No orcas present. August 18 2020 Orcas: A50s, A54s, A23s, A25s Humpbacks: Inukshuk? Wishful thinking it was. The A50s and A54s did not return with any new groups, but that does not mean that our day has not been interesting and full of excitement. Especially because we caught sight of our first underwater orcas at Strider Rubbing Beach… The A50s & 54s did not head too far west, turning round and moving southeast through Blackfish Sound just after 10pm. Around half an hour later, we could hear their blows in the darkness as they made their way south and back into Johnstone Strait. The groups must have been very spread out, as we still had faint calls in the Sound and another set of southbound blows at 11:30pm out front of the lab. As this second A30 group reached the Strait, they opened up into some magical, clear calls for a good long while. They headed east, and by 2:18am they were close to our hydrophone in Robson Bight - a favourite spot for a snack to eat. As they continued east and approached the Main Rubbing Beach, we heard some more close, clear calls and also a humpback who had started to sing in Blackfish Sound. The humpback’s haunting, low tones with the orcas high timbre made for quite a recording! By 3:20am, the excited A30 calls were explained as we started to pick up A5 calls off the Main Rubbing Beach too. Separated for only a few hours, but seemingly always pleased to be reunited. Slowly, the groups moved west once more with some A30s leading and at least some of the A5s in tow around 5:20am. Their calls became more sporadic and distant as they travelled up the Strait. We heard the A5s around Kaizumi Rubbing Beach at 7:30am, then all at once we had orca fins in Blackney Pass heading north at 7:39am - the A50s! They had crossed the Strait and slipped in front of us, completely silently. Fortunately, whenever there is daylight, there is someone at the lab watching… We heard A30 and A5 calls in Blackfish Sound as they cleared our view around 7:46am, meaning that some of the A23s/25s must have passed us too. Not long after, the rest of the A30s and A5s began to call on Parson Island, and we caught sight of the next groups at 7:55am. We identified A60 from the A23s. The rest of the morning was quiet on the orca front, but sadly laden with grinding boat noise. Also a generous amount of fog covered our view for most of the morning, too. We received a smattering of reports which suggested that at least some of the groups had made it up into Queen Charlotte Strait, around Lizard Point on Malcolm Island, before turning back towards us. At 12:33pm they had decided to take Weynton Passage to lead them back into Johnstone Strait, and not long after we were hearing them faintly as they travelled east. By 1:51pm the A30s had reached Cracroft Point, where they stalled and began to forage back and forth in the fast currents ripping out of Blackney Pass. We could hear the A5s faintly behind them and, sure enough, at 2:09pm we saw A61 shortly followed by A60 off Cracroft Point also. The orcas chopped and changed direction a few times, but they eventually settled on an eastward trajectory and the A54s, A50s then A25s and finally A23s all headed back towards the Ecological Reserve by 2:30pm. Lunch time! At 4pm, they had made it deep into Robson Bight, where we heard an impressive amount of echolocation, chattering calls and whistles as all groups foraged and travelled together. As they passed Critical Point, we held a collective breath in the hope that they would continue east close to shore and come to Strider Rubbing Beach, where our new underwater camera is waiting… They certainly did not disappoint! At 4:35pm they A23s came in first, and we saw our very first orcas underwater at this beach. The water was a little murky, but that did not stop our squeals of delight as the blurry black and white shapes rolled back and forth along the smooth stones. The A30s came in a large group at 4:47pm, with the A25s behind them just two minutes later. We captured so much footage both above and below the water, it was difficult to know where to look! The groups milled offshore and some teased the east, before all of them eventually headed back to the west. Once again, we tracked their movements down the Strait and heard another set of beautiful, excited calls off Kaizumi beach at 6:20pm. Some of them had clearly decided that one rub was not enough, as we heard the unmistakable sound of pebbles being swept by orca bodies at 7:31pm, at Kaizumi Rubbing Beach. Some of the A30s had bypassed the second rub and had made it right to the entrance of Blackney Pass at 7:45pm. It sounded like they might be coming into our view, but for whatever reason they decided that this was not where they wanted to go, and headed out. We last heard their very faint calls at 8:52pm off Cracroft Point, with no clues since then as to their whereabouts. They do certainly keep us on our toes in these summer months!  Suzie 18 Aug 2020 23:13:47 PDT We are awaiting members of the A5's and A1's who are approaching the Strider Rubbing beaches. Watch live now and make sure to keep an eye on our new Strider rubbing beach under water camera! athttps://www.explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base  Orcalab  18 Aug 2020 16:35:46 PDT