Report and view sightings on our iPhone and Android Chesapeake DolphinWatch app.
A website version of our dolphin tracker is available at: chesapeakedolphinwatch.org
Here is what we have learned from your sighting reports.
Since launching the wildly popular app, Chesapeake DolphinWatch, in 2017 we have put together a brief summary of what we learned from your sighting reports.
2022 updates! Click here to see the two-page summary.In May 2022 we surpassed 10,000 registered app users. Thank you for all of your support!
5th Anniversary Chesapeake DolphinWatch book
As a thank you to our DolphinWatchers, and a celebration of what we have learnt about dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay from your sighting reports, we have created a 5th Anniversary Chesapeake DolphinWatch Photo Book. Click the photo to be taken to the site to view and purchase the book. We hope you enjoy it!
We do not receive any commission from the sale of the book. If you click the Donate button above, all donations go towards our dolphin research and to providing copies of the book to schools and public libraries around the Chesapeake Bay.
Want to learn more?
DolphinWatchers can dive into a recording of Dr. Helen Bailey's Chesapeake DolphinWatch presentation as seen below. This seminar was given at NOAA Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland as part of the OneNOAA Science Seminar series. The recording includes presentation slides, closed captioning, and Q&A from the audience.
How to use the Chesapeake DolphinWatch app
Thank you for your support!
Since launching in June 2017, we have more than 7,000 users registered to use the Chesapeake DolphinWatch app and reported over 3,500 dolphin sightings. Thank you for all of your sighting reports and donations!
You can learn more about DolphinWatch and Dr. Bailey's research. Watch her presentation about DolphinWatch as part of Chesapeake Biological Laboratory's Science for Citizens series, and listen as Dr. Bailey discusses the first summer of the project.
Dolphins are beautiful, enigmatic animals and one of the largest inhabitants of the Chesapeake Bay. But we know very little about them. When, where and why do they visit the Bay? We need your help to find out!
Dr. Helen Bailey and her team are working to answer these questions. Using underwater microphones, she can hear dolphins communicating with each other to determine where they find food and navigate. But she needs your help spotting dolphins in the Bay.
Calling everyone!
We now have a mobile app so you can let us know when you see a dolphin in the Bay. You can simply point to where you saw the dolphin or use your current location and tell us about how many you saw.
Report and view sightings on our iPhone and Android Chesapeake DolphinWatch app.
A website version of our dolphin tracker is available at: chesapeakedolphinwatch.org
This tracker includes the ability to view the locations of recent and past dolphin sightings on a map and provides information about dolphins and the Chesapeake Bay. 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.
Make a donation to boost Bailey's research
You don't need to see dolphins to help Dr. Bailey with her research! Help with a donation. Your generosity can help us learn more about dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay by covering costs to maintain our dolphin sightings database and allowing us to buy additional underwater microphones that help us understand what dolphins are doing when they visit the Bay.
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.