Distant calls audible. What an evening here at the lab! After a quick stay in Blackfish Sound, the orcas made a turn south, towards Blackney Pass. We heard A5 and G01 calls on the Flower Island hydrophone at 4:57pm. Their calls got closer to Flower Island, and at 6:38pm the first group of orcas entered our sight, mid-channel. We believe these were a mix of a few A5 members and a G01 group, including G32. Shortly after 7:00pm we heard A1 calls on Local Left as the A30s entered Blackney Pass, mid-channel. At this point we had A1, A5 and G01 calls all on the Local Left hydrophone. More orcas entered our vision at Burnt Point very close to the lab, and another smaller group entered mid-channel. We identified A61 and the I15s (which included the I4s) in the closest group, and A60 amongst the further group. We even had Inukshuk the humpback tail slapping in the background at Parson’s Bay! At 7:33pm the orcas began to clear our view, when another group of orcas entered near shore at Burnt Point! We identified members from the G01 pod (G39) and the I15s (I98). They were very silent as they travelled south. Finally, at 8:19pm, all of the orcas cleared our view. We believe that since then the whales have all gone east and we are hearing their calls on Critical Point. Whew! It should be mentioned, that earlier report of 1 male and at least 3 small fins aimed towards Blackney Pass were the T100’s: Bigg’s orcas! What a day! Orcalab 18 Aug 2017 22:51:04 PDT Orcas approaching Orcalab. The orcas are heading south in Blackney Pass. Watch now on explore! http://explore.org/live-cams/player/orcalab-base OL 18 Aug 2017 18:49:57 PDT Distant calls audible. We started hearing the A5 and GG calls on Flower Island hydrophone. They are in Blackfish Sound. Seems like they took Weynton Pass. Momoko & Karien 18 Aug 2017 17:00:47 PDT Distant calls audible. The A30s came through Blackney Pass, heading north. They went out from our view at 3:37pm. The A5s, I15s and G01 group stayed in Johnstone Strait. We think they kept going to the west in the Strait. Momoko & Karien & Dylan 18 Aug 2017 16:43:21 PDT Distant calls audible. It's been a busy few hours. Two groups of orcas came to the rubbing beach from the east at 9:58am and 10:27am respectively, both continuing West. We suspect the first group comprised at least the I15s, as they could be heard on the Critical Point hydrophone soon after. We had a report from Megan at 10:52am of 1 male and at least 3 small fins heading into Blackney Pass, but they diverted west along the HI shoreline at pace. Around this time there was still a group in the Bight, mid-Strait, headed north - acoustically, we heard at least some A30 calls in this group, but very distant. Indeed it may have been more than one group, as more orcas were reported foraging further west in the Strait (around Kaikash), VI side, at 12:35pm, whilst A30s were heard much closer to Critical Point shortly after. At 1:23pm, Marie shed some light by reporting G01s and A23s/25s near Blinkhorn, spread back to Big Bay, and confirmed A30s in the Bight. We will clarify further when we can! Orcalab 18 Aug 2017 14:04:47 PDT Orcas rubbing on the shore bottom. Orcas were rubbing! Visible on RB cameras. Heading west towards Robson Bight now. Keep an eye out. Lea 18 Aug 2017 10:02:32 PDT No orcas present. The A30s, who came to Blackney Pass and headed back to the Strait earlier, kept going to the east. We heard their close calls and echolocation at 1:06am. Sounded like they were in the Bight. There were few possible GG calls as well. The last A30 calls we heard were at 1:07am on the Critical Point hydrophone. We think the A30s kept going to the east from Robson Bight. We haven't heard the A5s and I15s since around 10pm. Momoko & Marissa 18 Aug 2017 03:55:45 PDT