No calls but orcas nearby Summary for September 12, 2019. I15s. Last night was a blustery night on Hanson Island. With all of the tents pulled down, and everyone moved indoors, we hunkered down for the night. Waves crashed against the deck of the lab and the windows rattled from the wind. Branches draped in Spanish moss tugged to and fro by powerful gusts, casting shadows on the walls of the lab. A short burst of humpback squeaks and groans filled the silence coming from the speakers. As the storm roared on, another humpback seemed to half heartedly sing his song over the noise of a tugboat in the early hours of the morning. The remainder of the night was quiet on the hydrophones, but the storm outside continued as the wind blew strong and the waves continued their relentless push. Rain soon followed, and you could hear the droplets on the roof above the lab. The weather seemed to hold steady as the morning light began to flood our windows. We had no reports of orcas, and before we knew it, it was already after noon. Throughout the day we were able to count at least 7 humpbacks feeding, milling and travelling through Blackney Pass. The rough water made it difficult to see their bodies, but their blows gave away their positions. During this time we also had a single sea lion move up onto the haul out rock just beneath the Sea Lion Rock camera. He very slowly fell into a quiet state, laying on the rock, fighting to stay awake. He stayed there resting for at least an hour before slowly slipping back into the water without notice. By 4:00pm the rain began to pour, hopefully filling the creeks and rivers to help aid the local salmon runs and their journey back home. We began to wonder if we were going to go another day without hearing about the resident orcas. However, at 5:28pm, we finally received a report of orcas travelling east between Lizard Point and Donegal Head. We started a recording early, expecting to start hearing calls on the Flower Island hydrophone. Would the orcas come through Blackney Pass, or would they opt to go through Weynton Passage into Johnstone Strait? The evenings light filled Blackney Pass, and during a break from the rain a small rainbow opened up just opposite of the lab. Finally, the first calls arrived at 6:14pm and we heard the oh so familiar sounds of the I15 matrilines. We could just barely pick out dorsal fins coming from the North on our Sea Lion Rock camera, but they were not easy to follow. The orcas were very slow, moving against an ebbing tide. They started to become quiet on the Flower Island hydrophone...had they gone up Weynton Pass? There were no calls for 10 minutes until at 8:20pm we could hear some very faint echolocation coming from the direction of Flower Island. Next followed some very faint and sporadic I15 calls on the local left hydrophone at 8:35pm. The light had all but completely faded at this point, but we remained on deck to listen for blows. By 8:43pm we heard the first group. It sounded like a group of 4 first entering the pass, followed by what sounded like another group of 7. There were only a few calls here and there as the orcas passed by the lab. They moved quite slowly, taking their time as they moved southward in line with the light of the moon. Finally by 9:27pm we could no longer hear any blows. We wonder exactly what make up of the I15s could have passed by the lab. Was everyone together? Or had a small combination of the family returned from the north? Tomorrow will tell. The wind has quieted down, and the orcas have returned to the Strait. Tomorrow we say goodbye to three of our assistants, Jeremie, Claire and Dylan, and welcome back Suzie to the lab. Things are always in a state of movement here at OrcaLab. The weather, the volunteers, and of course the whales. Orcalab 12 Sep 2019 22:29:36 PDT