A dolphin leaps over the wake of a boat near the shore Friday near Pittsburgh Avenue in Cape May. Photo by: Dale Gerhard

By MICHAEL MILLER Press of AC Staff Writer | Saturday, August 21, 2010

Dolphins can be seen from most beaches in southern New Jersey between June and September, but this summer they have been especially abundant along Cape May Point State Park, where they have been seen frolicking near the shore almost every day.

“We’ve noticed a trend that they’ve been down at Cape May Point State Park more this year than the Delaware Bay or Wildwood,” said Capt. Jeff Stewart Jr., who operates the Cape May Whale Watcher, a whale and dolphin tour boat based in Lower Township.

Stewart has been tracking dolphins aboard his tour boat since 1993. He said Cape May Point’s beaches form a natural cove that draws baitfish, which attract dolphins.

“Dolphins eat 40 to 50 pounds of fish every day,” he said. “Cape May Point is a natural fishing spot.”

The dolphins use the beach to corral their food. The beach at Cape May Point State Park has a steep incline at the water’s edge that allows the dolphins to swim remarkably close to land – in some cases mere yards away as they torpedo through the surf.

“When they’re feeding in the morning before the beaches get crowded, they’ll school the fish within a few feet of the shoreline,” said Peter Pietras, captain of the Cape May Point Beach Patrol.

Pietras said the dolphins seem to put on a regular show, especially on days when the water is choppy.

“They were doing it today,” Pietras said earlier this week. “They’re playing in the waves. That’s what it looks like.”

Pietras said the borough’s beaches attract large pods of dolphins every summer. When the lifeguards swim or row their boats out in the morning, they give the dolphins the right of way, he said.

“I think all the guards enjoy watching them. They’re beautiful animals,” he said.

Cape May Point State Park, much of which is in Lower Township, is a popular attraction among school and church groups. Park naturalist Matt Pellegrine said some children see their first dolphins there.

“It’s almost a magical experience for them,” he said. “We get a lot of comments about them.”

Pellegrine said he sometimes sees the dolphin’s aerial acrobatics. He is most impressed with one of their apparent feeding strategies in the shallows.

“I noticed it looks like they’re trying to do a headstand,” he said. “They’re probably trying to get flounder. Their tail is flapping on the surface.”

This beach, with its accommodating tides and ready source of food, serves as a calving ground, Stewart said.

“We’ve seen quite a few newborn calves there,” Stewart said.

These day-old dolphins are usually jet black with wrinkled sides and a dorsal fin that lolls over to one side, which facilitates birthing, Stewart said.

Jackie Toth, a researcher at Rutgers University’s marine field station in Tuckerton, has studied New Jersey’s dolphins for years.

“Not much is known about the New Jersey population that hangs out here,” she said.

Toth said she frequently sees dolphins leaping out of the water, splashing or smacking their tails on the surface. She said it is not always easy to determine why dolphins perform some of their stunts.

“We just don’t know. Maybe they’re happy about a whole bunch of food they just found. They’re very playful animals, and very active and social,” she said.

Stewart said dolphins are opportunistic hunters that adopt techniques to suit their environments. On some beaches in the Carolinas, dolphins have been known to nearly beach themselves to catch fish. In Florida, some dolphins create bubble nets, much like whales do to corral schools of fish.

“This is learned behavior,” she said.

But everywhere she goes, dolphins appeal to people, Toth said. Maybe it’s that grinning countenance or their natural grace, she said.

“We see dolphins the most. That’s the biggest draw,” she said. ” I think right whales are absolutely amazing animals. But how often do you see a right whale off Cape May?”

But Toth said their abundance is not the only reason for the dolphins’ charm.

“They’re playful, charismatic, beautiful animals,” she said.