Dolphin Count Tracks Status of Species

The surfers bobbing nearby were oblivious, as were most of the joggers and skaters skittering down the bike path along Bolsa Chica State Beach.

But Lucia Thompkins, binoculars to her face and dolphin-safe tuna sandwich by her side, caught the entire show.

A solitary slate-gray fin arched gracefully out of the ocean, with others churning up right behind.

Within minutes, the water in front of her was alive with fins, tails and airborne bottlenose dolphins. A mammoth pod of 20 adults was making its way up the coast, and enjoying itself along the way.

“This is my favorite spot, and now you know why,” said Thompkins, a school administrator from Westminster who has been watching dolphins for 10 years.

Thompkins joined a dozen other volunteers who fanned out along Orange County’s coast Saturday to conduct a one-day census of the area’s bottlenose dolphin population.

The dolphin-watchers, posted on piers, bluffs and sand dunes from Dana Point to Bolsa Chica, spotted at least 40 during the day. Along with those that made their way past Thompkins, 20 more were seen north of Laguna Beach off Crescent Bay Point Park.

“Essentially, it lets us know whether the species is thriving or dying,” said Bert Vogler of the local chapter of the American Cetacean Society, which organizes the quarterly count. “We don’t know much about the population of bottlenose dolphins in Orange County and we’re trying to learn more.”

The dolphin count has been conducted since 1987 and at times has attracted as many as 200 volunteers. But unlike the area’s steady dolphin population, volunteers have been dwindling in recent years. Vogler blamed the decline on a lack of publicity and the increasing competition for people’s time on weekends.