More marine mammals

Each working day, I catch a commuter train into town. The trip takes me past houses, grabbing a brief snapshot of people's lives through views into their homes and gardens; across a river, looking up from my book to check out the birdlife (Mallard ducks, shags and often Canada geese); through an industrial part of town; and then we come to the harbour.

This has got to be one of the most beautiful trips to take daily. The sea can be as flat as a millpond, or ruffled by breezes. It can be grey and choppy, and sometimes it is so worked up it crashes over the railway lines and sprays onto the train windows.

Each day I look out the window to see if I can see dolphins. It's usually just a brief glance up from my book, and a vague disappointment at not seeing any. But finally, last year, I saw a small pod of dolphins swimming past. My heart leapt, and I wanted to say something to the other commuters, but everyone was lost in their own world. And since we were travelling one way, and the pod the other, they were soon a speck in the ocean.

I arrived at work.

Me: I saw dolphins in the harbour, it was so exciting!
Paula: Oh, you see them all the time.
Me: [instantly deflated]

Well, now that I knew they did come into the harbour I realised I had to take more of a look and not just a glance. And six days later, I saw them again. Maybe Paula was right, perhaps they are there all the time. You just need to know how to look for them.

Since then, I've seen dolphins at least half a dozen times; but I'm not getting blase about them. There is something very special about them, and it's fantastic to see them so close on what could just be another dull trip to the office.

Whale strandings

(Ignore the date on this photo, it was taken 12 January 2006, we're still getting to grips with how to set the date on the digital camera).

This is a pilot whale that we found washed up on the beach near Foxton (west coast, North Island, New Zealand) this summer. It has got to be one of the biggest mysteries concerning whales: why do they strand?

A few weeks earlier a big group had stranded in Golden Bay, which is at the top of the South Island. Most of the whales were successfully re-floated, but some died. We think this was from that group. When we found it, it had some wounds on it, perhaps from sharks.

While it was sad, it was a rare chance to see a whale up close like this. Later in the week we found a large stingray and some small sand sharks washed up. Excellent biology lesson for our sons.

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