DolphinWatch

BAY SIGHTINGS OUR RESEARCH OUR TEAM DONATE SUPPORTERS Photos & Videos

How often do bottlenose dolphins come into Chesapeake Bay? How long do they spend here? What areas of the Bay are they using and why? The Chesapeake DolphinWatch app engages the public to help answer these questions surrounding dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay. Developed by a team at University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in 2017, the app has now surpassed over 14,600 registered users, all members of the community helping UMCES scientists learn more about these incredible Chesapeake Bay mammals.

Members of the public can report dolphin sightings in real time. This observation network provides information on dolphin distribution and local residents are encouraged to learn about these animals and their environment through participating in this research project.

Report your dolphin sightings

Join 14,600 DolphinWatchers in and around Chesapeake Bay by signing up and logging into the app via iPhone, Android, or the ChesapeakeDolphinWatch website. View the locations of recent and past dolphin sightings on a map, as well as images DolphinWatchers have submitted. By tracking the occurrence of dolphins and their movements, we’ll gain a better understanding of how bottlenose dolphins use the Bay and how to protect them in our local waters.

This tutorial video will guide you through the features of our app to view and report dolphins sightings, and learn more about dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay.

Watch DolphinWatch founder Helen Bailey's presentation about the program during the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory's Science for Citizens series, and listen as she discusses the first summer of the project.

Check out a summary of what we have learned from dolphin sightings.

As a thank you to DolphinWatchers and a celebration of what we have learned about dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay from sighting reports, we created a Chesapeake DolphinWatch - Dolphins of the Chesapeake Bay photo book. We do not receive any commission from the sale of the book, but all donations go towards our dolphin research and providing copies of the book to schools and public libraries around the Chesapeake Bay.

Photo by Tania Richardson Remaly in the Chesapeake Bay

Your generous donation can help us learn more about dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay by covering costs to maintain the dolphin sightings app and database, allowing us to to make upgrades to the app to help your experience in this volunteer science project.

This is a program of the University System of Maryland Foundation. All gifts are tax-deductible to the extent of the law. No goods or services were exchanged for contributions made.