Dolphins Spotted In NYC, Swimming In East River

NEW YORK CITY — A chance visit to a waterfront park brought Cailin Doran face-to-fin with an uncommon sight: three dolphins swimming in the East River.

Doran shot two videos of her aquatic encounter Tuesday from Greenpoint’s WNYC Transmitter Park but hesitated to share them beyond friends.

But soon she changed her mind and posted the videos on Twitter for all of New York City to see.

“It’s just such a bright light in everything that happened over the past year,” she said.

Dolphins, in the East River. What. pic.twitter.com/Lxakfkz9Oz
— Cailin Anne (@cailinanne6) March 23, 2021

Doran — a dancer, singer, actress and choreographer originally from California— had never visited the park before Tuesday.

She trekked from her Upper West Side home to Brooklyn that morning to get a coronavirus test before going on set for the television show “Harlem.”

“I just thought it was such a beautiful day, I got a coffee and sat on the pier and there were dolphins,” she said. “It was this serendipitous moment.”

pic.twitter.com/dlVXqffS4U
— Cailin Anne (@cailinanne6) March 23, 2021

As a Californian, Doran said she’s familiar with spotting dolphins out in the water. But, still, she initially couldn’t believe she spotted them in New York City.

Dolphin sightings in the East River are rare, but not unheard of. Back in 2013, the New York Times and other outlets reported on at least one wayward cetacean.

Doran said there appeared to be three dolphins in the pod she spotted, with two of them noticeably bigger than the third. She believes the smaller dolphin was a calf.

Her last video shows the dolphins breaching the surface under the city’s skyline.

“You never really expect to create one of those moments,” she said. “It just happens.”