Dolphin diary

20 Feb Showing off the new calf

2006-02-20T04:40:00.000-08:00

The forecast was for 38 deg C (100F) but it didn't seem that way as I made my way out about 200 metres to a group of 5 or so feeding dolphins at about 7 .00 am. The wind was cool and the choppy waves were hitting me in the face.
The Ds were ranging over a fair distance but were checking me out on the way past. It was quiet enough to hear their vigorous exhalations as they prepared to dive in search of breakfast. After about 30 minutes with them I noticed the Mum and tiny calf ( see 14 Feb post ) lurking about 30 metres from me. I didn't try to approach them but concentrated on the others.
Eventually, the feeders moved off and the mum and calf were all that was left. I drifted toward them and the mother would check me out above the surface, move toward me and then twist in the dive to move away to a safe distance. I was happy just watching the antics of the calf but, eventually, mum decided that it was ok to approach. She spent the next 10 minutes showing off her calf to me. I wouldn't be surprised if this is her first calf as she seemed very proud of it. The little guy or girl was very adept in the water now. It had apparently learnt to dive in the 6 days since I had first seen it and was motoring along tucked into mum's side as they repeatedly swam under me. The visibility was excellent and I was able to see that it was about 70 cms long. I had plenty of opportunity to identify mum this time. I recognized her fin from previous swims in bay2 during Nov/ Dec.
Eventually, they too drifted away and the encounter was over.

14 Feb Happy Valentine's day to me

2006-02-18T01:08:00.000-08:00

I left home feeling optimistic which was certainly not based on recent history. It may have been the forecast of a very hot day with light winds. Anyway, I got out of bed really early and drove to the beach.
As I pulled in to the carpark in bay3 there were about 50 or 60 birds enjoying a feed about 300m offshore. The type of bird involved seems to like the same type of fish as dolphins do so I peered into the early morning sunlight to see if there were any fins in amongst the birds. Sure enough, I spotted a couple. 15 minutes later I was in amongst the action and could see at least 6 dolphins appearing from time to time. The water was flat and glassy and I could hear from all around me the sound of the Ds exhaling as they prepared for another dive.
The feeding area was roughly square and about 100m by 100m. I put myself into the midpoint and waited for the Ds to approach. For the next 70 minutes I enjoyed frequent visits from happy Ds who had taken the time off from their hunting to say hello and dive around me.
I had noticed a dolphin with a calf on the edge of the area but she was directly between me and the early morning sun. She seemed to be spending a lot of time on the surface and interacting with the calf. I was having too much fun with the others to take much notice of her but, after I had been with the Ds about 25 minutes, she moved closer and out of the direct sunlight. The calf was close to the smallest that I have ever seen. Mum was pushing the baby's rostrum down by putting her own rostrum above it. It seemed that the baby was having a little difficulty with the concept of diving being a head first kind of thing. I sat on my board and watched the lesson with mum alternately trying to push the calf's head down and then nuzzling it as if to apologize. Each time the baby dived it bobbed up to the surface about as quickly as I do in my wetsuit. After about 5 minutes they moved off. I had been so intent on the lesson that I hadn't checked the mother's fin to see if she was one whom I knew.
I figure that at least a dozen Ds joined the feed while I was there and I was getting a little weary keeping up with them. When I had been in the water about an hour the mother and calf returned with adult dolphins in close attendance. They stayed on the edge but finally all approached me on the surface and then did a slow dive straight underneath me before moving away.
Gradually the numbers dwindled and after about 70 mins I was alone in the ocean. I swam slowly back to shore feeling very satisfied.

2 Feb - 10 Feb

2006-02-15T03:28:00.000-08:00

Except for one brief encounter on Feb 3 the dolphins have not been appearing in my usual haunts. I have seen reasonable size groups at nearby beaches but always moving too fast to be "caught".

27 Jan - Are you OK?

2006-01-26T23:34:00.002-08:00

I spotted a group of 3 or 4 dolphins foaraging about 400 metres out in Bay3. I thought it a forlorn hope that I would reach them before they moved on but thought the exercise wouldn't hurt. I was about 20 metres from them when a good samaritan in a stinkboat pulled up between the Ds and me and yelled out "Are you OK?"
I was really tempted to give him an honest answer but I gritted my teeth, trying to make it look like a smile, and gave him a thumbs up. By the time I'd stopped bouncing around in his wake the Ds had disappeared. One returned briefly to swim straight below me on it's way to somewhere else.
I returned to shore in slightly a worse frame of mind than I had left it.
Oh well, you can't win them all.

26 Jan Australia Day - will the dolphins come out to play

2006-01-26T23:34:00.001-08:00

Nope

20 & 22 Jan Nothing to report

2006-01-26T23:34:00.000-08:00

Jan 17 - Pretty as a midsummer morn

2006-01-19T05:23:00.000-08:00

I arrived at Bay1 about an hour after dawn, in fact. ( A little joke for those who remember the words of Dawn, performed by Tony Orlando ).
The bay was beautiful - a clear blue sky and barely a ripple on the surface. There were 6 or so fins about 400 metres offshore. As the visibility appeared perfect in the water I decided to take my new body board out for a spin. It has a plastic portal in it which allows viewing below the surface.
When I got to about 100m from shore the dolphins were waiting for me. The only sound I could hear was my breathing and the Ds exhaling. It was so tranquil. Two of them left and headed closer to shore but the other 4 decided to inspect me and the portal. They were doing lazy rolls under the board, usually with two of them swimming tightly together, pectorals touching. Sometimes, they would move about 20 metres away and lie on the surface waiting for me to get back to them. They were so relaxed. The whole encounter lasted 45 minutes but it was the last 10 which were a special treat for me.
The 4 Ds had moved off about 40 metres when the young ones started playing boisterous games with each other. One would lift the other out of the water and the one lifted would exaggerate that into a backward swallow dive. I could see them chasing each other and the chase would usually end with one leaping vertically about 2 metres into the air. They were having a ball and I just sat and watched, feeling privileged to have a ringside seat to the show.
When they broke contact with me I decided to swim to shore on my back so that I could keep an eye on them in case they turned around. They didn't, but the two which were shoreside of me passed me one on either side about a metre away. As I was on my back I hadn't seen them coming but I'm sure that they knew exactly where I was.

15 Jan - Haven't we seen you here before?

2006-01-16T02:57:00.001-08:00

Through the binoculars I watched about half a dozen dolphins doing some vigorous fishing about 600 metres out. When a couple of fins materialized onlt 100 metres out I decided to go in. By the time I reach them the whole group was there but they made no attempt to come any closer than 15 metres. They were swimming in a tight group so i hung back and waited to see what woulf happen.
Answer: nothing. They left quietly and so did I.
I have been so spoiled during Nov-Dec that the occasional "cold fin" doesn't matter.

14 Jan - A battered girl

2006-01-16T02:57:00.000-08:00

There were about 6 dolphins 300 metres out in Bay1 so I donned my gear and set off. About 200 metres out they had gathered in my path. Except for one young one they came no closer. They hung around for about 10 minutes and then swam slowly toward the outer reef. I let them go and went to Bay2.
There was a solitary fin hunting in there and I expected it to be Scratch but it was in fact a female called Blister. She had lots of swirls and marks over most of her body but they appeared to be superficial. She also looked decidedly podgy around the middle. I expect a new youngster is not far away. She was happy to keep me company for a while and then she went about her business and so did I.

13 Jan - Friday

2006-01-16T02:42:00.000-08:00

Black Friday dawned looking very black indeed. Leaden skies, the result of a disintegrating cyclone, filled sky.
The wind was dropping so I decided to chance a trip to the ocean. I called at Bay1 and there was a solitary fin doing some foraging. I moved out into the bay and watched the fin disappear and re appear as the hunt was on. Occasionally, the fin would approach and the dolphin ( Scratch ) would show me a dead fish in its mouth. It must have kept returning to this dead fish and grabbing it as it would not have been able to catch and swallow the live fish that it was catching. He was doing nose ( more correctly rostrum ) stands in front of me, all the time playing with the small dead fish. He looked at peace with the world. After about 15 minutes he left and I went over to Bay1 to see if there was any action.
Several dolphins were feeding in small groups between 100 and 200 metres from shore. I swam out to the furthest group and they came over to check me out. They didn't stay long so I moved towards shore. The next group did the same and so did the third. There were 3 of them and they hung around for a while. The water was clear but very dull with the heavy cloud cover so I watched their ghostly shapes gliding beneath me. There was a mother with a fairly young calf. I didn't recognize her fin but she had a small piece of skin trailing from her tail fluke so I'll know her next time.
Soon it was over so I left the beach.

5-7 Jan No action

2006-01-09T17:20:00.000-08:00

There were a couple of sightings of distant and/or retreating fins during the three days.
Most years there has been a quiet time during the first three weeks of January. This coincides with the main summer holiday period in Oz but I'm not sure that there is any connection.
It seems more likely that there is a change in the feeding patterns during this time.

2 Jan - Me and my shadow

2006-01-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

A beautiful morning - the sun radiating warmth, the surface almost glassy and one small fin moving slowly around Bay2.
I sat on the beach letting the sun warm me and waited to see if any other dolphins would arrive. I chatted to an English tourist who wanted to know if it was safe to snorkel in these waters. I pointed silently to the fin in the bay. Isn't that a dolphin, he asked. I told him that it was and he asked if it was true that where there are dolphins there are no sharks. I suggested that it was probably because the dolphins would take off if a hungry predator was in the vicinity. If he were there the dolphins didn't have to outrun the shark, only go faster than he could. I'm not sure that he felt reassured by this but he got into the water and started exploring the reefs, which were partially exposed by the low tide.
The dolphin came in close to shore so I slipped into the water to greet it. Silly me. It swam straight out through the gap in the reef. I meandered around the exposed reefs for a while and then returned to shore to warm up.
Shortly after the young D returned, still alone. I generously decided to give it another chance and this time it responded. It came straight over to me. When it was under me I could see that it was Scratch ( see post of 1 Jan ). I noticed two smaller parallel scratches over one eye which I recognized from previous encounters, so the deep scratch must have happened very recently. Anyway, it has enabled me to give him/her a name now. (I'll go with "him" for the time being). He swam under my board and led me at a leisurely pace out to the reef. We covered probably 200 metres together. Sometimes he would hover about 50 cms below the surface and I would dive to the bottom more or less under him. As I floated to the surface he would time his ascent so we broke the surface together. He gradually drifted out to see and I drifted into shore.
We has an almost identical encounter about half an hour later but this time I started to swim with him before he took off suddenly. When I returned to me board I could see a grey shape under it ( the visibility was good ) waiting for me. This time when we reached the reef line a dolphin with a tall narrow fin, which I did not recognize, had come into the bay with a tiny calf which could only have been a couple of weeks old. She kept about 20 metres from but,at one time, I saw the shape of the calf coming toward me at about 3 metres depth. It was keen to check on a patch of seagrass which was below me. I wasn't sure if it was aware of my presence. It nosed into the grass and then seemed to sense me and my board above it. It was back to mum in a big hurry. The three Ds and I stayed in the same area for a while before the 3 of them left fairly quickly for the open water.
The shore had become quite busy as today was a holiday and one of the first summery days this summer. I prefer anonymity so I exited the water at the far end of the beach and left quietly.

1 Jan - Give them enough chances......

2006-01-01T13:44:00.000-08:00

"Give them enough chances and they will surely disappoint you."
That was a quote from a dolphin researcher working at Monkey Mia when I visited many years ago. However, the flip side is "Give them enough chances and they will surely delight you".
Today was sunny with a breeze that was chilly early but became more pleasant as the day warmed up.
Bay2 was host to a lone dolphin doing a bit of half hearted hunting when I arrived. I decided to watch for a while and wait for the temperature to rise a bit before entering the water,but, when the D came within 5 metres of the edge I couldn't resist. When the dolphin approached me I could see that it was a juvenile. Maybe mum had moved it on and it hadn't formed any friendships with others. An occasional dolphin prefers to live alone only socializing occasionally. Anyway, this young D gave me a full on five minutes, shadowing me, diving with me and synchronizing its ascent to the surface with mine.
It was in and out of the bay for the next couple of hours doing its own thing. It was good to watch it from the shore. Later 3 more young dolphins came into the bay and the four of them gave me two separate 15 minute "games". They seemed to have nothing to do but play so I made the most of it. I could hear the squeals of delight emanating from a young girl on the beach every time a fin surfaced near my head. At times we were only about 10 metres from the water's edge. One of these four had a long scratch almost the length of its body. It was deeper than the scratches that they usually carry and looked like the result of a collision with a reef.
By the time I left the wind had died and the sun had a bit of Aussie sting in it. Maybe summer has arrived?

29 Dec - Taking care of business

2006-01-01T12:49:00.000-08:00

Another overcast day with the wind strengthening as I arrived on the coast.
One dolphin was swimming in Bay2. I decided to get wet before conditions deteriorated. When I got closer to the D I recognized the fin of a dolphin which I see occasionally but haven't named. I think it's a male as it is usually alone and I have never seen it with a calf. While I was getting my exercise he checked me out from time to time but didn't come any closer than about 10 metres. I decided not to try to approach him and we both went about our business.
Later three other dolphins, including Chunkie, paid a visit to the bay but were gone within a couple of minutes.

24 Dec - Something's happening here

2005-12-27T22:56:00.000-08:00

"There's always something happening around here, isn't there?"
That was a quote from a lady that was chatting to me as I left the water in Bay2. She had just witnessed an unusual occurrence about 30 metres from shore. I was just returning from a swim with several dolphins when I noticed a disturbance in the water about 20 metres from me. The water was really churned up after two days of howling onshore winds so it was hard to make out what it was but I knew that it wasn't a dolphin. While I was watching the swirls on the water I could make out a creature coming towards me at high speed just below the surface. As it got closer I could see its colour and guessed that it was a sea lion ( neophoca cinerea ). No sooner had this happened than it became airborne and flew past my nose. albeit about two metres away. It then popped its canine head up and stared at me, probably trying to see if I had expired from shock. I think I may have if I had not experienced the antics of these fun loving creatures before. I was hoping it would stay and entertain me with its underwater grace but it moved on parallel to shore and out of the bay.
Earlier, I had an exhilarating 15 minute swim with 5 dolphins for 15 minutes. Visibility under the water was about a metre but they spent a fair bit of time on the surface cruising along allowing me to keep up with them.
There were dolphins in and out of the bay for the best part of 3 hours. I did a fair bit of swimming around the reef outcrops and would regularly have one or more of the dolphins for company. I only saw them when they surfaced or as faint shadows underneath me.
I was on holiday for 6 days over Christmas and only found one day where the wind was light enough to make a swim worthwhile.
Summer will arrive soon, I'm sure.

19 Dec - Ten lords a-leaping

2005-12-19T21:57:00.000-08:00

What have ten leaping lords got to do with a dolphin diary? Not much, really, but read on and you will see the tenuous connection.
Monday was a dismal day - heavy cloud and a strengthening onshore wind. I arrived at Bay1 to see a small gathering of the early morning swimmers on the shore staring intently at a couple of dolphins only twenty metres from shore. They informed me that they had watched another creature swimming in the shallows but could not identify it. They decided that they would forego their daily swim.
There were two dolphins about 100 metres from shore but, given the conditions, I was not keen to get wet and cold. However, when 3 more joined them I decided that I should get out there. While I was on my way to them I saw a really exhilarating sight. About 300 metres from shore a young dolphin did nine consecutive vertical leaps, its tail clearing the water by at least a metre. That meant that its head was about 3 metres above the surface. I have seen a dolphin perform a couple of consecutive leaps before but never anything like this. I decide that I had to see what was the cause of this excitement. I paddled straight past the original two dolphins who were probably a bit surprised that I did so. When I reached the spot where the leaping had taken place there were a lot of birds floating on the surface but not a fin in sight. The birds had descended on the spot after the leaps, thinking that it meant a feed was available. I doubted that the leaps were prompted by fish but I don't have any idea what initiated it. If it was to flee a predator I would think that the leaps would have been more horizontal but these were vertical and from almost the same place each time.
As I moved back to shore I was passed by two dolphins swimming in the opposite direction. They managed to ignore me as I had them. Can't say that I blame them. Shortly after 3 more did the same thing.
I read an email today that said that you should measure your life, not by the number of breaths that you take, but by the moments that take your breath away. The young, leaping dolphin added one more breathless moment to my list.
I went to check on Bay2 which is somewhat sheltered from the wind. There were dolphins moving in and out of the bay but they don't seem to enjoy being on the surface when it is choppy. Two young dolphins gave me an up close and personal swim for about two minutes before they were called away by Mum. The sun broke thru as I finished my swim and I sat on the beach and enjoyed watching the dolphins interacting with each other close to shore.

17 Dec - Has summer arrived?

2005-12-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

The area in which I live has experienced the coolest December since records were first kept. Is this what they mean by global warming?
However, there was a bit of warmth in the sun on Saturday and it was uncomfortably warm in my wetsuit before I entered the water. The sea surface was calm, no wind at all and 4 or 5 dolphins about 300 metres from shore in Bay1. I kicked out to them and they were quite relaxed, giving me about 10 minutes of their time. They'd give me a swim by and then disappear. Just when I thought that they'd deserted me I'd hear a noisy exhalation of breath behind me and there they would be waiting for me to rejoin them. They moved slowly out to sea but too fast for me to keep up so I swam slowly back to shore.
Chunkie was in the group and her calf was with her. I surmise that she has conceived and we'll see a new Chunkie junior next December.

14 Dec - What happened to summer

2005-12-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

Today dawned looking more like a winter's day than a day just a week or so before the summer solstice. Heavy dark clouds and a 30 kph onshore wind. I usually don't go to the beach on such a day but I was on holiday and felt that I could use the exercise.
There were a couple of fins in bay2 but they were spending long periods below the surface. I spotted a group of about 6 which seemed to be fishing about 300 metres out on the reef. I tried to talk myself out of going out to them but I failed. Bad choice. When I got to where they had been I was alone.
The two in the bay gave me a brief pass by on my way back in. It was Chunkie and her calf but they were as restless as the water in the bay and soon went about their business. I made a couple of attempts to initiate contact but it was a fruitless exercise. Regular readers of this diary will recall the dolphin with the busted fin which I saw back in November. It appeared briefly in the bay today but didn't come close enough for me to get a closer look at the damaged fin.
The forecast is for some summer weather shortly so hopefully contact will improve.
It was about this time last year that the Ds stopped visiting bay2 regularly. One thing that I have learned over the years is that you cannot rely on last year's pattern to repeat but I have a feeling that this one will.

10 Dec - As good as it gets

2005-12-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

I approached Bay2 this morning unsure of what I would see after last Wednesday's dolphin free day. There was a very light breeze so the surface was almost glassy and the light cloud cover was keeping the glare off the water. As soon as I could see the bay I noticed a disturbed patch of water and 2 fins appeared almost immediately. Even from the shore I could see that the visibility was perfect. I changed and "hit" the water. By this time there were 6-8 fins in the bay only about 70 metres from shore. I had a brief visit from them and, almost immediately, 6 of them left thru the gap in the reef.

The two who stayed were juveniles and looking for some fun. They were really relaxed and either approached me on the surface so that we could dive together or simply swam about directly under me about 2 metres down. Occasionally, I would think that they'd gone and then notice a grey shape below me. We spent about 30 minutes together and then Chunkie appeared nearby and called them to her. I assume that one of them was her calf. She had been in the original 6 that left earlier so obviously it had been ok for the calves to stay and keep me occupied. I left the water feeling quite content but did not realise what was in store for me about 30 minutes later.

Twice during the 30 minutes I decided to leave and check out the other bays but each time I caught a glimpse of fins outside the reef. Finally, I spotted a large group swimming along the reef about 100 metres out. I decided to get into the water, hoping that they would turn into the bay. I glanced up when I was halfway out and saw that they had decided to come in. There were at least 15 fins and they were so relaxed that some of them were cruising along the surface. I angled around behind the inner group and inside the others. Then they really made my day by converging on me. I was being buzzed by sonar and listening to a cacophony of squeals and whistles as they surged all around. If I dived to the bottom and rolled over so that I was looking skywards I could see dolphins at my level and at various levels above me. It is vary rare for them to ever let me get below them. Some were doing slow "torpedo runs" towards me on the surface and then diving when they were about 2 metres away. I'd dive and lose sight of them as I went straight down. As I approached the sandy bottom I would have a pectoral fin of a dolphin about 20 cms from my nose. Sometimes they would surface as I did and do another dive. I mimicked them. Occasionally, when I was concentrating on one dolphin two more would swim under my belly and start to surface in front of me. Everybody, was joining in. They started drifting out to sea over the reef so I followed. They were moving so slowly that I could keep up without effort. Some decided to play hide and seek with me by diving behind an outcrop and waiting for me to dive and move around to their side. Sometimes I would be facing them and at other times, behind them. When I appeared behind them they would take off in mock fright,only to appear seconds later from behind me. At one stage I counted 9 young dolphins below me packed as tight as sardines as they swam between two rocky outcrops. Their pectoral fins were touching and they looked blissfully happy. They were squealing and whistling so I dived to about 50 cms above them and went thru the gap with them. At some stages an adult would swim to one of the juveniles and lift it out of the water so that it would land on its back with quite a splash. It was as though I wasn't there. It's terrific to have their trust to this extent. When they finally moved off I looked at my watch and was surprised to see that 30 minutes had elapsed since I started my swim.

7 Dec - Nuffin

2005-12-07T22:58:00.000-08:00

On a morning with a mirror like surface I spent two and half hours at the beach and spotted not one solitary fin.

2 Dec - Stubby came a'courting

2005-12-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

The day started with almost perfect windless conditions. I pulled into Bay1 and there were about a dozen dolphins in 3 groups across the bay. I kicked out to a group of 5 who were fishing about 70 metres from shore. One of them was a young dolphin who keeps appearing on nearly all my swims. Although it has a clean, and, therefore, hard to identify fin it has a circular watermark about 5 cms in diameter just to the right of its blowhole. It is a very playful little creature. I'll call it Splotch. After 25 minutes of interaction this group left so I came back to shore and dried off.
I drove to Bay 2 and was pleased to see a large and a small fin in the bay. I kicked out and they disappeared as I approached. I was surprised by this and , even more so, when one of the dolphins surfaced and it was Chunkie. She dived again quickly and veered away from me. The reason became apparent when she surfaced next time. The small fin belonged to a male dolphin who is not very large but is old enough to want to be a dad. He was shadowing Chunkie's every move almost touching her. It is not unusual to see mating activity around here but usually in Bay3. I have never seen a single male courting just one female. The mating activity usually attracts a crowd ( of dolphins, that is ). I kept my distance and they kept up this synchronized activity for an hour. They were still going when I decided to head for home.
It will be interesting to see if Chunkie produces a new calf in 12 months time.

27 Nov - An ill wind

2005-11-30T02:07:00.000-08:00

There was a nasty cold wind blowing at about 30 kph when I arrived at Bay1. The sight of 2 dolphins fishing within 10 metres of the shore was not enough to tempt me to plunge into the water. I watched as they swam out towards the outer reef, congratulating myself on still being dry.
I drove to Bay2 to see what was happening. As soon as I reached the beach I saw two fins in the bay so decided to get changed. This bay was a lot more protected from the wind and the sun was radiating more warmth so it wasn't such a hard decision. On returning to the beach I was confronted with an empty bay - not a fin in sight. It wasn't more than 10 minutes before a few fins appeared near the reef. They seemed to be deciding whether to enter the bay or not. After a couple of false starts they started to swim slowly in. I met up with them about 70 metres from shore and four heads lifted to check me out. They gave me a slow swim by and went about their business, still in the bay, before returning for more swim bys. After 10 minutes they left and I returned to shore to warm up. Strangely, I did not recognize even one fin in the group.
Over the next 40 minutes I had two more 10 minute encounters. The first was noticeable for a frenetic synchronized circle game being played under me by two juveniles. This game involves swimming in about a 3 metre diameter circle directly under me trying to break eye contact. It excites the young Ds to this and they let out high pitched squeals of delight.
The third visited involved the usual swim bys but had a bonus. A juvie decided to swim alongside me on the surface ( unusual behaviour ) for about 20 metres and then when we were almost touching do an almost vertical dive, allowing me to dive down alongside. The D seemed to know that I would surface quickly with my buoyant wetsuit on and surfaced alongside me and we both took a breath and dived again. A touch of synchronized swimming with one of us a little more elegant that the other - still the D was only young :-)
The small group in the bay left shortly after to join a group of about 12 which moved slowly away.
As I left a little boy asked "Any dolphins here today?"

A couple of my swimming "teachers"

2005-11-28T03:51:00.000-08:00

22 Nov - A social gathering

2005-11-22T22:04:00.000-08:00

The morning started well.
I rolled into the Bay1 carpark to see 4 dolphins doing a spot of lazy fishing about 120 metres from shore. ( That's about as close as they get in Bay1 ). I changed quickly and kicked out to them. Almost immediately two of them departed at high speed. Was it something I said? Wrong deodorant, perhaps?
An adult and calf remained. The mother is a dolphin I call Smiley because she has the most perfect dolphin "smile" that you could hope to see. She used to be called Four Bob but I think Smiley suits her better. She started playing a game which I had rarely experienced before. She would float to the surface about 10 metres from me and lie there until I moved toward her. She would then dive and swim directly under me, turning on her side to check me out, before disappearing altogether for about a minute. The process was then repeated. Her calf was nowhere to be seen for most of the time which is a little unusual as they are usually pretty tight with their mum when no other Ds are close by. I suspect the calf had joined the other two somewhere in the bay. The calf returned after about 15 mins and the game continued. After about 25 minutes they left at high speed leaving the water with powerful surges. I can't compete with a feed of fish.
I left the water and could see about 4 fins further out diving vigorously in pursuit of fish.
I decided to check out Bay2. When I arrived the bay looked beautiful in the almost still conditions, but no fins. While I was watching a mother and calf floated to the surface about 50 metres from shore. I entered the water as quickly as I could and spent the next hour there. There were never more than 8 Ds in the bay at one time but by my reckoning there were at least 15 different ones came thru. I saw Chunkie, Gummy, Emnick and her tiny calf, Rags ( first sighting this season ) and several others whose fins I know but haven't given names to. There was a bit of fishing going on but it seemed that their main purpose was to socialize and interact with each other. Occasionally, one of the calves would be thrown upwards by one of the older ones giving it a lift from below. One calf executed a perfect leap and reentry about 10 metres from me. If I'd had a scorecard I'd have given it a 5.7 as there was a bit of a splash on the entry.
I was not really central to what was going on althea I was given quite a few swim bays and the occasional circle game from one of the juveniles. I was happy just to sit or lie on my board and watch the relaxed socializing that was going on around me.
There must be plenty of fish around at present as the Ds seem to have far more time to just "hang out".

19 Nov - A little ray of sunshine

2005-11-21T04:25:00.000-08:00

A few dolphins were cruising in and out of Bay 3 but I knew not to expect much from this group. I decided just to get some exercise and took my board out.
I was checked out closely by the smallest D in the group but then they left in a hurry.
I noticed what looked like a patch of weed moving under my board but soon was able to make out the shape of a ray. It was about a metre across the wings. It looked to be the same species but about half the wingspan of the others that I have seen, mainly in the last two years. I don't know whether this size difference may be age or gender related.
This ray stayed with me for a couple of hundred metres following the shadow of my board across the sand. Love at first sight, maybe. There seems to always be some wildlife in this area.
I covered about 1000 metres and decided to call it a day.

18 Nov - I can't believe how relaxed they were

2005-11-18T15:08:00.000-08:00

That was the comment from my mate Gee as we left the water after an exhilarating 35 minute swim with 5 dolphins.....
We had had a couple of short lived dolphin swim bys in Bay 1 when Gee went to check Bay 2. He called to tell me that there were 4 Ds in Bay 2. I drove there but the bay was empty when I arrived. We sat on the sand sheltered from the cool wind and enjoyed the warming rays of the sun. We decided to check Bay 3 on our way back to Bay 1. As we pulled into the carpark we could see about 4 fins diving on a seagrass bank about 400 metres from shore. They appeared settled there so we thought the trip out was warranted. They were doing tail out dives which is a sure sign that they are relaxed. In a normal dive the tail does not break the surface in the relatively shallow waters around here.
We reached them in about 15 mins and a couple of them were catching some small fish which hardly seemed big enough for them to bother with. Perhaps they are especially tasty. It was an unusual gathering in that only one of the five was a juvenile. The other four were fully grown. I was familiar with all of them. I suspect that they are a group of young females who have not had a calf as yet. One of them is a particularly playful D who has a very prominent growth on her "lip". It looks like it was perhaps an ulcer that has healed over. I have always referred to her as Gummy. They were playing a game which I have seen before. There would be a couple of Ds swimming together when another would swoop on them from behind, seemingly startling them. Then the roles would reversed.
One of the signs of relaxed Ds in this area is that they will lie on the surface and lift their head enough to check me out. They started doing this and allowed me to cruise right alongside them on my board. I decided to see if they would let me join in their "chasy" game. I started diving, keeping out of there way. Soon I was being approached from behind and underneath bu one or two Ds. I then started being the "chaser" and the D would dart off when I approached, emitting the squeal that indicates their excitement. Gee was joining in on the other side of the group and before long I felt that we were honorary members of the group. Soon we were doing "head on" approaches. I left it to the Ds to avoid a collision, which, of course, they had no trouble with. Many times as we crossed I had a tail about 15 cms from my mouth and I wondered how silly I would feel if the D gave a me a whack. No teeth and a wired jaw would be the result I reckon. No such thing happened as any D knows exactly where other creatures in its vicinity actually are. Another sign of complete acceptance on the day was that on several occasions when I was swimming alongside a couple of Ds at a depth of 3 metres I'd catch movement out of the corner of my eye on the other side. When I looked over I'd see two more Ds swimming along so that the five of us were in formation.
After 30 mins I asked Gee how long he thought we had been there and he said an hour. It was that kind of day.
Five minutes later the Ds decided that they had better things to do with their lives and moved off.
Thanks girls, it was a real blast.

11-12 November - A badly mangled fin

2005-11-12T20:25:00.000-08:00

Friday was much ado about very little. The Ds were not in Bay 2 so I parked at Bay 1 and waited. Before long there were several fins noticeable about 600 metres from shore. I decided to kick out and see what happened. I was about 300 metres out when a fin or two appeared about 15m in front of me. They kept surfacing within 20 or so metres for a couple of minutes and then dived while facing in my direction. I counted 8 as they swam under me but that was it. A fleeting visit and then they went about their business, diappearing towards the outer reef.
One of them had a dorsal fin which had major damage. The top third was ragged and actually snapped off. It was hanging on by the "skin". I have never seen this sort of damage to a dolphin in this area before. I can only imagine that it was caused by an encounter with a propellor or a large predator. The water around here is deep enough so that prop damage is rare. If I get the chance in coming weeks I'll try to get a close look to see if there are bite marks present. I don't know if it's a D that or know or a stranger. I suspect the latter.
Saturday was similar. When i arrived at Bay 1 there were a few dolphins about only about 50 metres from shore doing a bit of foraging. I went in about 50m away from them so as not to interfere with breakfast and they swam over. One of the youngsters darted around in front of me as tho testing out its nerve. They swam off toward the outer reef almost immediately.
Later in the morning there was some high speed surging by about 6 Ds near the outer reef. I considered going out but the wind was getting up and it takes me about 15 minutes to get there so I called it a day and headed for home.

6 Nov - Babysitting duties

2005-11-06T03:09:00.000-08:00

After a week when the weather was wintry I was not expecting a good day for sunday but the forecast was for light winds in the morning so I thought that I would drive to the beach to see if anything was happening. The sky was clear when I left home but the steering wheel was uncomfortably cold. The thought of immersing my body in the ocean was not a welcome one as I turned the heater on in the car.
I arrived at bay 2 at 7.50 and there were a couple of fins in the middle of the bay about 50 metre from shore. I changed into my wetsuit and kicked my board out toward them. By the time that I arrived the 2 Ds had turned into 6. Chunkie was there along with Little Nick and a clean finned D that I could not positively identify. Each had a calf. Chunkie's calf is quite large now and I wouldn't be surprised if she is pregnant again judging by her girth.
The visibility underwater was only about 2 metres so I watched the action from above the surface. They seemed to be relaxing and socialising as I observed no hunting activity. I was a peripheral part of their day as they swam by from time to time but kept their distance to about 10 metres. After 50 minutes I was getting cold and headed for shore to warm up a bit and decide whether to come back in to the water.
After 10 minutes I saw a couple of extra fins in the water and decided to go back in. I must have paid my dues with the first swim as 4 Ds peeled off and came straight to me, swimming right underneath my board. There were about 10 present now and I had one of those rare days when it seemed that i had been granted honorary membership of the group. I just cruised around on my board and the Ds kept surfacing right alongside me and keeping me company. It is unusual for them to stay on the surface when they are close but they were very relaxed. I noticed more and more small fins near me and fewer adult fins. For about 15 minutes I had only young dolphins with me, including the tiny one mentioned in my first post. It seemed that I had been elected babysitter while the mums went off for a bit of socialising of their own. I'm not sure what they expected me to do if a predator appeared but I guess that they knew that I was the slowest one in the group.
At about 10 am I decided that if I didn't leave the water hypothermia might set in so I gave the youngsters back to their mums and left the water.
I had a Coke while watching the 6 or so Ds left in the bay. Three people without any warm gear swam out and were rewarded with a swim by.
I left for home with the Ds still close to shore - a rare occurence indeed.

23 October - Too easy

2005-10-27T19:21:00.000-08:00

Sunday - a cool morning with little wind and heading towards a maximum of 27 deg.
I reached the junction where I have to decide if bay n0. 1 or no. 2 is to be my first port of call. I decided on no.1 and it was a good decision.
I parked my car and walked to the bay. There were lots of cormorants there which is usually a good sign because they seem to like the same fish as the dolhins do.
I saw a swirl under the surface which is indicative of a dolphin changing direction suddenly, usually when foraging. Before long two fins surfaced, a mother and calf. I trotted back to my car and changed into my wet suit.
Bay no. 2 is a great place because the reef is only about 120 metres from shore and the Ds are always easy to reach while they are in the bay. I swam out about 50 metres and the calf came over to check me out. The mother hung back a bit but I was pleased to see that it was Chunkie, the first D that swam with me 10 years ago. She treats me as part of the furniture these days and only gives me personal attention when there is no other dolphin around. She is easy to recognize as she has a 3in by 0.5 inch chunk missing from the back of her dorsal fin.
Her calf, which is at least 3 years old was trying to feed from her as they swam under me. He should be past that by now.
By now, there were other fins appearing in the bay. I recognized most of them but there was a high ragged fin which i wasn't sure that I had seen before. At one stage I counted 8 in the bay. They were fishing but also giving me regular "swim bys". The calfs were particularly friendly. The whole session lasted 90 minutes during which time I had a couple of ten minute breaks to warm up.
Toward the end I noticed a wide grey shadow under me. It was a ray with a wingspan of about 4 feet. They seem to be attracted to the shadow on my board and I've seen them occasionally in bay no. 1. I had never seen one in this bay before. Often, when a ray is hunting, a D will be stalking it trying to steal the food that the ray disturbs. The rays seem to take this quite calmly although it doesn't seem very fair to me. The dolphins were ignoring the ray - maybe it wasn't turning up anything interesting on the sandy bottom.
I left the water tired but satisfied with the encounter.

20th October - first swim.

2005-10-24T22:46:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday was a pleasant 27 deg in these parts so i decided to enter the slightly chilly water for my first swim of the season. It's wet suit and radiator vest weather.
I pulled up at the beach at about 10.00 and was pleased to see a small group of dolphins about 500m off shore. I kicked my body board for about 11 minutes which took me about 440 metres off shore. I was glancing up as i moved out and didn't see a fin in sight. I consoled myself with the thought that my ankles and insteps were getting used to the flippers ( fins ) without having to keep pace with Ds when i saw a fin, motionless, about 40 metres away directly in front of me. The familiar adrenalin surge went thru me. The D was facing directly toward which usually means that it is going to check me out at closer quarters.
Slightly ahead of me and to my left I spotted another two fins. This was a D whom I call Miss Clean as she has only the slightest mark on her dorsal fin. She is fairly young ( about 12 yo, I'd say ) and has not had a calf. Well, when I saw her in April she hadn't had a calf. She does now. a lovely light coloured little D, full of beans as they are when they are small.
Miss C kept about 15 metres from me at all times. some mothers bring their calf over to me without fear but she chose not to. Being a first time mum I was pleased to see her being cautious. The other D, who I rcognized as one who has a small hook shaped cut in her fin also kept her distance which is unusual for her.
They stayed in my vicinity for about 10 minutes and then started to drift out to sea.
I returned to the beach after about 30 minutes in total feeling quite pleased with my first swim.

Introduction

2005-10-24T22:22:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone
I am fortunate enough to live in an area which has a lot of dolphins living reasonably close to the shore. Even more fortunate in that they often join me when I'm getting my exercise on my body board.
I can recognize many of the individuals from the marks on their dorsal fin ( and elsewhere ) and have had some regulars turn up over the last 10 summers.
I was planning to keep a diary this spring/ summer and thought that I may as well share it.
I live in the southern portion of Australia and we are now moving into spring after a longer than normal winter.

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