A very successful visit with the dolphins Yesterday was our first trip out to the dolphingrounds and we had multiple successful encounters. The boat was crowded but there were plenty of dolphins for everyone. The first encounter was with a mother and calf – the mother we believe to be 56, a common visitor to our boats last year, and we believe her new calf.
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The Youth from Camp Zama arrive.
19 junior high school students and 5 adults come to Mikura to share cultures We greeted the Camp Zama group at the pier and were glad that the typhoon seemed to have abated. Still, because Saturday was set to be windy and choppy, we rearranged the dolphin watching and swim trip to ~3 hours after the group arrived. We had FLAT CALM seas all around Mikura and great visbility!! There were five groups of dolphins that we saw. The students were spread into 3 boats. For some, it was their first time snorkeling, let alone with dolphins.
Settling in again
Getting the apartment set up and waiting for dolphins Well, we've arrived and finally have internet access! We got here on Monday night and have spent the past few days reacquainting ourselves with the island and all our friends from last year. It's great to be back and I think we're finally settled in and… Continue reading Settling in again
Weather Watch
A calm day this morning, but no boat trips. Typhoon #4 spent the day moving north over Okinawa – on the very western side of Japan. It is sending wave swells and wind and rain our way but will not go over us directly. We are waiting to see if the ferry arrives tomorrow bringing with it the students from Camp Zama.
It rained off and on today and no boats went out to sea for dolphin watching. We did not even see any dolphins from the pier in the morning or late afternoon hours.
The rainy season has begun.
We remained in port today but were busy with workshop plans. Today we remained 'in port' and so I wanted to tell you about the workshop we have planned for the weekend. (Of course, we are also watching the weather reports closely as the 4th typhoon of the season is over Okinawa. It should only send wave action our way …
Wind, Rain, Sun & an Afternoon boat trip
Sea conditions restricted our survey to the east side of Mikura only We left port in very choppy seas. We were the only dolphin watching boat out this afternoon: 3 tourists, John and me plus the senchoo. We saw dolphins just past Subarune, about 20 min into our survey. One fin was immediately recognizable as Maekake (#033FA) because she has a big chunk out of the leading edge. She had a calf in May which was with her today. The fetal folds almost not visible.
There were five dolphins in the group: two mother/calf pairs and another sub-adult.
An ‘in port’ day – no boat trips & wind & rain
Some data analyzed, and weekend workshop plans drafted This weekend students from Camp Zama will visit Mikura Island. Camp Zama is one of the USA bases here in Japan. This is our first 'international' student exchange for a workshop on Mikura. That is, youth from Camp Zama will visit Mikura for the weekend and share activities about the oceans, nature and dolphins with Mikura students. They will also hike to one or two island nature watching spots and observe dolphins.
Fog, Rain, & a half day of tourists
The afternoon turned sunny and offered a boat trip We had 5 sightings and 7 water entries yielding another 30 min of video. The first sighting was 4 dolphins, seemingly mostly adult males. They were quiet and traveling, not interested in us two-legged swimmers.
The next sighting showed us wave surfing dolphins into their own thing. We saw them twice only from the surface. However, the group that followed included #161 (Koshakure) and her friend #404. After a few minutes #153 and #008 (both sub-adult males) joined the action. Some whistling and rubbing behavior.
Our first ‘In Port’ Day.
No boat trips, but data analyses, reading, writing. Tourism is steadily increasing at Mikura, not just for the dolphin watching & swimming but also for the other vistas of nature that the island offers: gigantic trees, mountain hiking, clifftop views. Each weekend presents the island with many visitors: there are ~280 residents on Mikura with weekend tourists equaling near half that number. Thus, boats are full and it is rare that we head to sea.
Therefore, poor weather or large numbers of tourists will give us 'in port' days. Data will be analyzed, summary reports started.
Another Great Day – for weather & for dolphins!
We had our second boat trip this afternoon. We left port at 14:15 today and spent a bit more than two hours searching for and observing dolphins. We saw several mother/calf groups. In fact, at one point #058FA whistled and within 15 seconds her 2 yr old calf was by her side. I wonder if this is an example of a contact call (aka signature whistle) for these dolphins. Analyses and time will tell.
We also saw a group of about 25+ dolphins just west of Motone (on Mikura's south 'side') that were socializing.