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Fins to Feather

by Scarlet Colley - March - 2003

Even though Spring Breakers scare most everyone else away from the Island, Fins to Feathers is offering boat tours to those who would like to still enjoy the Laguna Madre Dolphins and Birds by picking up, by boat, the tour group on the Port Isabel side to avoid the traffic jams on the bridge. Those who are in the valley can still have some fun on the water. There are several other tours that leave from the Port Isabel side and also remember that the Island is pretty quiet up until noon. Those birders that would like to enjoy Spring Migration that is now happening can go across early morning to bird and just be sure to leave before noon. The month of March is a month of planning to avoid being stuck on the causeway in the afternoons. Get to the Island early and leave early is the best way to enjoy it. For those of us that live on the Island or work here we have all developed our own ways of dealing with the traffic. Seeking advice about how not to be caught in hours of traffic is the best way to work around spring break.

On the water it has been quite foggy this Feb. and March so far. We have been having tours we call Dolphins in the Mist. Our dolphins seem to find us in the fog and lead us around and quite often start to lead us back to the marina. Perhaps they sense that our boat does not have radar and they do. Our dolphins of the Laguna Madre Bay are always amazing us. We love to watch them throw their food around and play with it. Dolphins are fishatarians and they spend many hours feeding. We never know who we will find feeding together. Each day the boy groups seem to change as feeding groups. There are some days when the boys are with the mothers and babies feeding and playing with their little brothers and sisters. Sharkey has been hanging out with a new friend that we have named Ranger. We use to see Ranger alone a lot and Sharkey was always with Buddy. Now we see Buddy hanging out with Propscar. Propscar use to always hang out with Nicki, Raggedy Andy, Cody and some of the other gang.

Another thing we see quite a bit is mother and babies that are in the largest groups most of the day, off to them selves. A mother and baby will take time part of the day to just have time to them selves. Perhaps this gives mother time to teach her baby things without distractions of the other children. We also came across a group of mothers without any babies around. These mothers were enjoying mother’s day out perhaps to catch up on some well needed rest without babies around, while grandmas kept the little ones. This is when you can find the little ones playing together and is quite an event. The little ones learning to play is quite exciting to observe. The best time for us though is when we have all the boys together and they play with each other. This is an incredible time and we have filmed some great moments during this playtime. We have watched as mothers and babies move across the bay sleeping. When we find them sleeping we move on as not to disturb their short sleep and find them later after they have had their rest. They sleep in short fifteen or twenty minute sessions. After they have rested they are willing to interact with us, unless they are going off to feed.

Remember that we never feed; touch or swim with wild dolphins and this is for them. For us to touch or feed a wild dolphin, that is something for us, not them. If you truly love and care about the dolphins remember that the water is their world and they are wild and free. They will come and play on their terms and touch you in your heart. If they were fed and tamed it would nothing but sick dolphins and their freedom lost and all the knowledge they pass on from generation to generation would be lost to.

Just like the Pelicans that are being fed around fishing boats, we have had more Pelicans this year than in the past years caught in fishing line and hooks. We have some that we cannot help get the hooks out or the line off their legs because we can’t catch them, and they end up dying. Some we have been able to save getting to them early on because they could not fly off with the line so entangling them. So remember feeding our wild friends is not always the best thing for them. It is our nature to want to share food with those around us so we must use our higher thinking to understand the nature around us and what is best for each creature. Most of us care. There are a few out there who do