Superb sounds!! Summary July 31st A30s, A23s, A25s, I15s The I15s returned in style, just before 11pm last night! We started hearing them in Blackfish Sound, and were very likely the group that Troy had reported off Bere Point a few hours before. Their calls were exuberant and excited as they passed in front of the lab. Quin went outside and had that magical experience of counting orca blows in the pitch darkness, under the night sky. By 12:42am they were heading into Johnstone Strait, and Quin also heard some tonal blows and vocalizations from a humpback in the same space. The humpback stole the show for a few minutes, perhaps competing against the chatty orcas? At 1:01am, we heard very faint A1 calls on Kazumi Rubbing Beach, and shortly after the I15s had joined them. The chattering stopped, and we heard on-and-off I15 calls heading east in Johnstone Strait until around 4am. Although we didn’t hear them, the A30s, A23s and A25s were very likely easting with them, as all groups spent the day far east down by Broken Islands and up to Eve River. We heard several reports over the VHF of their whereabouts over the day. It felt quite unusual to have them all so far east for so long, but we appreciated the break in calls to catch up on odd jobs and sleep! At 7:03pm we at last heard them on our Main Rubbing Beach hydrophone, traveling west again. We saw several orcas come in for a quick rub at Strider before continuing west into Robson Bight for some foraging around 7:45pm. We received a report from the Cliff on Cracroft Island that about 10-12 orcas were passing them, also headed west. The I15, A1 and A5 groups must have been intermingled and spread out in that case, as we were hearing loud calls from each pod in Robson Bight. They headed west and by 8:25pm were rubbing at Kazumi. We heard some amazing rubbing sounds and excited calls from all matrilines - it was seriously beautiful! This lasted for about half an hour, before they continued on their westward journey, calling as they went. There was a brief pause in calls as they traveled through Weynton Passage, but at 10:42pm we began to hear A30, A23 and 25, and I15 calls again in Blackfish Sound. We are still hearing those calls, and there was an amazing bout of hyper excitement at 11:15pm - perhaps new orcas coming in to the area? We wait and see!  Suzie 31 Jul 2020 23:57:13 PDT Superb sounds!! Summary July 30th 2020 Orcas: A30s, A4s, A23s, A25s, I15s The night wasn’t too busy, with a brief but powerful chorus from some Bigg’s orcas at midnight. Their calls really are so different! As the sun rose on the morning of the 30th, Suzie woke early and couldn’t get back to sleep, so got up at 5.30am. (A truly rare occurrence indeed.) The dawn light was beautiful, and as she wandered to the lab she heard the unmistakable sound of orca blows! There was a fairly large group, spread out and far away, backlit by some glorious orange and pink hues of morning. She noted the presence of several larger males, and one dorsal fin she really thought was A61 - but dismissed it as very unlikely. Nobody had confirmed A61 this year, even though the other two members of his matriline, A85 and A121, had been seen in the area in early July. At 5:41am they were calling in Blackfish Sound, and we identified A30 and A4 calls. No distinct A5 calls which may have given away that the A25s were indeed maybe present. These orcas continued west, and the A50s at least were seen at Bere Point on Malcom Island at 11:30am. Just after 4pm we received the hugely exciting news that A61 had been identified off Bere Point that afternoon too, meaning that it was very possible he was in Blackney Pass this morning. Hooray! So, so glad to hear him traveling with his family. We were getting just a little worried. Males do sometimes separate from their families and “go solo” for a while, and we wondered if this had something to do with the arrival of A85’s baby shifting the family dynamic. Who knows! Another question we’ll have to ask the orca one day… The afternoon was fairly quiet in Blackney Pass, pierced by some A1 and A5 calls in Blackfish Sound at 5:12pm. We had a good idea who to expect… We heard some lovely excited calls, and sure enough at 5:43pm there were orca heading south right in front of us. They battled the tide for a good long while, but it gave us a good chance to get ID’s! The A23s and A25s came first, and we all saw A61, A85 with little A121 Twilight, A60 Fife and the rest of the gang so clearly. At 6:05pm we were hearing close A30 calls and sure enough, the A50s came into view very close to us shortly after. All orcas were now right in front of us and there was an encouraging lack of boat traffic as they cruised by together. By 7:18pm some orcas had made it to Kazumi Rubbing Beach, and we believe it was a mixture of both pods as we had mixed calls, as well as some rubbing sounds! They continued east, and at 8:51pm they were at Strider Rubbing Beach, having a quick sunset rub there too. What busy, social lives they lead! All orcas headed east, and we saw the last fins on our remote camera at 9:53pm. Shortly before, Troy at Bere Point reported an unidentified group of 10-12 orcas with at least two males, heading east past them down the Malcom Island shore, towards our range...  Suzie 31 Jul 2020 23:56:29 PDT Superb sounds!! July 29th 2020 Orcas: A50s, A54s, A35s, A73s, A56 Apologies for the delay in posting summaries, our network has been down for a few days. We left you with a small mystery on the 28th, as we heard some echolocation and “squarky calls” in Blackfish Sound we couldn’t yet identify. Shortly before midnight, the orca opera finally opened up and we heard some really melodic A4 calls in Blackfish Sound. The groups, later confirmed as the A35s, A73s and A56, made their way through Blackney Pass under a starry sky, and into Johnstone Strait at 12:50am, joining the A30s who were around Kazumi Rubbing Beach. The A30s seemed to move east overnight, as we picked them up on our Main Rubbing Beach hydrophone at the eastern edge of the Ecological Reserve at 1:53am. We didn’t hear the A4s all night, so perhaps they stayed west. At 3:07am we heard our last clear A30 calls east in Johnstone Strait. By the morning, all groups had joined again at Kazumi and we woke up early to A4 and A30 calls at 7:03am. They all headed east this time, and by 9:22am they had reached Strider Rubbing Beach, where they proceeded to rub for two and a half hours! We believe all groups were there, as we counted so many whales. Megan has created a video of this amazing event which she posted a few days ago, please do take a look. After this surely exhausting morning of rub, rub, rub, they headed west again at midday and we heard them around Kazumi Rubbing Beach around 1:45pm. There was a lot of boat activity but we could just make out their calls, as they crossed Johnstone Strait and came towards Blackney Pass By 2.30pm we had them in our sights, they were very spread out and surrounded by quite a few vessels. One large vessel in particular was very close to the orcas and not mindful of their movements - but fortunately the coastguard was on the scene and alerted them to the whale watch regulations. We were encouraged that the boaters in question sincerely apologised and backed off the orcas. Just goes to show that there are always new people in the area year on year, and education is just as important now as it ever has been! By 2:54pm they had cleared into Blackfish Sound, and we listened to their dwindling calls among the grind of many boat engines. We lost them for a while but at 6:36pm they were back in Blackney - surprise! - heading south. We believe all groups were still present (A50s, A54s, A35s, A73s and A56) - and with many fewer boats present - they made some lovely calls as they entered Johnstone Strait and crossed to Vancouver Island. We believe at this point the A4s and A30s separated, and the A30s headed east down Johnstone Strait while the A4 groups headed west. The A30s had made it down to the rubbing beaches by 9:34pm, and the night fell silent for a while. Just before the darkness fell, we received a report from Kate at Bere Point that a small group of orcas were heading east. She suspected the A25s but the dwindling light made IDs difficult.  Suzie 31 Jul 2020 23:56:05 PDT Superb sounds!! Superb sounds from the A30's A23/A25's and I15s at the Kazumi rubbing beach right now!  Orcalab 31 Jul 2020 20:42:30 PDT Superb sounds!! Orca rubbing at Strider. Watch live athttps://www.explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Orcalab  31 Jul 2020 19:12:58 PDT Absolutely beautiful I15 calls on Flower Island hydrophone right now! OrcaLab 31 Jul 2020 00:09:14 PDT

Performing maintenance Sorry everyone, we lost our internet connection yesterday, so have been unable to stream live audio or video. We hope to be be soon! Paul 30 Jul 2020 07:04:45 PDT

Superb sounds!! Amazing A4 calls right now in Blackfish Sound! Suzie 28 Jul 2020 23:55:52 PDT Superb sounds!! Summary for July 28th 2020 Orcas: A50s, A54s and A4s(?) The A30’s calls perforated the inky blackness several times through the night, as they made their way through Johnstone Strait. Interestingly, we first heard them at 10am on our Rubbing Beach hydrophone, which means they had travelled through from Blackney Pass totally undetected in just a couple of hours. They slowly made their way east, foraging in Robson Bight just after midnight, taking their time until they got to Kazumi Rubbing Beach at 6:32am. For the next half an hour, we heard some lovely close and excited calls, and even captured some rubbing sounds as the daylight spilled over the horizon. They crossed Johnstone Strait and milled off Cracroft Point at around 7:30am, and it looked like they were coming into Blackney Pass as we saw on our remote CP camera. They must have changed their minds, however, and decided that their morning was better spent back east. By 9:24am they were visible around Robson Bight again, and the Cliff on Cracroft Island confirmed the presence of both A50 and A54 matrilines. After a swift bite to eat, they passed Critical Point heading east just before 11am, and we prepped ourselves at Strider Rubbing Beach camera. They would only be a few minutes, if they were coming in to rub! Sure enough, the first few individuals came into view mere minutes later, and began their morning pebble rub. We captured their calls on our Main Rubbing Beach hydrophone, and for the third day this week we had over an hour of beautiful orca action on our camera! Both matrilines were present at the rubbing beaches, and they went back and forth, back and forth along one stretch of beach where (perhaps) the best pebbles lie. We reached over 400 viewers on our live camera through Explore.org - this is a record! We were so thrilled to be broadcasting the event to that many people. Sharing the lives of these orcas without inhibiting them is at the heart of everything we do, and this was a really special moment. After their Strider sojourn, the A30s headed back west at 12:10pm, and continued on that trajectory, foraging through Robson Bight as they went. We heard loud, excited calls once more around Kazumi Rubbing Beach at 1.30pm. At this time, Janie and her lovely dog Cohen left the lab as they prepare to head up to Fin Island, escorted by Megan and Quin on the boat. Suzie was left alone at the lab and prepared for a manic afternoon of orcas coming into Blackney Pass, where one has to be simultaneously outside taking photos, and inside annotating calls and controlling our live cams… As it happened, it was a rather anticlimactic afternoon for Suzie, as the A30s fell pretty much silent as they headed west or milled out of range in Johnstone Strait. At 3.30pm we did receive a report of “whales galore” in Mitchell Bay on Malcom Island, but we are yet to receive any ID’s or subsequent whereabouts of these orcas. (If anyone has any further information, do pass it on!) Just as Quin and Megan returned to the lab, the A30s began calling once more at 5:57pm, distant off Cracroft Point. Typical! They made their way east yet again, calling and echolocating as they reached Robson Bight and passed our hydrophone at 7:09pm. So began the second rub of the day! These A30s certainly know what they like. They rubbed back and forth between the beaches, and we even saw a glimpse of two orcas (and a sea lion!) on our underwater camera at the main beach at 7:39pm. After this brief and seemingly more relaxing rubbing session, the A30s headed back to the west where we tracked their calls back to Kazumi Rubbing Beach around 9:51pm. Their calls dwindled, but we did hear some A4-sounding calls loud through one of our hydrophones around 10:21pm. Unfortunately we were not in the lab at the time, and they made only one brief bout of calls. We will have to listen back to it and see if we can glean a bit more information. The A30s have just started calling on Kazumi Rubbing Beach again at 11:39pm. We also currently have faint echolocation and orca-ish “squarks” in Blackfish Sound. We await a distinct call to give us more of a clue! Suzie 28 Jul 2020 23:42:32 PDT Superb sounds!! Lovely calls and orcas on Strider cam! https://www.explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Orcalab 28 Jul 2020 19:36:17 PDT No calls but orcas nearby Orcas approaching Strider Rubbing Beach! https://www.explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Orcalab 28 Jul 2020 11:06:51 PDT

No orcas present. July 27 2020 A30s, A35s, possible A73s and A56. T101s, T102 + other Bigg’s. As we anticipated, the A30s and A4s who had gone east yesterday finally came back within our range. Just after 1pm we started to hear distant calls on our Main Rubbing Beach hydrophone, alongside some nice echolocation. Interestingly, we were also picking up very faint calls on our Kazumi Rubbing Beach hydrophone which is a good few kilometres further west - it certainly gave us the chance to study the range of these new digital hydrophones in Johnstone Strait! We saw four orcas on Strider Rubbing Beach camera very briefly at 1:25pm, and they rubbed just once as they travelled west. Nothing like yesterday’s spectacle! At the same time, the Cliff on Cracroft Island reported six fins heading west past them . The orcas were indeed spread out in Johnstone Strait. We believe the A30s were on the Vancouver Island side as we heard close calls and echolocation as they entered Robson Bight at 1:38pm - but as they moved westward we heard a range of close and distant calls from both A30s and A4s, so it is very possible that the groups were mixed. Around 2:21pm all the orcas were between mid-Strait and Vancouver Island, and they made a bee-line for Kazumi Rubbing Beach. There were some great squeaks, whistles and calls at 2:30pm as they approached the beach, perhaps getting excited for the rub! We do not have a camera here but we heard some distinct rubbing sounds on this hydrophone at 2:47pm. This is particularly great news as we have not yet captured rubbing sounds at this location. The A30s and A4s did not seem to stay too long at the beach, and at this point we believe the two groups split up. We had A4 calls distant on our Parson Island hydrophone which can “see” quite far into Johnstone Strait, and closer A30 calls on the same hydrophone as these orcas made their way into Blackney Pass at 3:57pm. The A30s travelled north fairly spread out and far away, but we did manage to identify A72 and some members of the A54s as they passed. Once they reached Blackfish Sound at 4:10pm, we only heard A30 calls, which leads us to believe that none of the A4s were with them. Not long afterwards, we had a report that A77 of the A35s was travelling west past Alert Bay at 5:14pm, with a tailing group at Pearse Islands also heading west. A-ha! The A4s had continued west in the Strait. We are not sure if the A73s and A56 were still with the A35s at this time but until we receive further confirmation then we are grouping all of these A4 groups together, as they all disappeared east together yesterday. Tonight is Janie Wray’s last night at OrcaLab before she heads back up to continue her research on Fin Island. We had just started to tuck-in to our tasty fajita dinner when Janie spotted more fins in Blackney Pass, heading south at 7pm! As we scrambled to the deck, more orcas came in very close to the lab, with two large males and one smaller fin. The earlier group also had some male fins and a lot of smaller fins. Definitely not the A30 or A4 groups! We hadn’t heard any vocalizations and we suspected they were Bigg’s orcas as we began to try and ID them. Many thanks to Jared Towers for help with the IDs, and it turns out we had the T101s, T102 plus some other Bigg’s orcas whom we sadly couldn’t identify as they were too far away. They zoomed through Blackney Pass and by 7:21pm we could see them on Cracroft Point camera crossing Johnstone Strait. It was actually great footage - watching a group of at least 12 Bigg’s orcas battle the waves in the rip currents! We hoped they might vocalize once but alas, not tonight. We will miss Janie and her very good dog Cohen a lot, but we are so grateful for the past month and wish them all the best up at Fin Island, where the humpback bubble-net feeding will keep them very occupied for sure!  Suzie 27 Jul 2020 23:24:20 PDT No orcas present. Orca on mainstream. Orcalab 27 Jul 2020 19:00:25 PDT

July 26th 2020 Orcas: A54s, A50s, A35s, A73s, A56 (very likely), I16s, I27s, I65s, T019s, T090s, T060s, T002B Just look at that list of orcas we’ve had today! It has been one heck of a ride. The day started early with some more Bigg’s calls twelve minutes after midnight at Kazumi Rubbing Beach. A little while later, after the Bigg’s calls had subsided, we also heard A4 calls again on Kazumi at 1:40pm. Interesting that both ecotypes were still around the same area hours later, and vocalizing… The orcas quietened with the arrival of a large tug boat at 3:15am, which either silenced them or they drifted out of our earshot, as we had no more calls overnight. At 7:13am we heard distant G Clan calls in Blackfish Sound! Huzzah. We have heard reports of G clan whales out west over the last few days, and they were finally back near the lab. Only minutes later at 7:22, some orcas sped through Blackney Pass. It was the A50s and A54s! Not who we had been expecting, but they passed silently as if shepherding the G clan orca through the area. By 7:45am we heard the A30 calls in Johnstone Strait, as they crossed over to the Vancouver Island shore near Kazumi Rubbing Beach. At 7:32am we confirmed the identity of the G clan orcas - at least some members of the I15s were heading towards us. “The I15s” are often referred to as a unit because of their acoustic similarity, when really this group is now made up of four separate matrilines - I4s, I27s, I16s and I65s - who often travel together, but not always. By 8:14am, the I15s were out front of the lab, heading south to join the A30s in the Strait. We did not confirm the presence of the I4s today, and they were seen out by Cape Scott with the rest of G clan by Jared Towers yesterday - so it is very unlikely that they made it here today. For the rest of this summary when we refer to “the I15s” we are talking about the I16s, I27s and I65s only. All groups headed into Johnstone Strait and crossed over to Vancouver Island. At 9:10am we had the most amazing recording of the A30s, I15s and now A4s off Kazumi Rubbing Beach! The A4 orcas - later confirmed as the A35s, A73s and presumably A56 - had likely remained around the Strait since their duet with the Bigg’s last night. The many groups of orcas headed east in droves, close to the Vancouver Island shore, between about 9:10am and 10:15am. The A30s and A4s were in the lead, with the I15s on their fluke. We heard bouts of echolocation and excited calls as the group foraged and travelled through the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve… where we were waiting for them on our new camera at Strider Rubbing Beach. And so, the extravaganza began!! From 10:30am for a whole 90 minutes we captured the most incredible footage of orcas rubbing we have ever seen. The A30s, A35s and A73s (Springer + babies) started the most incredible dance back-and-forth along the smooth stones at Strider Rubbing Beach. The low tide and glorious morning sunshine made for some incredibly clear footage of the orcas above and below the water. Make sure you watch Megan’s highlights video which will be posted very shortly! We heard their calls captured on our Main Rubbing Beach, which is just round the corner from Strider. At 11:43am, some of the I15s also entered the mix, giving us another bout of lovely A and G clan calls. The orcas flitted between Main and Strider rubbing beach, perhaps moving out of the way so each family could enjoy the best sections of beach. This is clearly such an important social event. What is fascinating is that the A and G clan whales share no distinct calls, yet still share this family ritual year after year. Why do A and G clan “buddy up”, while J clan have formed an entirely different population of Southern Residents? So many questions we’d love to ask these whales. At midday, they made a definitive move to the east, and rubbed one last time at the Main beach before continuing on. Shortly after, another the rest of the I15s entered the scene but did not rub, heading past the Strider and Main beaches a little offshore. Whilst the team was frantically monitoring all of this in the lab, the T019Bs passed us in Blackney! Megan just caught a glimpse and a few pictures before they were lost to the fog. Phew. Almost too busy looking at screens to see the orcas out front. The A30 and A4 groups very likely stayed east, as we have not seen nor heard from them for the rest of the day. Also in Johnstone Strait at this time were the T090s, T060s and T002B, but we are unsure in which direction they finally headed. By 2:45pm, the I15s had regrouped and were making their way west in Johnstone Strait, crossing over to the Cracroft Island Side. By 4:45pm they had made it to Cracroft Point, and they travelled in a peaceful resting line making no sounds whatsoever. The milling orcas tried to come into Blackney Pass for the next three hours but they were battling a strong flood current. They kept drifting between our Cracroft and Parson cameras. At 6:02pm they made an entrance into Blackney but did not make it very far in half an hour, so headed back to the entrance in Johnstone Strait. They did, however, give us some lovely I15 vocals as they waited for the current to ease. Just before 8:30pm, their calls fell silent. Unfortunately, our local hydrophone is still not working so we have an acoustic “dead zone” right out front. Luckily we have the gift of sight - and we saw the I15s finally heading through Blackney Pass on a much more agreeable tide. They were very spread out and moving quickly, clearing into Blackfish Sound at 8:45pm. We are still listening to their dwindling calls and echolocation as dusk descends. We anticipate the A30s and A4s will come back from the east soon, and perhaps we’ll hear them tonight as they do. Thank you for sharing this mega day with us everyone, sleep well!  Orcalab 26 Jul 2020 21:35:08 PDT Superb sounds!! Members of the A4's, A30's and I15's are rubbing at Strider beach. We are seeing some incredible scenes on our camera right now. Tune in live to explore at https://www.explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Orcalab  26 Jul 2020 10:36:27 PDT Superb sounds!! Good sounds when the A4s met up with the A30s in Johnstone Strait. Most recently the I15s too. OrcaLab 26 Jul 2020 10:23:37 PDT

Distant calls audible. July 25th 2020 Orcas: A4s (likely A35s, A73s and A56) It has felt like forever since we heard orca calls, but in reality it has only been two days! We have busied ourselves in the meantime with jobs around the camp: Helena has been sorting through fifty years of old cables, garden hoses and other assorted treasures. We received an early report from Kate at 9:28am that there was a group of orcas off Bere Point, but they did not pick a particular direction and they were lost to the morning fog and glare. We hoped they chose east. At 12:20pm we heard from Jared Towers that the A35s, A73s (Springer + babies) and A56 were in Queen Charlotte Strait around Numas Island, heading east for sure! And so we wait... At 5:05pm we heard calls - Bigg’s calls. We had received an earlier report that there were some Bigg’s out in Blackfish Sound at 3:42pm, and these calls were in southern Blackney Pass / off Cracroft Point. We may have missed them right in front of us - doh. With strong flood currents and deep dives, it is entirely possible they evaded our view. Nonetheless, it was a real treat to hear their vocalizations. We heard them on and off until 7:02pm in Johnstone Strait - perhaps they had made a particularly good kill? Our waiting for Northern Residents paid off, and at 8:25pm we heard some clear A4 calls in Johnstone Strait. The earlier reported groups had continued east and finally made it within our range. They sounded close to the Kazumi rubbing beach with some echoing to Cracroft Point, meaning that they were likely spread out in the Strait between the Vancouver and Cracroft shores. We don’t know if this was all of the groups mentioned earlier or just some of them. At 8:59pm we got an even bigger surprise. Some more Bigg’s vocalizations in the Strait - on the same hydrophone as the A4 Northern Residents! Wow. Two populations of orcas - who rarely have anything to do with one another - vocalizing in the same space. That is certainly uncommon for us here at the lab, and such a treat. It only lasted for a minute or so, when everything fell silent… and that is where we currently are: waiting for more calls and clarity as the night descends.v Suzie 25 Jul 2020 21:16:08 PDT Superb sounds!! And Bigg's calls now in the Strait too! Wow. http://www.orca-live.net/community/ Suzie 25 Jul 2020 21:02:10 PDT Superb sounds!! Lovely A4 calls in Johnstone Strait! Listen with us. Suzie 25 Jul 2020 20:39:37 PDT