Dan Loman recorded a spell-binding dolphin video using a drone camera flying over fishing nets on Chesapeake Bay, near where it converges with the Potomac River. Loman, who has spent vacations and holiday weekends at his in-laws’ Ophelia cottage since the 1980s, got his first drone camera in 2014, explained his wife Cindy. He dreamed of capturing drone footage of the dolphins the family would see. His persistence paid off in 2021 with spectacular images.
by Tom Chillemi –
The waters at “The Rivah” hold many mysteries that we’ll never see. A splash. Then nothing but questions — “What was that? Did you see that?”
Betty and Bob Waldrop are at Wilton Creek in Hartfield in Middlesex during most weekends but spend most of their time on the Mathews side of the Piankatank River, where he took some good dolphin photos in Hills Bay, which touches Gwynn’s Island. Photo by Bob Waldrop
Thankfully there are dolphins — just about everywhere. Dolphins are one water mystery we get to see if only for a few seconds at a time. The first time you see them they take away your breath.
A glimpse of their glistening sleek bodies is enough to keep us watching and hoping for more.
These highly entertaining mammals, which look like fish, tolerate humans. There have been more sightings of them in recent years. Remember, dolphins are a protected species. Stay at least 50 yards away when viewing from a boat.
There have been dolphin sightings at the headwaters of rivers and in small creeks.
There was a sighting on Thanksgiving Day 2021 on Mathews’ East River. The pod went back-and-forth about 200 yards several times as if they were feeding. They were gone as fast as they came and have not been seen since.
Part of dolphins’ allure is you never know when they’re going to appear. You have to be in the right place at the right time.
Stop, look, listen
Look for jets of water vapor shooting up into the air. If the sun is behind them the spray will be silvery as the sun shines through the vapor. It’s a very distinct shape and looks like a “Vee.”
Turn off your boat engine so you can hear dolphins exhale through their blowholes. Listen for the whoosh. If you can encounter them in shallow water, watch them swim underwater — a truly dreamlike experience.
The challenge is where to look once they dive and where they will surface again.
This summer a boater saw a big fish jump out of the water, flapping its tail trying to get away from a dolphin. It walked on water at a 45 degree angle for several yards. Trying to fly. Then they were both gone, back into the water that only gives up its mysteries sparingly. It was a moment he’d never seen in 35 years on “The Rivah,” and probably will never see again.
Dolphins move into the Chesapeake Bay during the summer months. Dolphin pods are often seen off the Mathews shore of Mobjack Bay between Pepper Creek and the New Point Comfort Lighthouse, and at the mouth of the Rappahannock River. As summer warms they move further up the rivers. Last summer a pod so big it was hard to count was seen in the York River above the Coleman Bridge. Really, you never know when they’ll pop up, which makes dolphin sightings that much more exciting.
Dolphin sightings
For more than five years dolphin sightings on Chesapeake Bay have been logged by citizen observers at chesapeakedolphinwatch.org.
There seems to be more dolphin sightings in recent years.
Cindy Driver Loman said she grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, spending summers with her grandmother in Ophelia on the Potomac River where it meets the bay. She doesn’t recall seeing dolphins until the 1990s or later. “We are always thrilled when we spot even a few during a visit,” she said.
George Cummings of Mathews reported seeing three dolphins on the Fourth of July around 2 p.m. in Woodas Creek. “These dolphins were obviously feeding on the bait fish (plentiful at this time of year in our waters). They swam up the creek, circled and fed and circled again and then slowly left the creek and re-entered the East River,” he recalled. “We were awestruck! We had never seen dolphins in our creek since moving here in 2007.”
John Carmack lives on Bluff Point at the mouth of Indian Creek north of Windmill Point. “I can tell you with certainty that for the last several years we have seen dolphin in our creek routinely every summer.”
Tracy Schario said, “We’ve seen them in Fleets Bay for a decade or so. My husband saw some in Antipoison Creek a few weeks ago.”
Finlay Smith and Jim Peace reported seeing dolphins twice this summer in Dead and Bones Cove, which is past Tides Inn, and once on Carter Creek.
Susan Simmons and family spotted four dolphins in Carter Creek on July 4.
On July 6, Becky Mauck, her husband, and dog named Ruby were just out from the Morratico Creek condos when we saw about 12 dolphins. “They were circling and jumping!”
Lisa Long saw dolphins swimming on June 10 in the Shannon Branch of the Yeocomico River.
Bill Woodward spotted dolphins in Cedar Bush Creek in the upper York River, which forms the southern boundary of Gloucester County.
Betty and Bob Waldrop are at Wilton Creek in Hartfield in Middlesex during most weekends but spend most of their time on the Mathews side of the Piankatank River, where he took some good dolphin photos in Hills Bay, which touches Gwynn’s Island. His photos accompany this story.
Dolphins are unique
Dolphins, whales and porpoises are mammals which evolved from land animals. Dolphin skeletons include bones left over from when they were on land. Since they are mammals, dolphin mothers feed their babies with breast milk.
Unlike fish, dolphins cannot breathe underwater. Dolphins don’t breathe automatically. They must decide when to take a breath.
Dolphins can let half their brain sleep while the other half stays awake.
Dolphins have two stomachs, one stores food and the other stomach digests it.
Dolphins don’t drink water, they get water from their food.
Dolphins can live more than 50 years, according to Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC). The oldest known dolphin was observed in Florida. Researchers knew Nicklo since she was born and established her age at 66 years.
Dolphin teeth have annual growth rings that can be counted to estimate age.
Most dolphins can stay underwater for eight to 10 minutes thanks to a circulation system that can restrict or stop blood flow to skin, digestive system, and extremities, while their heart and brain can still function.
The water pressure when diving deep squeezes air from the lungs into their nasal passages, extending their dive time.
According to the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature that was formerly World Wildlife Fund), hunting dolphins sometimes make bubbles to herd fish to the surface. They also smack their tales on the water to stun fish.
The WWF website also states, “Bottlenose dolphins are one of the few species, along with apes and humans, that have the ability to recognize themselves in a mirror. This is considered “reflective” of their intelligence. Dolphins are also among the few animals that have been documented using tools. In Shark Bay in Western Australia, dolphins fit marine sponges over their beaks to protect them from sharp, harmful rocks as they forage for fish.”
Give dolphins plenty of space
The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 makes it illegal to harass dolphins. According to dolphins.org, “harassment” means: “an act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral patterns including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.” Feeding dolphins is also forbidden.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lists the following guidelines for viewing dolphins by boat:
- Remain at least 50 yards away from dolphins.
- Limit time spent observing individuals and groups of animals to 30 minutes or less.
- Do not chase, encircle, or leapfrog animals with any watercraft. Do not trap animals between watercraft or the shore.
- Avoid approaching marine mammals when another watercraft is near. Multiple vessels are more likely to disturb marine mammals.
- Avoid excessive speed or sudden changes in speed or direction near whales, dolphins, or porpoises.
- When encountering marine mammals, slow down, operate at no-wake speed. Put your engine in neutral when whales approach to pass.
- Avoid approaching whales, dolphins, and porpoises when calves are present. Never put your watercraft between a mother and calf.
- Never pursue or follow marine wildlife — any vessel movement should be from the recommended distance and slightly parallel to or from the rear of the animal. If you need to move around marine wildlife, do so from behind. Never approach head-on.
- Do not intentionally direct your watercraft or accelerate toward a marine mammal with the intent of creating a pressure wake allowing them to bow or wake-ride.
- Slowly leave the area if marine mammals show signs of disturbance.
