Dolphin seen close to shore in West Neck Bay appears to have headed back to sea

A common dolphin spotted swimming in West Neck Bay on Shelter Island Sunday seems to have returned to the open waters of the Peconic Bay system. There were no spectators, marine mammal rescues, police and no sign of the dolphin Monday morning after a tour around the bay.

The dolphin was monitored Sunday by the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation after it was first spotted in the morning and reported. Dolphins are not normally found in the bay and there was concern that it is confused or lost.

The animal moved through dangerously shallow water Sunday afternoon but moved back into the open bay by late afternoon, according to local photographers and wildlife enthusiasts Don Bindler and Jim Colligan.

Julika Wocial, rescue program supervisor for the Riverhead Foundation, asked that people refrain from going to look for the dolphin because they might have frightened it or interfered with efforts to get the animal back to deeper water if that became necessary.

She said monitoring would continue through low tide this afternoon with no rescue attempts unless the animal appears to be in distress. It was seen in shallow waters during the period of low tide and for a while there was fear the animal would beach itself.

Mr. Colligan, a Silver Beach resident who volunteers at the Mashomack Preserve and is interested in wildlife, sent the following report on the dolphin situation by email late Sunday:

Dolphin are often seen by fishermen on eastern Long Island during the summer months, especially near the Montauk area. People that have lived near West Neck Bay have never seen a dolphin inside the bay itself.

A pod of dolphin had been seen around the North Ferry (between Greenport and Shelter Island) earlier in the week.  This dolphin was alone and had traveled around Shell Beach on the south side of the island and swam approximately 1 1/2 miles through West Neck Harbor, then up West Neck Creek, into the bay.

It was spotted early on Sunday morning, March 4 around 8 a.m.  It had gotten itself into a very shallow area in an inlet and was cut off from the bay during low tide.  People gathered on the shore as the dolphin swam in an oval pattern about 50 yards long and 20 yards deep. In swallow water, about 4 feet deep, it surfaced every 15-20 seconds, blowing air and spraying water above its head.

The  Marine Research and Preservation Foundation from Riverhead’s truck arrived around 11 a.m. and three well trained rescuers spent the next 6 1/2 hours observing the behavior of the dolphin.  They also wanted to keep concerned citizens away from the dolphin.

Although the Shelter Island Police came with a rescue boat, there was no attempt to rescue the mammal.

The dolphin appeared to be in good shape and may have been lured into the creek and bay because of a readily available food supply. The only time that these trained professionals actually rescue a dolphin is if it either beaches itself or if it is in imminent danger.  A rescue attempt can cause additional stress to an already stressed dolphin and can actually cause death.

As of 6 p.m., the dolphin had escaped from the shallower waters in the inlet (around 4 p.m.) but was still inside of the much larger body of water known as West Neck Bay.