DWARF SPINNER DOLPHINS

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Hi again from a very hot a humid Croker Island

Nancy arrived back at Croker on Tuesday after three weeks in Darwin getting to know our grandson Noah.  She also spent some time with other family - sorry Jayse, Kristy and Dean but you have been 'bumped' by Noah. Haha. Our little dog, PK gave Nancy a very energetic and warm welcome at the Croker Island airport, racing out onto the aircraft parking apron to greet her - no airport security here!! 

After months of windy south east trade winds we have moved into the build up season which brings light winds but much warmer and more humid weather. 

On Thursday ranger Clayton and I (Bryan) did a boat patrol around the outer islands. 

As you will see in the first photo and the videos below the water was glassy smooth with great visibility. Ten kilometers out we came across a group of small dolphins - most were only about half grown. We stopped, switch the motor off and watched these amazing creatures swim playfully around the boat for 20 minutes. At the start the first video you can see the northern part of Croker Island's east facing coast in the background.

In the next video take careful notice of one of the smaller dolphins who has a white mark on it's tail. We believe this is bite from a shark.


In this video we actually caught site of a couple of sharks swimming below the dolphins. If you look very closely you should be able to see one shark. The substance floating on the surface of the water is coral spawning which happens naturally at this time of the year. 

We sent some photos and videos of the dolphins to a marine researcher at the Charles Darwin Uni (CDU) and they identified them as Dwarf Spinner dolphins, the smallest species in Australia. Not a lot is known about them. It looks like we will be assisting in some marine research work over the next few years with CDU. This will include manta rays, dolphins, false killer whales, dugong and turtles. 

The video below captured some great cloud reflections on the glassy water. 

Until the next blog post, take care and God bless.

Bryan and Nancy



 

Comments

Neil said…
Tell me we don’t pay you to do that… it’s not work is it lol. No good on you to be able to enjoy an amazing part of Gods creation… and thanks for sharing it without the heat and humidity!
16 October 2022 at 09:11
Macca's Meanderings said…
Days like that day are definitely what 'keep the fires burning'. They make up for the hot days spraying weeds or the frustrating head office bureaucracy and ever increasing admin work. Cheers Bryan
16 October 2022 at 21:56
Unknown said…
Lucky fish. xxx
5 November 2022 at 08:51
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