New York’s common dolphin records are weighted toward winter. February leads with 7, January and December add 4 each, and September has none at all. Records usually follow where people look, so a peak in the months when Long Island’s beaches sit nearly empty stands out. It hints that these fast offshore dolphins come closer to the coast in winter, likely following squid and schooling fish. With only 30 records, though, the pattern is a sketch rather than a firm calendar.
New York County, the harbor and river waters around Manhattan, leads the county list with 8 records; a dolphin swimming close to the city rarely goes unphotographed. Suffolk County, at Long Island’s eastern end, adds 4. Fire Island National Seashore is the most often named place, and Napeague State Park and Jones Beach State Park each add one. Another 15 have no county attached, logged out over open water.
All but two of the state’s 30 records are iNaturalist observations, chance sightings of an animal that usually travels in quick groups well beyond the surf line. NatureServe ranks the common dolphin S4, apparently secure in New York, and it’s native to these waters.
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