When you watch the Discovery Channel or read National Geographic, you're going to be hit with fact upon fact. That's why you watch or read material of that character, so you can know things like the variety of insects in this bird's diet, or what time that rodent comes out at night. They provide you with intimate details that help you get to know and understand the billions of crawlers and fliers and swimmers who share the world with us human beings. What you don't often get to see is what the researchers are doing to make that information available. After all, someone had to watch and wait to witness the nesting habits of the glossy ibis, or track the migration of fish. For the expedition team participating in the Dolphin Count, that's what it was all about: watching and waiting.

The National Aquarium of Baltimore banded together with the MD Civic Justice Corps and the Coastal Stewards in order to carry out just such an expedition. After a short briefing on what to look for when sighting dolphins, they filled their coolers with water bottles, strung binoculars around their necks, and headed for the beaches. Numerous locations were staked out along the coast, including Ocean City and Assateague, in order to provide different conditions under which dolphins might make an appearance. As for the weather, it was bright, hot, and there was extreme haze over the water.

Communication between teams along the coast was crucial. If one team sighted a pod of dolphins heading south at a given time, the next team to the south would anticipate the pod's arrival and mark the travel time. Spotters also kept and eye out for the smaller, darker young dolphins which swim close to the adults. Most sightings tend to occur 200 yards off-shore, especially if many people are on the beach.

After the first hour of observation, the dolphin counters at the Assateauge station came up with scant numbers, yet this did little to dampen the spirits of the expedition team. After all, "nothing means something." Members of the team noticed the absence of shore birds, which seemed unusual. From this, they surmised that there weren't enough bait fish off the shore to attract predators like these birds - or the dolphins. This discovery leads to more questions, like where are the little fish? What's keeping them away? The weather? Fishing? Too many predators?

As is ordinary in environmental research, the observer begins with studying one thing and ends up learning about many. There is no separating the behavior of the dolphins from the activity of the fish and the birds. Life, at times, appears to us as one harmonious creature, and the fluid interaction of its various parts keeps us lovers of Nature in awe. This is the story behind the researchers who bring you the facts of those parts. May they continue to watch and wait.

The final result of the count, after four hours, was 117 dolphins. A good day with a slow start is still a good day.

Written by Erik Yount. Photography by Errol Webber.