Tag: older content

Happy 4th of July!

A great day on the water … and under the surface. In 1992, both were juveniles, this year both are adults, a male and female. Whitespot and Venus, respectively. They played with us for a solid 30 minutes. Venus and a second adult female (identity to be confirmed from photos) had calves with them and Whitespot swam between both pairs. They calves did not come close but the adults did. Whitespot is named for a large white spot on the dorsal side above his right pectoral fin.

Again our day began with a greeting (sighting) of bottlenose dolphins.

It would seem that the bottlenose here are becoming more interested in us. Our first encounter was with two dolphins – both spotted and both juvenile. They seemed to be trying to lead us away from the boat. We were anchored near what we call the little dolphin wreck. This was a navigational aid that sank many years ago. They dolphins routinely like to chase the jacks and sting rays that frequent the site. Of course, we like to swim there and watch the fish and other critters.

Sunday, and setting out for sea.

Spotted dolphins seen, but no interest. We had our first sighting of dolphins about 3 hours after leaving port. A group of five spotted dolphins. I recognized #112 (Mia) a subadult male. I first saw him in 1994 as a calf. He has numerous spots now and is usually curious. We also identified #25, an adult male named Spade. But today, this group had no interest in us. They were surfing in the swells (each about 2-3 feet) and traveling with several other dolphins. We anchored about half way up the banks and had a peaceful night …

Bimini Dolphin Research

Report #9 A tropical wave caused much rain, lightning and wind from Tuesday through Sunday. Thunderstorms ceased on Friday morning but strong easterly winds remained. In general, wind direction was out of the East at 15-20 knots and the seas were 3-4 foot (3 or 4 on the Beaufort windscale). Three out of the nine survey trips scheduled for this week had to be cancelled due to poor weather conditions. During Monday morning's survey trip (seas mirror-like conditions), we sighted a large group of 30 spotted dolphins comprised of all age classes.

Nervous in Speaking

But, everyone understood me … People, no matter where they live, love dolphins. I get to see the wonder in everyone's eyes when we talk about how dolphins socialize, how they communicate. It is an honor to share my research and information about dolphins with folks. I had practiced my nihongo (Japanese) several times and was able to give my presentation with only a few stumbles over some words. And, then I watched the dubbed version of DOLPHINS. It was odd seeing myself on that giant screen the first time, and most times thereafter.

Remembering Japanese

Interviews and sharing informationIt was a long, loooonnnggg day. But, a good one. People are truly interested in anything related to dolphins. It is an honor to be able to share my research with folks. As I may have indicated earlier, DOLPHINS opens in Japan officially this week. And, I will introduce it at a theater in Tokyo (Takashimaya) and then the next day in Osaka. I will give a 10 min. presentation in Japanese (nihongo).

Travel Day!

Leaving on a jet plane … Well, my bags are packed … two large cases of gear and a garment bag with clothing and snorkeling gear. And, my laptop and one other check on bag. this is traveling light for me! I'll stop by customs to have them check my gear list with serial numbers. This is so that when I return I won't (hopefully) be charged duty on my gear. My flight is about 10 hours and I will cross the international dateline.

Updates from last summer …

Miyake & the volcano eruptions Some of you may remember that when I was in Japan last year, the volcanoe on Miyake erupted. Not lava, but gas and ash. The smoke clouds were amazing and quite tall. In late August, when I was in the Bahamas, I received messages from friends that the entire island (popn. ~3500 people) was evacuated. The latest estimates are that people will not be able to return home for ten to twenty years! yes, you read that correctly.

Packing, Packing …

and more Packing. The spare room in my house and my office are quite chaotic. All my gear and my clothing is spread out in each of these rooms. We are using a second click detector board in the echolocation click detector. This will allow us to capture two different frequencies from dolphin echolocation clicks. Also, we have a preamplifier unit added to the MVA system. We added this preamplifier to the array (MVA) to boost the signal from the hydrophones. This will help us record clearer signals with less noise.