He slowly moved past me, checking the shore in case of chasing fish here. This is common and I have wondered what they are thinking when we look right at each other.
Just as amazing is to watch a 1,400 lbs (635 kg) Dolphin gently slip under water and how they move it like it was solid matter.
When finally under there are nothing but small ripples. This is why it is so hard to see a Dolphin and figure where they might rise up again.
When photographing Dolphin feeding along the shore at some point you become the center of interest. The Dolphin watch you just the same as you do them.
I was so intent on getting focus of the Dolphins eye it occurred to me too late, her calf was swimming by her side. Only the young ones dorsal fin was on the surface.
The adult swam by close but apparently the schools of fish had gone out deeper.
This Dolphin was taking advantage of new shallows in the shoreline.
While this Dolphin Pod is still pushing, or stranding, fish on shore they are also running them right along the surf.
Loud and furious for a moment as the big Dolphin plow through the surf.
Storms have changed the shore line here and these Dolphin just came up with a new way to hunt. Instead of pushing the fish right on the beach they will herd them along side the shallows and chase right behind them.
The first step is to scare them into moving.
When you see the water move, like above, for no particular reason something is happening below the surface.
Next that disturbance, or wave quickly moves towards the shoreline. Click the image above to see the Dolphin starting to push towards the shallows.
Finally the Dolphin has a school in the shallows and can chase them either left or right, but always between them and the deep water.
Click, or double tap, any image to view the full size gallery.
This is the moment of the explosion. Hunter and prey hitting shore with only a splash of water in between.
Consider the Dolphin is approximately 12 feet (3.5 M) long. This is a loud and furious chase.
Pelicans were trying to steal a few of the fish pushed by some Dolphins here. There are many spits along the ocean here, I was on one, the action down a little further on another.
Sometimes it’s better, for perspective, to be a little distance away.
No free fish for the Pelicans this time.
This was taken probably 20 yards (18 m) off shore, there is a steep drop off here.
The Dolphin was quickly circling and slapping his tail to confuse the fish. Next step could be to push these fish on shore for the Dolphin to follow for a quick grab.
Instead the whirlpool did the work and the Dolphin was able to feed right there, no herding to the beach needed.
Click, or double tap, any image to view the gallery.
Most of my Dolphin articles have been groups fishing together. I do have a series of photographs never published of a single Dolphin spinning/splashing schools of fish.
The Dolphin below swam close to the shore slowing pushing fish forward.
A short distance further, when they were grouped up he quickly spun around them in a fast tight circle.
When he had them bunched close enough he almost had a whirlpool.
Splashing with his tail he pushed them towards shore.
And caught them.
They don’t always strand these fish either. If they have enough of a circle and whirlpool made slamming their tail down stuns the fish and they are caught that way also.
