Spartina Marine Education Charters (2024)

27/04/2018

Need something to do this Saturday (4/28)? Capt. Amber is running a special ecology tour from the Port Royal Maritime Center (310 Okatie HYW) at 11am. Call 843-338-2716 to inquire. The weather has been awesome!

04/11/2017

This is Awesome! Pura Vida!!

06/04/2017

What could have been a rainy tour ended up being a sunny and eventful one! We were joined by several guests on our weekly trip hosted by Spartina Marine Education Charters and were fortunate enough to see several dolphins as well as a rare alligator sighting. Among the dolphins spotted were Lucky (USCB_0113) and her calf, Bo. Stumpy (USCB_0009), a frequently logged name in our catalog, also made his first appearance of 2017. He hasn't been photographed since August 2016, which might suggest that the migratory population is beginning to make their way to the lowcountry! Thank you to everyone who braved the storm clouds and joined us on our tour. If you have any questions or would like to donate to support our research, feel free to contact us or visit uscb.edu/montie.

Posted by Claire Mueller

15/03/2017

It was an unseasonably cold day on the May River today, but we were lucky to be accompanied by several guests on one of our partial surveys with Spartina Charters. It was the first tour of the year and we're excited to be back out on the water educating the public about what we do here in the lab. Today we saw 9 dolphins total with 2 mother/calf pairs. Thank you to everyone who braved the cold to join us today and to everyone who follows our page!

Posted by Claire Mueller

14/11/2016

Today was our first day back on the water after a very eventful month. Hurricane Matthew unfortunately delayed our surveys and it took us a while to get back on the May to check on the dolphins. We had a great sighting this day with ten individuals spotted! Several were already in our catalog, which was to be expected since it should be mainly the residential population that is inhabiting the May's waters. However, there were a couple of individuals who we did not have in the catalog, so it was an exciting day for sure! Thank you so much to the lovely ladies to accompanied us on our trip and thank you to all of our followers who keep up with our posts! We hope that everyone is recovering well from the hurricane and doing well.
We have several dolphins that are still up for adoption. If you are interested in adopting one of our dolphins, please don't hesitate to contact us through this page or through our email ([email protected]).

23/09/2016

This gloomy day was made better by the 16 dolphins our tour was fortunate enough to witness traveling through the May River. We were able to identify six dolphins out of the sixteen and all of them were already logged in our catalog: Laylo, Gale, Dragon, Cher, Moby, and Charlotte. If you're interested in adopting one of these dolphins, you can contact the lab through the USCB Adopt-a-Dolphin page. Thank you so much to our guests who participated in the tour with us today and to all of you who follow our posts! Check back next week for some more photos and updates on the tours.

16/09/2016

What an odd day for the Dolphin Research Cruise! WIth an extremely high tide because of the full moon, the dolphins were in super stealth mode. We only had one sighting and had to go back in a hidden creek to find them! This sighting thankfully was exciting though with lots of playful dolphins and some even leaping out of the water. We saw 7 animals and were able to ID two of them for sure. These animals were Mabel (USCB_0131) and NIke (USCB_0029). We have previous photographs of the discolored dorsal fin but the animal isn't in the catalog yet because we are waiting for the dorsal to completely heal since it may change. Even though we didn't see many animals today, we still had an entertaining tour full of lots of questions and interested patrons! Thanks for coming out with us today :)

12/09/2016

On Saturday we had 10 people join us on our weekend Dolphin Research Cruise taking photos on the May River. We saw a total of 23 dolphins and were able to identify 9 of them. Of those identified, we saw Bic, Bic's calf, Lucky, Lucky's calf (Bo), Cher, C**t, Geode, and two animals that still need names. We also saw a lot of really cool birds, like a large group of pelicans and a few ospreys. Our group was extremely interested in the fish sounds this week which is always exciting since the dolphins aren't just here to see our shining faces! These animals rely heavily on the fish in these productive waters and the lab's acoustic data continues to provide information on how well these stocks are doing. Check back in later this week to see more pictures from our trip on Wednesday!

24/08/2016

Today's tour was entertaining and full of frisky dolphins! The dolphins from the first few sightings weren't too interested in having their photo taken, but the last sighting we had was with 4 different dolphins who were socializing and mating. They were very patient and allowed us to get very close, swimming under the boat and popping up every once in a while to take a peek at us.
After running the dorsal fins through the Darwin software program we discussed on the tour, we were able to identify many dolphins including Stumpy, Dragon, and Wenatchee. A couple of the dolphins that we identified had not yet been added to the catalog, so we were able to make two new entries from today's survey! Welcome to the USCB catalog Cheetoe and Brooklyn!
There were a couple of dolphins that we identified today that were already in the catalog but do not have names (USCB_0156 and USCB_0157). If you would like to adopt one of these dolphins and give them a name, please don't hesitate to contact the USCB Adopt-a-Dolphin program so we can match you with your dolphin friend! Thank you all for your continued support and be sure to check back with us next week for some more pictures!

17/08/2016

What a peculiar day for dolphin behavior! The tide was high, which normally means social hour for these intelligent animals while their food is hiding in the tall grasses. Today, though, the water was unusually calm and the dolphins followed suit. We only saw five total animals, and got good photos of just two of them. There were lots of sneaky breathers today! We were able to identify Hazel (USCB_0134) and Trinity (USCB_0129) from the clear photos. This post includes some of the barely there dorsal fin photos just so you can get a taste of how tough it can be to get a good photo of these guys! Thanks for coming out with us and we look forward to the next trip next week!

15/08/2016

We had a great time with a small group on Saturday as we took a cruise down the May RIver in search of some dolphins! We were lucky enough to see a mother and calf pair as well as several other individuals. There was a new dolphin that was photographed and added to the database, Finley, as well as a returning dolphin that we were able to identify as Nike. Thanks to everyone who came out on the trip with us! Check back later this week for more updates.

10/08/2016

The dolphins in the May River put a show on for us on the Dolphin Research Tour today! We had a large group casually swim around our boat for several minutes, showing off their bellies and checking us out with their eyes above the water. We saw a total of 10 animals, including several mother/calf pairs. From what we could identify from the photos, we saw Wenatchee, Wedge, Geode, and one animal that still needs a name. If you want to participate in USCB’s Adopt-a-Dolphin program you could be the one to name that animal! We had an awesome group today with some international interest from France as well as some newer locals. Always a great time out on the water searching for those elusive dorsal fins! See you next week!

08/08/2016

We completed our one weekend trip in August this past Saturday and had an exciting trip full of lots of crazy dolphin behavior! We came upon a large group of animals in super shallow water just socializing, and were able to snap a photo of a neonate. It's easy to tell which smaller dolphins are young of the year because of how awkwardly they try to breathe, and now we have photographic evidence of that exact behavior! We saw a total of 13 animals and were able to identify six of them, including Gale, Cory, Largo, Onyx & calf, Atticus, and Opal. Overall it was another great trip with lots of questions and a captive audience!

27/07/2016

Today our Dolphin Research Cruise was surrounded by dolphins! It definitely helped that we went out at low tide. We were able to see 11 total animals, with 2 mother/calf pairs. Using our photo ID software we were able to identify Gale, Spanky, and Joey and her calf. We also got to observe an osprey showing off his fish lunch as well as several other bird species eating from the exposed pluff mud. It was a great trip with lots of participation of guests taking data and learning exactly how photo-ID works for dolphin populations all around the world. Thanks for joining us!

20/07/2016

It was another great Wednesday on the Spartina vessel. Today we had a total of 9 guests, and two guest scientists from the Waddell Mariculture Center! We all saw a total of 13 dolphins, one of which exhibited begging behavior. This is when the dolphin approaches the boat in an attempt to get some food. Much to his dismay, the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendment of 1994 forbids any boat passenger from feeding any kind of marine mammal. For more information like this, join us next Wednesday for another tour!

11/07/2016

This past Saturday we completed our one weekend day a month trip on the Spartina vessel. We were able to count 10 animals and using our computer software identified 6 of them. Of those identified we saw Laylo and her very young calf, Gale, Cher, and Onyx and her juvenile calf. Onyx is a year round resident in the May River so we know her calf is older by looking back at last spring’s pictures. Laylo’s calf is definitely a young of the year born this spring. We got to witness her herding her calf away from the boat when it decided to be curious without her. Even young dolphins misbehave! It was a great way to spend a Saturday with several passengers asking lots of questions about dolphins. We love discussing why we are so passionate about our jobs and spreading the word on just how amazing this ecosystem is here. We look forward to our next trip coming this Wednesday!

07/07/2016

We had a great day out on the May River yesterday! A full boat of 17 guests got to see 19 dolphins feeding and traveling in their natural habitat. We identified several dolphins from our catalog, including Charlotte, Dragon, Wedge, Stumpy, Mabel, and Gale. Thank you to everyone who joined us on this trip, it was definitely one to remember!

29/06/2016

Today was another great Wednesday on the Spartina vessel. The trip started off slow with only a couple single dolphin sightings, but then we got to witness some really cool feeding behavior. Chomper, Torpedo, and Opal, three of our resident dolphins, were hard at work corralling fish up against the bank. We even got photographs of one of the dolphins completely on their side stuck in the mud! This type of feeding behavior is very common at low tide when all the fish are kicked out of their hiding spot in the tall grasses. We were also able to ID Lucky and her calf as well as Gale. Besides the 16 dolphins, we also spotted several birds dive bombing fish and a few turtles coming up to breathe. All and all, it was a very fun morning filled with lots of questions and even one aspiring scientist. We look forward to next Wednesday!

22/06/2016

It was a busy day on the water today! We saw an estimated total of 19 dolphins during the tour, with one group of 9. We were able to identify some of these dolphins using our Photo ID Catalog, and we successfully matched Wenatchee, Moby, Branson, Stumpy, Onyx, Frodo, and Cher. Thank you to everyone who joined us on the tour today, check back to see if any of these dolphins show up on any future tours!

15/06/2016

No better way to spend a Wednesday morning than to be out on a boat searching for dolphins! Today was warm, but the breeze was welcomed as the group searched the May River for those elusive dorsal fins. In the end, we counted 10 animals, including one mother/calf pair. The mother in the pair was a very common animal, Lucky, a resident dolphin in this area. We also stumbled upon an exciting group feeding behavior with lots of white water and jumping fish, and decided to record the sound in the area. Ideally, the whistles on the recorder can be matched up to the dolphins in the area and can eventually help build an acoustic catalog of the local dolphins. It was another great trip full of fun local stories and great dolphin sightings and we look forward to next week!

08/06/2016

It was a great day on the May River today when we, along with 9 guests, got to see 11 dolphins in their natural habitat. There were 3 mother calf pairs and we even spotted one dolphin hunting for fish amongst the spartina grass. Our photo ID software allowed us to identify Branson, Snow, and Sunny. A big thank you to those who accompanied us on this trip!

01/06/2016

Summer is officially here in the May River with the hot sun as well as several transient dolphins entering the area to feed in our productive waters! Today alongside nine excited patrons we saw 12 total dolphins, including two mother/calf pairs. One of the mother/calf pairs came within feet of the boat and we were able to clearly see the fetal folds on the baby’s side! After using our photo ID software, we were able to identify Riptide, Gale and her calf, and Wedge. Wedge is a newer animal to our catalog and a good ambassador for those dolphins directly affected by human activity. Though we will never be able to know exactly what happened to this animal, several publications have estimated over 56,622 marine mammals interact with fishing gear annually. Fortunately, this number continues to decrease as technology improves but it is still something to think about. We look forward to our next trip and more opportunities to add these visitor dolphins to our catalog!

27/05/2016

Today was another great trip with some unexpected wildlife! We also had an aspiring marine biologist onboard and always love helping and educating the next generation of scientists and their families. We started the day by visiting our data recorders and came across a single dolphin cruising along the spartina grass and the tide was high. After visiting our recorder, we headed towards the mouth of the May River and came across another group of 4 dolphins, including 1 mother/ calf pair. We were able to ID them as Charlie, Roxy , Moby and Wenatchee. One of the individuals swam next to our boat so were able to get some great looks-although it is also important to give dolphins ample space. We always try to follow the signs that the dolphins give us, so with that, we headed farther downriver. Near the mouth of the May, we were pleasantly surprised to find 2 manta rays. The individuals that we found were quite small and only a few feet in diameter but full-grown manta rays can reach wingspans of over 25 feet! These juveniles were probably feeding on the plentiful zooplankton in the warm salt estuary. We ended the trip with a few more dolphins at the mouth of the May River where it empties into Calibogue Sound but were unable to get photos of those particular animals. In all today was a great trip and we are looking forward to going out with you again soon!

11/05/2016

Today was our first trip of May and a beautiful day with the sun shinning and a slight breeze over the low country. We were joined by a great group from Indiana. We were able to stop by 2 acoustic recorders and locate some great dolphins! We sighted 7 total (Sunny and Owl) including 1 mother/calf pair. The calf was still small and plowing through the water. It will become more graceful, like it's older counterparts, as it grows and matures through the summer. The waters are reaching temperature in the high 70s and will continue to rise as the year continues which means more fish and hopefully more dolphins! Part of our acoustic work includes working with fish and we were able to hear them calling through the hull of our boat while at the dock!! In all, today was another great trip on the May!

20/04/2016

Another great trip is in the books as we headed a little farther south and into some more open water near Calibogue Sound thanks to the wind finally calming down. After stopping by our first recording station near the Old Town Bluffton Dock (14M), we picked up speed and headed to the mouth of the May River and to one of our other recording stations (37M). We had great luck in the area and were able to see a number of dolphins including Klaus, Sunny, Moby and Lucky along with her calf. Lucky and Bo are a very familiar mother calf pair and Bo is getting close to starting his/her life away from mom, after about 18 months learning all there is to know about being a resident. Our dolphin catalog is always growing and as the warmer months continue to arrive, we look forward to our time on Spartina and with great passengers!

14/04/2016

Today turned out to be a beautiful day for a trip! It was a unique in that we did a dolphin trip combined with an ecotour trip! We headed up the normal route to our recording station and also learned a lot about the low country and the marsh grass estuary ecosystem. It was great to share the knowledge and how everything in nature ties together! We located a larger pod of dolphins near Savage Island and spend some time with those animals. We also had a variety of crabs and other animals on board that we learned about and how the bacteria in the marsh and the larvae and other organisms in the water help make our area some of the most pristine salt marsh on the eastern seaboard. We had calm seas up until we made our turn back to Bluffton but in all the trip was a huge success!

11/04/2016

Today was yet another great trip on the May River. After a wind delay the day before, we headed out with a great group of passengers. After visiting our hydrophone at Boyscout Island, we headed to Savage Island and down Bull Creek. We first spotted Charlie and her calf cruising on the current as the tide was changing. The calf was a yearling (born last spring) and will stay with its mom through the summer then start its life away from mom this fall! After spending some time with this pair, we headed farther down Bull Creek towards Calabogie Sound. Once there we spotted a group of 5 dolphins possibly feeding on fish that thrive in a deep hole near the area. The dolphins that were sighted included Mabel and her calf and Basil. The wind started to pick back up towards the end of the trip and we made our turn back to downtown Bluffton after another successful and enjoyable trip on the May.

Tuesday	07:00 - 20:00
Wednesday	07:00 - 20:00
Thursday	07:00 - 20:00
Friday	07:00 - 20:00
Saturday	07:00 - 20:00

Spartina Marine Education Charters