Tag: older content

On the water yesterday (20 June) We were on the water in the afternoon yesterday. The first two groups of dolphins were NOT interested in us. With long surface intervals they were likely resting. We watched them from the surface for 20 minutes and attempted two entries when a few individuals came closer to the boat.

After leaving this group, we continued our counter-clockwise path around Mikura passing Motone and Yokozukane before seeing the next group … a large and spread group of more than 25 dolphins.

… and lots and lots of dolphins! We left port at 13:14 and saw dolphins 15 minutes later. And saw dolphins till we left them to return to port at 15:50! We saw the first three subadults at Numurine (we saw these three again later on our third water entry). One was #145 ('Y-chan' because she has a Y-shaped mark on her right side.) and two other buddies. In fact Y-chan spent the day with us … bow riding or playing underwater.

More rain and boats filled with okyakusan will keep us in port today.When the weather is bad … i.e., rain and fog but no wind, the senchoo take six okyakusan as the maximum number of passengers. Thus, we will spend our time on shore today analyzing data.

For every hour of data I gather (i.e., record), I have at least 15-20 hours of analysis time. First I need to log what is on each tape … for easy future reference. Then, I conduct the primary identifications on the animals.

And, ID's of the second and third calves of the year! (well, of their moms) Our second boat trip was today. We saw dolphins in much the same places as yesterday but today we saw some amazing behavior. The first group we saw was composed mostly of adult females and young juveniles, likely last year's calves. There were also a few pregnant females swimming along together. And yes, there were a group or two of rambunctious young males.

Our first trip out to find and observe dolphins was a huge success!!We left port at 6:56AM and headed counter clockwise around the island (check out the map of Mikura to orient yourself to the places I mention.). Hishii-san drove for Manpu and I – this was a research trip with no guests. The owner of the boat, Gen-san, donated its use to us this morning since he did not need to use his boat till about 10 AM.

Our first group (4 dolphins) were seen not more than 200 m into our trip.

A Bright New Day Dawns I greeted the sun at about 5:50 AM … a wonderous site after soo many days of rain. The sea is flat calm and the air feels new and clean. Still, we will likely not get out on the water today. No 'okyakusan' till tomorrow and the senchoo are buzy with other work today. Other tasks can be attended to by us as well. (Us being me and the other researcher on the island) … like airing out our futonas, doing laundry, etc.

… while waiting for the rain and wind to calm down. My work (and that of two other students on the island studying dolphins) depends mostly on joining the watching/swimming trips. Since the weather has been so bad, there are no tourists here (they could not get here because the boat was canceled two days running.) and thus no trips. Some times, we will be able to go out without tourists, but only when the senchoo are available (need a special license to drive the boats here …). So we wait.

Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day. Did I mention this is the rainy season in Japan? 'tsuyu' means 'plum rain' because it is a good season to make 'umeboshi' which are sour plums. It is also the term for the rainy season. I fleetingly wondered today if I should begin looking for wood for an ark! (Just kidding!)

I spent time today reviewing some scientific articles for two manuscripts I am writing.

Unpacking Gear and Assembling my Array Yesterday was a long day. The ferry ride between Miyake and Mikura was about 50 minutes with about two-meter swells and wind and rain. It was raining harder at Mikura when we arrived. It is chilly – I have been wearing sweats and a sweatshirt – about 19°C. I am sharing work space (and cooking facilities) with Kogi-san (nicknamed Manpu). He is a student of my host (Yoshioka-sensei) here in Japan.

To Mikura I made it to Mikura. Am here now with a heavy rain. Will update everyone more after I am unpacked and have an idea of my schedule.