School of Dolphins Sighted | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Tonight, with the clouds parted from a late afternoon downpour, I gathered my best friend, piled into the mustang, and headed down to Washington's waterfront to shoot the sunset and complete the 1.5 mile walk on the city's waterfront trail. This short, brisk walk coupled with my shooting images of the dying day is a ritual that this old couple routinely enjoys. Tonight, we were rewarded with a rare sight - a large school of dolphins swimming up the Pamlico River.

    Yes, you read me right: My wife, Lynn, and I took our walk on this lovely night, and toward the end of our walk, as the sun drifted lower below the horizon,we noticed a rather large school of dolphins just about 100 feet south of the steel bulkhead protecting Stewart Parkway's waterfront.

    We first noticed two dolphins swimming as a pair, as they leaped forward out of the water in unison. It was a first for me, this far up the Pamlico River, to see dolphins, let alone a school of them, and these dolphins were large, possibly more than ten feet in length. The evening was darkening fast as dusk quickly gave way to night. In fact, I made a note that when that first pair broke that watery plain, with a splash, it was 7:52 pm - pretty dark.
The sunset along Washington's waterfront, this Friday night, April 12, 2013, was tinged in an orange sherbet glow lending a creamy sparkle to the clouds, remnants of a short, powerful storm: Above. Toward the end of my 1.5 mile walk along the city's waterfront trail, we noticed an errant school of dolphins as the evening grew very dark: Below.    photos by Stan Deatherage    Click the pictures to expand to up to 1000 pixels.
    It was so dark, there was no possible chance of a picture; however, it was certainly worth following the aquatic athletes until the concrete walkway along Washington's waterfront ran out, my standard procedure when I see a school of dolpins, which is nearly exclusively at the bleach. Tonight, with a strong wind blowing from the southeast, filling the river with more salt, which must have been the lure for this school of fellow mammals heading up river.

    Lynn Deatherage excitedly remarked, "I just saw 6 dolphins come out of the water at one time. I wonder if there are more?"

    We followed the dolphins until they nearly made it to the Hwy 17 Bridge, where they made an abrupt 180 degree turn at 8:02 pm, and headed back down the Pamlico in unison. I suppose the Tar River just did not agree with the aquatic visitors.