Their fins are as unique as our finger prints.

Bottlenose Dolphin photo by Andrew Leggett

Generally, I am awake very early on holidays and bouncing off the door anxious to get out and about, but I was still waking up as we set off on the Sunday 9:00am Dolphin Cruise from Fulton Harbor on the Skimmer with Caption Tommy.  He also does a Whooping Crane Tour when the cranes are wintering on the coast, and enjoying the Blue crabs. If you would like a ride it is best to call.  The morning jaunt was not listed on the site when I looked.  877-892-4737 361-729-7409 http://whoopingcranetours.com/

As we headed out to the gulf, it was clear that captain Tommy, a naturalist, knew what he was doing…  find a shrimp boat and there would be dolphins following.   We spotted the fins of an adult and calf jumping and playing.  Within minutes we were surrounded by these lovely mammals, including at least two different species.

It was a challenge to catch the face of these Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) as the boat rocked. I decided to visit the loo but soon changed my mind when I realized that when I wasn’t looking out…  I began to feel nauseous and then understood what he meant by “hold on to your kittens”.  Fortunately we were at the end of the stalking.  The agitating stopped as we jetted back to shore. September 1, 2012