Around 100 Dolphins Spotted In Long Island Sound Off Greenwich, Stamford

GREENWICH, CT — Greenwich resident Patty Doyle was doing yard work at home on Aug. 10 when she got a call from friend Kevin Reynolds, who captains the Snow Goose 2, a local charter fishing boat, about a large pod of dolphins out in Long Island Sound.

Doyle and her husband, Jim, avid boaters and wildlife photographers, quickly packed up their camera.

"We jumped on our boat and got out there within like a half hour, and we were lucky enough to catch them before they took off," said Doyle, who found the dolphins behind Island Beach.

They moved over to Great Captain's Island and eventually started heading to the center of the Sound. After snapping a few photos, the Doyles had to return home to tend to their puppy.

"I would've watched them for hours," Doyle said.

Doyle first saw dolphins in Long Island Sound in 2017. On that occasion, the dolphins were showing off.

"It was like I was visiting SeaWorld. They were doing flips," Doyle recalled. "This time, they were just mostly feeding. They were playing a little bit."

Reynolds first spotted the dolphins around 11 a.m. on Sunday about a mile and a half off of Stamford. They were spread out over a mile in pods of about six to seven, according to Reynolds, who estimated there were around 100 in total.

A veteran of Long Island Sound, Reynolds said the first time he ever saw dolphins in the local waters was 10 years ago, and there have been sightings at least every year since.

"[The Sound] has just gotten cleaner," Reynolds said, noting there's more food now for wildlife. "As it's gotten cleaner, more and more species show up."

Long Island Sound is home to a variety of wildlife, including seals, sea turtles, migrating shorebirds, and occasionally dolphins, porpoises and whales.

Police were out in the Sound on Sunday making sure boaters kept a safe distance.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection says it is illegal to touch, feed, disturb, harass, capture or kill marine mammals and sea turtles.

"Many of these species are vulnerable to crippling or fatal collisions with powerboats and interaction with fishing gear," CT-DEEP says on its website.

Generally, CT-DEEP says it is best to stay at least 100 yards away from seabirds and marine mammals.