October 20 2020 T037s, Humpbacks: Stitch and Merge, Sea Lions, Harbour seals, Pacific White-sided dolphins Goodness it has been ages since we have written a summary! It is not an indication that we have not been busy, actually, just the opposite. However, the Northern Residents have not been around and that does affect our focus. The last weeks have been about surviving the heavy rains that have lashed & drenched the coast. Water has been pouring onto the beach causing deep gouges in the sand and pebbles, forming rivers where there were none before. The forest has deep pools and the once meek creeks (our water supply)are roaring. We welcomed Anthony who has come to pick up Jenn whose time here is coming to a close. Anthony volunteered to help with ÒredoingÓ the deck to the Lab. Earlier we had brought the necessary lumber to the island where it sat under a tarp waiting to be put to use. James, who arrived early in October along with Beck, had been putting his considerable skills to work fixing old stairs and various other jobs. Now together with Anthony, the two are tackling the considerable challenge of the deck despite the less than perfect conditions of both weather and the under structure of the old deck. The result is looking spectacular. The old discarded wood has given us the excuse to fire up the bath-house, a good place to get warm and dry. Paul, Megan and Jenn meanwhile have been busy as well. During a break in the weather they finally retrieved the rubbing beach systems. We do this every year in order to protect them against the avenging winter storms. This was, as it turned out, just in time, as a huge early storm struck the coast, trapping Helena and Paul in Alert Bay who then had to deal with a flooded basement (another victim of the extraordinary amount of rain). Then after two unsuccessful attempts Paul, Megan and Jenn managed to get over to Kaizumi Beach and secure the solar panels and reposition the hydrophone, two more items on the list completed! AJ arrived recently to work on the electrical systems inside the Lab. With all the new equipment the old wiring was in need of an upgrade. In the background of all of this busyness are the sea lions, humpbacks, BiggÕs orcas, the ducks, migrating geese, the seals and the various other fall/winter residents. We know from our observations that Merge and Stitch are still using Blackney Pass regularly. The humpback scene is fairly quiet compared with previous Octobers when there seemed to be more intense social activity amongst the humpbacks. Even the singers (until last night) have become quieter. Last night we were treated to an hour long session in an otherwise quiet Blackfish Sound. This was a relief from the strange, very loud, explosive sounds of the past two nights in Johnstone Strait. These unexplained loud noises, heard on the Kaizumi system, occurred late in the evening and during the first part of the early morning. We are trying to figure out what they might be. On October 17, Alex Morton noticed a group of BiggÕs orcas headed through Weynton Pass from Donegal Head at 11:55am. Jared picked up their trail and identified the T037s off of Cracroft Point at 1:30pm. The sound of Pacific White-sided dolphins two nights ago might be an indication that other BiggÕs orcas may turn up at some point. The sea lions have continued to haul out in numbers along the Hanson Island shore. When they are forced off their rocks by the rising tides they can be seen travelling back and forth looking for a tasty meal to tide them over when they get out of the water and resume their sleepy postures. The many flocks of migrating geese high in the skies above remind us to keep going with our winterising efforts: the days are shorter, the weather more temperamental, the air is cooler. Helena 20 Oct 2020 12:08:22 PST Performing maintenance Good lovely morning, everyone! We will be shutting down Lab power in a few minutes, so are stopping streaming video and audio. Will be back as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience! OrcaLab 20 Oct 2020 10:31:13 PST Superb sounds!! Beautiful Humpback whale song on Flower Island, follow this link to listen https://www.explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base  Jennifer 20 Oct 2020 03:18:06 PST