They surf, they chase, they chatter and chomp and are still one of the Shannon estuary's best-kept secrets. Now Clare's 115-strong dolphin colony could be destined for Fungi-type status if recent activity is anything to go by.
Not that several of those scientists associated with the mammals really want to see that hap pen. However, if sensitively developed, the Shannon estuary could become one of Europe's finest whale and dolphin-watching locations, according to a Clare-based fisherman, Mr Joe Aston, and cetacean expert, Dr Simon Berrow.
Dr Berrow, who is currently with the British Antarctic Survey, was one of the main movers behind the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group and has long been associated with this aspect of ecotourism. Over the past summer, he has been working closely with Scattery Island Ferries and its Shannon Seafari, offering dolphin-watching trips out of Kilrush marina.
As one of several such enterprises on the estuary, the "seafari" boasts its own specialist dolphin tour guide - and a hydrophone on board, which can pick up the cetaceans' communication. Up until a week ago, the guide was Ms Sarah Ferriss, a zoology graduate from University College Cork, who combined research for Dr Berrow with daily trips up the estuary, sharing her extensive knowledge with visitors.
She earned her "guide" stripes in Australia, where she worked with bottle-nosed dolphins in Pacific waters. Back on the Atlantic, the Shannon estuary has the only resident bottle-nosed population on this coastline. The last fin count was 115, but calving over the summer will have pushed those numbers up.
The average group size is six to eight, though the social structure is "fluid", and the dolphins can be found anywhere from Loop Head back up the Shannon, and out towards the Aran islands.
Many have individual physical characteristics which Sarah can easily recognise. She has also noted interesting changes in behaviour, such as feeding patterns, over the summer season.
"They tend to be very opportunistic, and will go for salmon, bass, mackerel and flounder, but there has been a poor salmon season here this year and so that may explain why they have been less playful over the last few weeks," she says. "They have other things on their minds, such as foraging for food."
The estuary may always have had dolphins, she believes. "Local people talk of porpoises leaping, but porpoises don't jump and so it was probably a bottlenosed population all the time."
Masters of ships steaming up to Foynes have been familiar with their bow-riding techniques, while the Shannon estuary pilots have grown used to their antics. In 1997, some 2,400 people enjoyed dolphin-watching trips, as local boat-owners moving into marine tourism began to avail of the opportunity. That figure has multiplied since.
While most of the operators use small passenger vessels, Mr Aston is one resident keen to develop an environmentally friendly approach. A former fishing skipper, of Carrigaholt, Co Clare, Mr Aston has never been afraid to put forward ideas, such as his proposal for a Shannon estuary forum several years ago.
Since passing over the helm of his fishing vessel, the Whitebank to his son, Luke, he has acquired a 47-ft yacht, Anna M, which he intends to use to bring budding sailors-cum-dolphin-watchers out from Kilrush. Given the wind and tide factors, his berths are for those who can afford to spend a day out on the water.
He believes a shore base will be necessary to develop the sector; that is one of the issues that Shannon Development intends to address when it appoints a co-ordinator to enhance the potential of marine tourism in the region.
The Scattery Island Heritage Centre owned by Duchas, the Heritage Service, is already a possibility as a marine exhibition area.
The Marine Institute's recent report on water-based tourism highlighted the need for a co-ordinated approach and warned that the quality of "product" could be threatened by overcrowding and over-use of specific locations.
The Shannon estuary enthusiasts, who recently hosted a visit by a team of journalists from National Geographic, are determined to get it right.