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Dolphins spotted swimming in Peconic Bay

A small pod of dolphins was spotted by a sailboat’s crew Friday morning in Peconic Bay.

At least three dolphins were seen swimming alongside one another in the bay about 11 a.m. about 1 and 1/2 miles west of the South Fork’s Jessups Neck, said John Neely, a retired Riverhead High School teacher and freelance photographer. He said the dolphins were too far to photograph well.

“I’ve been sailing for 40 years and this is the first time I’ve seen a dolphin in Peconic Bay. Ever,” Mr. Neely said.

He said he and a pal were sailing east when they heard what sounded like air-powered construction equipment behind them.

“We turned around, and there were the dolphins, going up and blowing,” he said.

Staff at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation were looking into the sighting, and had not received any other sightings as of about 1 p.m. Friday.

Mr. Neely said he could not tell what type of dolphins they were.

In August, a group of about 50 bottle-nosed dolphins were spotted in the Long Island Sound near Tides Beach in Rocky Point, researchers confirmed after viewing the below amateur recording of the sighting posted on YouTube.