a beach with sand. But the boat launch ramp is considered Mikura's 'hama' or beach. We spent an hour cleaning up the breakwater area and the port area of debris and trash. Then, we shared lunch of soup and onegiri (rice balls).
The afternoon had three boats taking children and Mikura folks to watch and swim with dolphins.
