Tag: older content

Or, maybe it should be called the cloudy season. Kogi, Hasegawa and Masaki went out today but it was for a transect survey, that is, no underwater observations. A transect is run at a steady speed in one direction (chosen randomly) around the island. When dolphins are seen, various data points are documented: location, time, group size, group activity. If any id's can be made, they are noted. Enough time to assess group size is given and then the transect resumes. Hasegawa is studying which dolphins are seen where and when around Mikura.

A day for deskwork, and a bit of a break. Today was a slow day. It was gray and rainy. I worked a bit on my computer – entering the ID's already confirmed from videotapes and writing a bit. I also visited with some of the other researchers on the island. Basically, it was a day to rest a bit, just like the dolphins yesterday. I hope to have a boat trip tomorrow and will update you again then.

The day did not dawn but did arrive with flair. The morning trip yielded dolphins that were resting or traveling, visbility worse than pea soup, and only about 7 minutes of video. Still, it was nice to be on the water. Our morning trip was delayed about 30 minutes because of a rain shower that dropped about 500 mm of rain in 15 minutes. The roads became rivers – literally! This rain shower is likely the cause of the poor visibility around the island … dirt run-off from the mountain.

Good and bad visibility, strong and weak current. Several boats were on the water today with visitors wishing to see dolphins up close and personal. The visibility was better than yesterday on average but still silty and murky near the surge zone … about 2-3 meters out from the place the waves were breaking. Our first group was similar in membership to the group of dolphins we saw at Nango yesterday. Maekake and a couple other adult females. They were quiet and slow moving today. It seemed that our first group of dolphins were mostly resting.

Poor Visibility, rough seas. But, we saw dolphins. More data! And, we saw three of the new calves of the season … three moms with their new calves among a group of mostly adult females and juveniles. Neat to see them, though they were in and out of our view due to the less than 3 m visibility. The sea was still a bit turbulent from the storm that passed and there was a distinct line indicating where the rain water had washed dirt and debris into the ocean. Brown then blue-black in color.

Downgraded to a tropical storm and more northerly. The rain joined the wind late in the morning and stayed for most of the morning. The tropical storm ushered in the rainy season in Japan. June typically is represented by mostly rainy days. Not like the old USA saying 'April showers bring May flowers.' Not sure what the expression is in Japan. I'll have to look into that. The low pressure system is mostly over us with rain or cloudy skies predicted for most of the week.

5-6 hours of watching video … The typhoon was still southwest of us, but the wind and sea conditions kept us in port. No matter because all of us congregated in the Iruka House (dolphin house, where I am staying) and confirmed ID's from three more videotapes. Only 5 tapes remaining … before we gather more data. And, tomorrow will likely include more videotape viewing. It was nice to recognize so many individual dolphins, and review the footage shot. We have more than 6 hours of video and sound data gathered this season.

The foreshadowing of a storm, plus lots of dolphins. But, we had 5 sightings, i.e., five dolphin groups and were able to record about 30 minutes of video. Getting in and out of the boat was not the easiest it could have been, but Masaki and I managed. We did not see #032 (Atokake) and her new calf, but we did see several other dolphins. Several moms with year old or two year old calves. Some sub-adult males and females. The dolphins were inquisitive and playful.

Our morning trip is aborted due to rough seas and bad lightning. We turn back after getting part way into the dolphin grounds.

Funny, to me, that they call them the dolphin “grounds.” I guess there can be “ground” underwater. Since it is the area where they see them most often and it is a shallow sandy bank; I guess it works.

In our few weeks here, we’ve come to appreciate how Bimini Undersea runs their wild dolphin swim trips.

The waves were higher though the sun was out. I must admit that I did not mind not being on the water today. I met some of the boats and passengers who came back and they all said the sea was rough, the underwater visitbility low, and the dolphins not interested. In fact, Kogi and Hasegawa went out on a transect survey for Hasegawa's research and when they neared Yokozukane, they reported waves of ~3 m! Kogi said it was one of the first times he was scared on the water …