September 26 - 30 BiggÕs, Humpbacks,Pacific Whitesided dolphins, Sea Lions It has been a few days between summaries. We have gone through a couple of seriously windy days, an exciting acoustic encounter with BiggÕs orcas and of course near endless bouts of humpback ÒsongsÓ, noises and antics. We also witnessed the return of the harlequin ducks and the departure of Patrick, Luke and Ely. Now for the details. Starting with September 26th. After midnight a humpback remained distant up to 2:20am. Then at 3:08am an individual decided on a more sustained effort producing grunts, whistles and finally the beginnings of song. This lasted until 5:13am. Calls resumed nearly 12 hours later at 5:35pm and finished around 6:30pm. The night was not yet done. At 9:10pm, the evening got underway with humpbacks vocal both in Blackfish Sound and Johnstone Strait. The impression was that perhaps two humpbacks were involved in Blackfish and a single individual in the Strait. At times the calls in Blackfish were very beautiful and the calls in the Strait toggled between the Parson Island and Kaizumi stations as these humpbacks moved around in their respective spaces. Finally, as the calls began to subside in Blackfish Sound around 11pm, those in the Strait continued. The humpback in the Strait seemed to be shifting eastward. This continued past midnight on the 27th when there were still hints of humpbacks in Blackfish around 3:30am and again at 6:30am. Later that morning there was an opportune sighting of 4 unidentified BiggÕs orcas heading south in Blackney Pass just after 9am. They went quickly out of our view at 9:16am. The rest of the day once again belonged to humpbacks. From 7:28pm to 9:57pm there were again humpback vocals both in Blackfish and Blackney Pass. We have come to expect this nightly occurrence. What we were less prepared for was the start of BiggÕs calls in Blackfish starting at 11:49pm. The first part lasted only sixteen minutes but as the 27th passed into the 28th, the BiggÕs orcas began again in earnest at 12:28am. They would not let up for the next three hours! For whales known for their stealth and silence this was most impressive and possibly indicated that they had been successful at a hunt or that they had some serious socialising to do. The calls began in Blackfish Sound but at 12:50am at least some of the group found their way closer to the entrance of Blackney Pass and slipped closer to Johnstone Strait. For a while there were clear calls in both locations. Ten minutes later at 1:03am there were calls heard on three systems, Flower (Blackfish Sound), Parson Island (the entranceway) and Kaizumi (Johnstone Strait). A humpback, not to be outdone, continued to vocalise as well. By 2:36am the BiggÕs calls became loudest in Johnstone Strait after the group perhaps resolved their separation and had finally come together. By 3:17am they grew quiet. A humpback finished off the remaining hours of the early morning. At first distant at 3:23am, then clearer, he finished calling at 5:03am. An extraordinary ÒbubbleÓ sequence followed the silence at 5:43am. The weather, calm after a short gale, allowed for Mark to return to continue with the window project. Returning also this day were the harlequin ducks who normally make the bays around the Lab their winter home. In the evening, the inevitable humpback began calling at 7:42pm. This did not immediately qualify as a song until 8:26pm and carried on for an hour afterwards.Just before 11pm a very exercised humpback produced several loud bangs. The 29th was all about preparing ourselves for another oncoming gale forecast for later in the evening (it began freshening in the late afternoon). Everything that needed to be secured was dealt with, the Sonic was safely tucked away on the beach and scopes were put away. It was going to be a good test for the new windows! Before the winds abated around 2am a humpback began singing in Blackfish Sound. He carried on through the passage of a cruise ship at 2:16am. We were startled. This was the first cruise ship in almost two years. Its bright lights woke several of us who also found its presence was rather disturbing. We concluded that perhaps it was allowed to come through the inside passage to get away from the dreadful weather that was especially bad further north. The humpback did not stop calling until 3:45am. Patrick, Ely and Luke spent part of their day getting ready to leave. We are very grateful for the help they provided and we will miss each of them, their good humour especially. Before Jared came to pick them and Mark up in the afternoon we had one last chore to do, dealing with the water tank which was emptied, cleaned and put back on a new platform. Meanwhile, a family of five river otters spent their day fishing off the Lab and playing in and around the kelp, and about a hundred sea lions maintained their positions on the nearby rocks. Uni, the sea gull went about her usual efforts to find a bite. She has made peace with the heron (now named Chilly) and seems to tolerate (does she have a choice?) this much bigger birdÕs presence. The weather had turned during the night, and though there was rain, most of the day was pleasant and the seas calm. What a contrast! Even a rainbow hung in the air as the departure was underway. Shearwaters and geese flocked past. Humpbacks, Guardian and Aquarius sedately headed north. As the lovely afternoon evolved into evening the humpbacks started calling at 7:30pm once again in Blackfish. After an initial warm-up that lasted until 8:12pm, the serious ÒstuffÓ began at 9:50pm. It was amazing at times. A few distant dolphins in Blackfish chimed in during one of the lulls and several boats intruded. But the humpback endured past midnight issuing in October in fine style.  OrcaLab 01 Oct 2021 07:18:05 PST

September 23 - 25 2021 T007Bs (September 24 2021) Perhaps this summary of the last few days should start with our encounter with BiggÕs orcas on September 24. The 23rd had been marked by the humpbacks vocal in Blackfish Sound in the early hours before dawn. One session lasted from 5:15am to 5:49am, noteworthy for the beautiful calls, the extended sounds of bubbles and the abrupt ending. September 24 started off in a similar manner with a vocal humpback in Blackfish Sound between 1:19am and 1:50am. Again there were bubble sounds as the humpbacks engaged in finding food. After a while the humpbacks settled down and only gave a few ÒwhupsÓ to indicate they were still hanging about in Blackfish Sound. Megan, Ely and Patrick had a busy morning on a service trip to the Ecological Reserve to retrieve cameras. This involved a dive for Megan. They arrived back later in the morning after working very efficiently. Mark, meanwhile, carried on finishing the Lab window installation as well as other jobs, Patrick and Helena rid the lower part of the Lab of accumulated dust, while Ely and Emily cleaned their upstairs sleeping quarters, Megan, on return, cleaned her dive gear and the retrieved equipment. We seemed to keep very busy until the afternoon offered the following surprise. Ely wrote the following account of the unfolding event: ÒAt 3.30pm, we got a report of BiggÕs orcas milling in front of CP. Luke and Ely went to the deck and kept an eye on Blackney Pass until they saw the first dorsal fins just to the left of GabeÕs Rock at 3.53pm. They were quite a distance away. Emily joined us on the deck and Helena, Megan and Patrick kept an eye and an ear on them from inside the lab. The 4 orcas milled in Blackney Pass for over 20 minutes until they surfaced at the South edge of Parson Island. When they reached ParsonÕs Light, Ely was able to identify them as the T007Bs. They very slowly made their way up, crossing paths with a couple Humpback whales who expressed their discontent with loud trumpetings. Just after 5pm, we thought that they had cleared our view, but when T007B3 popped up again, we realized that it was just the beginning of a long round of backs and forths. After an hour and a half of it, all of a sudden, one of them broke through the cold water like a torpedo, which signaled the beginning of a hunt. A group of sea lions was the target. The hunt lasted less than 10 minutes but was quite spectacular with breaches and splashes. We even recorded some calls during the attack. Once they had given the final blow, they proceeded to share the prey at the surface. The sea lion survivors watched the scene closeby in a very tight group. Who knows what it felt like for them to be witnessing that É Then the orcas, as if to give a final warning, approached Sea Lion rocks and caused a general panic. Most of the sea lions jumped from the rocks, which didnÕt seem like the best idea in this situation. Finally, they quickly passed the lab underwater and continued their journey up North. We watched their fins disappear around Burnt Point and then continued to watch them from the Flower Island remote camera as they continued west very close to the Hanson Island shore.Ó Pretty incredible display of determination on the part of the BiggÕs. First they bucked against a strong opposing current to get into Blackney Pass and then later turned to take advantage of the current return and proceed with a hunt which may have been their original purpose for coming into Blackney Pass all along. They could not help but notice the many sea lions in the water and out. September 25 did not have the drama of the previous day but the humpback vocals were spectacular in the late evening. It had been another busy day as we had to arrange for the June Cove to be towed to Port McNeill for servicing. Matchu obliged by organising the Double Bay boat the Sam to do the job. Paul and Helena followed in the Sonic. All went well except it began to rain so the last lap to Alert Bay and then the trip to Port McNeill were wet. A group of Dalls Porpoise flanked the boats for a while off the Pearse Islands which made the rain seem insignificant for a while. Mark was dropped off and Quin, who would later return to OrcaLab with Paul and Helena, hopped on for the trip to Port McNeill. After the Sonic got back to the Lab and unloaded before dark, a humpback let out a few short calls Blackfish Sound at 7:37pm. This is what we have come to expect and waited for more of the same but were surprised when we realised that there was at least one vocal humpback in Johnstone Strait. Everyone thought there were two. The calls were somewhere west of Robson Bight nearer Kaizumi Beach, in just the right location to echo back to the hydrophone located off the eastern headland of the Bight with an approximated three second delay. After some beautiful and loud calls off Kaizumi the calls, the scene shifted to Parson Island after 10pm. There was some interplay of calls echoing from Parson to Kaizumi but it was clear that one of the humpbacks had reached the entrance to Blackney Pass. The calls here were quite different from those at the beginning of the session. After more incredible calls that Ely described as gorgeous, elephant-like, clacks, high pitched, and even Chewbaka-like, the calls ended at 11:03pm. A short postscript to the day; a humpback was heard briefly and distantly in Blackfish once again at 11:46pm. OrcaLab 26 Sep 2021 20:49:38 PDT

September 20 - 22 2021 It has been six days now since there were Northern Resident orcas in our area! Fall has arrived. There is a chill now in the air but today (September 22) was sunny, a relief from the past few grey days. How great to feel that warmth. The Lab has been busy regardless of the weather. Tom Dakin and Dylan Smyth drove up to help secure the Kaizumi rubbing beach hydrophone cable against the winter storms ahead. A difficult job in difficult conditions. The weather on their arrival was quite windy but predicted to calm down. However, the prediction was tardy and the ocean on the morning of the 21st was still active. The rising tide was not a help and before long Tom and the others helping were getting wet. A nice shower, sauna and lunch awaited their return to the Lab. It was the least we could do! Filling in for the orcas are the sea lions and humpbacks. Ripple and her baby came close to the Lab on the 22nd, supposedly in a hurry to get somewhere else. Over the last couple of days the humpbacks have been vocal but not overly so. For example on the 20th they were vocal at 6:42am (a few dolphins then too) and then not again until 10pm when it sounded as if two humpbacks were involved, one closer, one further away. They managed to carry on till 11:45pm. On the 21st, there were the remnants of an effort (12:46am) that really started the previous evening. But then again nothing much until 9:15pm. This humpback was quite versatile, alternating between melancholy and melody. Boat noise intruded and the calls became infrequent and were eventually more distant by 10:46pm. In the morning of the 22nd, a humpback showed off his vocal acrobatics from 5:53am until 6:41am, There were beautifully echoey calls, from the very low to the very high repeated frequently. This session ended with strange little chirps, possible bubbles and lots of splashes. The same day Ripple and Dapple went by (the 22nd, a sea lion tore into a large salmon in front of the Lab only to have to scare off determined gulls hovering overhead. There are now a lot of sea lions hauled out on the local rocks (more than 60 of them). Their raucous growls are a constant. They are an exercise in making the rocks look comfortable but that does not stop them from being restless whenever someone moves or objects. Quite entertaining though and featured daily now on explore.org https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-steller-sea-lion-haulout Another large salmon became dislodged from its hiding place under the logs in the bay near the house. It shot across the bay. Pretty sure it was a good sized chum, autumn is really here! If there proves to be enough Chum salmon here, perhaps the resident orcas will be enticed to come back, fingers crossed. We miss them! We had a visit from a lone Grizzly bear on the 20th. After last yearÕs saga we are better prepared but we jumped into action taking extra precautions. The tents were brought down,dried and packed away. The camp kitchen was shut down. Everybody was moved indoors, Probably a good idea anyway as the weather has turned away from summer. But it was a bit tricky as Mark has been busy redoing the windows in the upper part of the Lab where two of the sleeping spaces are located. Fortunately, Mark works efficiently and the windows were installed without causing too much discomfort. He is now doing the finishing touches and it looks great. The bear,by the way, seemed for now to be just walking through. LetÕs hope so! We will work on finding some nice pictures tomorrow and post them along with this summary.  OrcaLab 22 Sep 2021 21:00:04 PDT

September 19 2021 Orcas: T2B, T60, T60C,T60F, T60G Humpbacks: Argonaut, Meteorite Pacific White-sided dolphins Our daily account takes up after 1am. What sounded like a large group of dolphins chatted away in Johnstone Strait from 1:17am to 1:57pm. A humpback, in the same vicinity interjected with a ÒwhupÓ at 2:06am. Most of the humpback activity, like most nights, occurred in Blackfish Sound. A hint at 1:34am, more at 4:05am and the beginning of song at 5:27am. Taking a short break this humpback resumed at 5:34am . Then at 5:39am he was moving on and the calls grew fainter. Morning, and with the absence of the resident orcas, there was time to get on with other chores and duties. Mark got organised to look after the cabinÕs stove and then tackle the window job. At 9:45am came the familiar cry of Òorca!Ó. Stopped us all in our tracks. Out front wasa group of BiggÕs orcas heading north. Ely quickly identified T60C with his distinctive nick. The count of five was a bit confusing at first. Two members, T60D and E, rarely travel with the rest, reducing the group's size to four. The mystery was solved later by Jared who found the whales and identified T2B as the fifth whale. While in Blackey Pass they were focused on travelling and ignored the splashing, lucky sea lions in the water nearby. By 10am the BiggÕs were into Blackfish Sound. They were silent. The Flower Island camera followed some of their progress through Blackfish Sound. Almost like clockwork, the humpbacks began again just before 8pm. Some of this session was very beautiful, clear and haunting. There were dolphins heard in the Strait again after 8pm and a huge burst of bubbles signalled that the humpbacks were focussing on grabbing a bite to eat. The day is not quite done but the skies cleared momentarily to reveal the almost full moon. The sea lions, still on their rocks, are growling below. Quite lovely.  OrcaLab 19 Sep 2021 22:15:45 PDT September 18 Humpbacks, Pacific White-sided dolphins With the resident orcas departed our lives at the Lab have become less ÒdrivenÓ. For so long our days have been structured around the comings and goings of the orcas with humpbacks always in the background and sea lions in the foreground literally. The days have been, as a result, more than busy, they have been at times non stop. Our notes for this day begin in the wee hours when a humpback made himself known starting at 1:21am in Blackney Pass. Possibly the same whale moved to Blackfish where at 2:03am he began a song. By 3:03am he was close to the Flower Island hydrophone, so close some of the calls were reminiscent of elephants trumpeting. He carried on until 3:16am. Daylight came with the realisation that a lot of sea lions are hauling out onto the local rocks. So many, they had to occupy three rocks to accommodate their numbers. So went the day. A power outage for the whole of the north island, caused by a down transformer near Woss, meant a lengthy period of no Internet connection. Paul, Luke and Patrick had gone into town. They had hoped to get supplies at the store. The store was closed as was the Post Office, Liquor Store - everywhere. They had no way of making even a hot drink at the house but did manage three hot baths, a nap for Paul and time to pick blackberries as they waited for the ferry to pick up Mark. Mark was coming to fix the windows in the upper part of the Lab. He had got delayed by the power outage which closed the portion of the highway affected by the downed lines. Eventually all returned to Hanson by evening. In time for the nightly humpback song to begin at 8:20pm. The humpback continued through to 10pm.  OrcaLab 19 Sep 2021 22:14:46 PDT

September 17 2021 A50s, A54, ?A106,?A118 A strong southeaster blew through the night. It had started the previous afternoon. Quite a lot of rain happened but not as much as predicted. All just a reminder that Fall is edging closer and that the more predictable weather of summer is probably behind us. But what of the whales? Through the night the humpbacks were quite low key. Starting and quickly ending efforts from midnight through 3am. No orcas called either. Finally at 5:17am a humpback in Blackfish produced a sustained contribution, even “singing’ beautifully between 5:19am and 5:31am. He was done by 6:01am. Maybe the same character, maybe someone different, began a shorter rendition a little later between 7:42am until 7:48am. The wind was still quite strong, showing not many signs of abating just yet but it was daylight and the day was ahead so always promising. Many gulls and other sea birds swirled around and above the shore just in front of the house and lab, a dramatic enough scene with the rolling waves. In the Strait waves crashed against the Vancouver Island shore as well. To our surprise we started hearing some A30 calls on the Kaizumi hydrophone at 12:30pm. The last we knew of the A30s was that they had been Blackfish Sound the day before. There had been no hint during the night of their movements. These calls started to get closer and they soon came in for a rub! The rub started at 12:35pm. There were multiple pass-bys on the underwater and surface cameras. We believe that some of the A50s and A54s were participating. We did not see Bend (A72), the A86s nor the A75s for example but we did identify A84 and possibly A54 herself. Ely had a second look at the footage just to make sure. The rub ended at 12:45pm as the whales carried on to the west. We started hearing distant A30 calls on Cracroft Point (CP) at 1:21pm and had a hunch that the same whales had circled across the Strait and were headed our way. We stopped hearing their chatter at 1:27pm on CP, but heard A30 calls again at 1:58pm on Parson Island! At 2:08pm, we saw orcas in the gap. They were on their way into Blackney Pass. At least 7 orcas entered together, but split up into three groupings with A72 a bit ahead, followed by a group of 2, followed by a 3rd group composed of A50, her baby, A84, and A99. As the residents moved through the Pass, many humpbacks appeared, one of them being Stitch and another Black Pearl. The orcas continued through Blackney Pass at a moderate speed and went out of sight by 2:35pm. We were able to follow them on the Flower Island camera for a bit, but lost them due to the bad weather conditions at 2:49pm. Faint calls were heard until 2:58pm. The wind finally calmed down and even the rain let up only to return later after dark. By then a humpback decided to rumble at 10:38pm as a precursor to his sounds that followed. We are looking forward to better seastates tomorrow although we understand the rain to suppose to carry on, and so shall we!  OrcaLab 18 Sep 2021 09:46:28 PDT

September 16 2021 A50s, A54s, A42s, other A5s heard It was probably too much to imagine that the A30s would have the entire area to themselves after so many days having the constant companionship of the A5s. True to that, after the A30s (?A50s) had their rubs at Kaizumi and then at Strider some of the A5s turned up in Johnstone Strait before 1am. This A5 group seemed to be following the A30 group eastward. After 1am, the A5 calls became stronger as this group neared Strider Beach and especially when they joined the A30s for a rub that began at 1:17am. The rub lasted eleven minutes until 1:28am. Afterwards the calls turned to distant as the whales moved away, offshore and turned. Their wide turn possibly brought them closer to the Cracroft side. Progress west was slow. The calls remained distant and in the same vicinity opposite the rubbing beaches for quite a while. Eventually, they left the area of the Ecological Reserve behind. Then the trail went cold for nearly two hours. At 7:45am calls resumed on the Kaizumi system. But they were never loud. Most likely the whales were closer to Cracroft than Vancouver Island. At 8:11am, there were calls on the CP system showing their definite progress westward. It was half an hour later that the whales indicated they were anywhere near the entrance of Blackney Pass. They were not hurrying. The current was still against them and had been since 7am. It would not turn to ebb until 2:33pm. So they milled about, no doubt foraging as well. Just before 9am came an interesting development. A30 calls were heard in Blackfish Sound and not long after A5 calls as well. There had been a split in the ranks. As we listened we felt as if the A54s were possibly the A30 group in Blackfish and later at 10:56am when Quin reported seeing the A50s in the Strait this assumption seemed to be supported. The whales in the Strait were definitely fighting the current on any attempt they made to get into the Pass. Most of the time they stayed in the rip to the west of Cracroft Point. A search of Blackfish yielded very little until finally we spotted a male, by himself, slightly favouring the Plumper Islands. He too was foraging and rather directionless. In contrast at 11:14am, a small group (2-3) in Blackfish looked like they definitely had Blackney Pass in mind. Events quickend after this. By 11:30am we were watching orcas come “in” from Blackfish Sound. It looked to be at least some of the A54s and all of the A42s. Possibly A94 was there as well though we did not actually see him this time. These whales cleared toward Johnstone Strait at 11:49am. What happened next was interesting. The A50s who had been in the Strait all this time left to head through Blackney Pass to Blackfish Sound at 12:21pm. They possibly had with them the A54 group previously seen southbound. They were out of sight by 1pm. So now, the A5 groups were once more together, and the A30s had been likewise rejoined. A quick exchange! The A5s in the Strait were quiet but the A30s continued to be heard all the way to 7:44pm,albeit most of the calls were quite faint and only occasionally stronger as the whales shifted about the Sound. We cannot account for what happened to the A5s, not enough clues. But we can mention the incredible humpback effort that began at 3:17pm in Blackfish, the same time the A30s were calling. This humpback session developed into beautiful sequences until subsiding into groans, whups and other noises. The humpback ceased at 7:02pm, just before the last A30 calls forty minutes later. The night had some more humpback flavour when at 9:49pm an individual began calling on Flower Island again. Pretty loud too! He stopped before 10pm and from then on, he or someone else,only made a few whups, groans and water splashes. Whoever this was will probably not mind the rising winds through the night, or the predicted heavy downfall of rain. We welcomed Ely to Hanson Island and said goodbye to Lucile who is off on an adventure north. Suzie and Quin, likewise, set off in the morning only to return later in the day for one more Hanson night! We, of course, welcomed the return of the sea lions who have made the rocks to the south of the Lab their winter home.  OrcaLab 17 Sep 2021 00:04:47 PDT

September 15 2021 Orcas: A30s, possible A42s/ A4 heard The night belonged to the humpbacks, plain and simple. Just before 1am it began and did not really let up until 7am. It was a glorious night of feeding in Blackfish Sound with lots of tail and fluke slaps and many, many calls and even the distinctive sound of bubbles as they encircled their prey.. The event ran through Suzie’s, Lucile’s and Luke’s shifts. By the time Emily came on scene it was almost over. This is how her shift went after 7am. “It was a very quiet shift this morning, but it gave me time to gaze over the gorgeous sunrise in the pass. At 7:07am, humpback calls rang through from Flower Island, as they had been for most of the night and these short sporadic bursts continued until about 7:13am when the hydrophone went silent. At 8:36am, two humpbacks (probably Hunter and Quartz) were spotted at Red Point, both pointed south. Were these the same that had been so active in Blackfish?” Patrick, Megan and Quin went over to Cracroft Point to do maintenance. Helena took over Patrick’s shift. At least three humpbacks, perhaps four, were in the Pass. Hunter and Quartz were still over at Red point and White Beach Pass. They barely came to the surface but they were together and the dove in sequence. Guardian travelled toward them crossing Parson Bay. Another humpback was deeper in Parson Bay. Then at around 12:30pm Suzie heard calls on the house monitor. The calls were on Flower Island in Blackfish Sound. The A30s and possibly A5s. There were a few A4 calls leading us to suspect that the A5 group was the A42s travelling still with A94 (of the A4 pod). The calls only lasted until 1:10pm. The whales had crossed Blackfish Sound and into Queen Charlotte Strait. That was it! No further calls all afternoon. A humpback obliged from 1:52pm until 2:03pm. Not a huge effort. Buy, hey! The sun was out warming the slight September chill. Luke took the dinner shift which proved more productive. At 8:01pm he heard A30s return to Blackfish Sound. While Inukshuk and another humpback continued their hour-long breaching the A30s slipped through Blackney Pass. Between 9:17pm and 9:57pm they entered the Strait and started to go eastward. It was time for Emily to take over once again. Again, we use her own words about what happened next. “At the start of my shift (10:00pm) we were still hearing clear A30 calls on Kaizumi. At 10:06pm, I heard the first chuff sounds, signaling the start of a rub! The vocals during this rub were incredible. Very close, clear calls and a number of N47s in a row. These vocals and chuffs continued until 10:15pm when the rub ended and the orcas continued east. I could hear their faint calls nearing Robson Bight at 10:20pm, but they went silent for a bit shortly afterwards. They stayed pretty quiet until 10:51pm when their chatter started to pick up again in the Bight. The A30 calls became clearer and less echoey at this time.” Their trek east continued and at 11:27pm faint calls as they approached Strider Beach, which is east of Robson Bight. At 11:56pm they rubbed at Strider. From there they continued east, at least, for the time being. They also have the Strait to themselves. No A5 calls were heard. A bit of a change.  OrcaLab 16 Sep 2021 17:42:17 PDT September 14 2021 orcas: A50s, some A54s, A23s,A25s,A42a/A94 The efforts of the humpback in Blackfish Sound petered out by 12:32am. Nothing had been heard from the orcas since just before midnight on the previous evening. All remained “quiet” for a bit longer until the humpback in Blackfish resumed at 2:37am. This humpback subsided into grunts and a few calls by 3:42am. All then was quiet again until 3:42am when the humpback began developing calls into full song (the first of the season) that lasted until 4:03am. The humpback decided then to shift from Blackfish Sound to Blackney Pass. Calls were heard again from 4:23am to 5:12am when a boat interfered and the calls stopped. For an hour between 6:05am to 7:10am, A5 and A30 calls grew from faint to louder in Blackfish Sound. Loud enough for Patrick to have a go at trying to find them on the Flower Island remote camera. Zeroing in on a boat moving very slowly he found the orcas right off its bow. They like the boat were Blackney Pass bound. As he followed them through the Sound, Stitch startled him passing by the Flower Island camera very closely. As the orcas neared and began their journey through Blackney Pass they looked excited, with tail slaps and a breach by the male, who Patrick later ID’d as A66 (Surf). Scouring through the photos he had taken of the orcas in Blackney Pass, Patrick quickly identified Bend (A72) and was able to ID A66 (Surf) as well. By a quick count of whales, and comparing some of the smaller fins to the ID book, Patrick reached the conclusion that the A42’s and the A50’s had travelled south through Blackney Pass. Obviously during the night the A42s had caught up with the A50s and were now returning together. While busy ID’ing, Patrick never quite lost track of the A5 & A30 calls on PI, they became faint at one point but came up on CP too as the whales approached Johnstone Strait. Then around 9:30am, the calls started to become stronger once again on the Parson Island system. Had they turned or stalled? By 9:45am, the calls and echolocation were loud and clear on Parson Island. Parson Island listens into Blackney Pass but also the portion of Blackney that is adjacent to the entranceway to Johnstone Strait that is out of view of the Lab. Just maybe they were coming back. Patrick adjusted the stations to clean up the recording and capture the gorgeous calls that were now happening.The loudest and strangest chugging sound in Blackfish Sound on the Flower Island hydrophone had to be removed as these were some of the most beautiful and clear sounding calls Patrick had heard during his time here at the Lab. No boat noise was going to ruin this recording! Still no visual sign of the orcas. At 9:51am, a massive tanker rounded the corner at Burnt Point (SAGA WELCO). Darn, the beautiful recording was about to be obliterated by boat noise. Sure enough, the calls on Parson became pure distortion. It was boat noise like Patrick had never heard before. When the boat noise eventually cleared up , the calls were gone. Silence. Patrick took a break and Lucile took over in the Lab. During the changeover and after the boat disruption the orcas issued a few N3 calls as they started their way back through Blackney Pass. By 10:08am, the lead whales were half way through on their way to Blackfish Sound. They, the A50s and A42s, were fairly loose and spread out. Calls started on Flower Island by 10:07am while there were still other orcas coming in from the entranceway. The first and second groups cleared the Lab’s view by 10:30am, another 3 came into view at Gab’s Rock at 10:38am. It looked like the A42s were following the A30s. At 10:54am they were just opposite the Lab. After this, the scene shifted to Blackfish where the orcas continued to be vocal until 1:08pm. By then they were distant and loud boat noise had taken over once again. Previously there had been a lot of echolocation as whales foraged their way though Blackfish Sound. Nothing happened on Luke's watch from 1 to 4pm. Emily’s shift was fairly quiet until 16:29pm when faint echolocation and whistles were heard on Flower Island. A large group of orcas were spotted quite far away on the remote camera at 16:41 in line with Donegal Head. They were spread out and foraging. We could see the Alaska Ferry heading east in Queen Charlotte Strait and knew that boat noise would soon once again impact on the calls, so we kept a close eye on the orcas on the Flower Island cam. Still foraging they were slowly heading east towards Blackney Pass. They were monitored on the Flower Island camera for quite a while, remaining incredibly quiet with only a few calls here and there. However, there was lots of echolocation, hopefully with some successful outcomes. At 5:19pm, we started seeing some action on camera, including some tail slaps and belly rolls. Finally, after about an hour after first being spotted on the Flower Island camera, orcas were spotted up at Turtle Rock near the Swasnon Island shore. The first group to enter was possibly A54 with her two youngest. They quickly made their way through Blackney Pass followed by a couple more staggered groups. The A42s were spotted half way through opposite White Beach Pass at 18:01pm and it was believed some of the A50s were just in front of them. While A54 and A119 stormed ahead, the A42s and A50s behind them joined up at 6:11pm into a large group mid-Parson Bay. They continued together in this beautiful form until they exited the Pass at 6:29pm - 2 hours after we had initially heard their calls on Flower Island. The most amazing thing is, all of the later manoeuvring was done without uttering a single call. These resident orcas were completely silent, aside from some sporadic echolocation, from the moment they entered BP to the moment they cleared. As soon as the large group was out of sight, a symphony of excited calls erupted on Parson Island and Cracroft Point. This excited chorus continued, but eventually started to fizzle out at around 6:37pm. Then, big booms, possibly tail slaps or breaches, were heard along with humpback grunts back in Blackfish Sound - perhaps he wanted in on the fun or was he revving up for the night ahead?  OrcaLab 16 Sep 2021 15:53:27 PDT I will be posting through the day the summaries missed since September 12. Hopefully, doing this gradually will mean it is not too overwhelming for those that like to follow with us the movements of the whales. Here goes: September 12 2021 Orcas: A42s/A94, A23s, A25s, A50s, and A54s The night hosted a multitude of symphonies from dolphins, humpbacks, and of course the resident orcas. It started with chatty dolphins, a humpback, and distant resident calls on Flower Island at the stroke of midnight. The resident calls soon turned into a report from Patrick who was outside and could hear blows in Blackney Pass travelling south at 1:42am. Later, at 2:43am, A30 and A5 calls were heard on Critical Point and Kazumi. Tomoko, listening all the way from Japan, thought that all the A5s (A23s, A25s, and A42s/A94) were with the A30s on Critical and Kazumi. The A5 and A1 (A30s) residents chatted sporadically on Critical and Kazumi for most of the night until 4:47am, when A1 calls were heard on Strider Rubbing Beach. During this time of playful banter, a chorus of Pacific White-sided dolphins joined in on Flower Island, and a humpback’s beautiful soundtrack made an appearance as well. At 5:30am, to our surprise, we heard Bigg’s-like calls on Parson Island, but they were, unfortunately, short-lived. Due to technical difficulties, we lost the audio to Cracroft Point, Kazumi Beach, Critical Point, Strider Beach, and Main Rubbing Beach and the internet at 5:42am. As you can imagine, it got pretty quiet after that. At 10:00am, the Internet and stations were working again and we were back in business! Almost immediately, at 10:17am, we heard calls on Cracroft Point and spotted a large group on the CP camera westing towards the entrance to Blackney Pass. Coincidentally, Megan and Paul who had gone over to “CP” to change batteries saw the large group(s) heading into Blackney let the Lab know at once. At 10:34am, A61 was spotted at Gabes Rock entering Blackney Pass traveling North. He was followed by a large group. By 10:34am, A60, A61, A72 and the A42s were identified going north in Blackney Pass. There was lots of action, tail slaps, spy hops. They were into Blackfish Sound by 10:53am leaving Argonaut the humpback behind in Blackney but not before he offered a grunt or two with their passing. From 11am on the orcas echolocated, called as they foraged their way through Blackfish Sound. At 11:11am some looked as if they might head back through Weynton Passage after doing a complete 180. But the sometimes faint, sometimes louder, sometimes excited, calls continued, however, right up to 3:56pm when a more definite decision was finally made to come back to Blackney Pass. In all that time in Blackfish we received a repot of the T60s, T90s and T2B westing off Pulteney Point on Malcolm Island, and dolphins were seen leaping amongst the resident orcas while they foraged and moved about the Sound. Between 4pm and 5:30pm the A42s/94 were off Compton Island with A66 in the lead heading south. There were still loud mainly A5 calls on FI. This was the A23s and A25s still getting organised to come into the Pass. At 4:12pm, the A42s were moving through the last section of Blackney on their way to the Strait. Not long after Megan heard A42 calls as the whales moved into the Strait. But the last of this group did not clear the Lab’s view until 4:35pm when the first were already appearing on the CP remote camera. A film crew was following the whales. As the A42s foraged off CP we were still hearing A5 and A30 calls in Blackfish. They were certainly taking their time! Finally, at 5:27pm they were ready and the A23s, A25s, A50s and A54s headed south. They came in at first as two separate groups, then joined together mid-gap as they cleared from view at 5:39pm. By now they were travelling very closely together. In the next segment, the whales scattered on entering the Strait, some westing for a while, some easting, others foraging, others crossing to the other side. It was a confused scene which sorted itself out when the A42s and A23s approached Kaizumi and went in for a rub at 6:58pm. At first, it was just A66 enjoying Kazumi, but not five minutes later, he cleared to the east to give some room for six others, members of either the A42s or A23s, including A94. There were clear A5 calls throughout, AND! we confirmed that A103 is a female! We also identified A79 + baby, A119, A42, A114, A109. While the A5s were together heading east from Kaizumi, the A30s, both the A50s and the A54s decided to return to Blackney Pass. At 7:23pm, they were at the entrance to Blackney Pass. By 7:34pm they were in view headed across to Parson Island. From there they headed north and into Blackfish Sound where they “opened up” with nice calls. Faint calls on Strider spoke to the approach of the A5s. They began a rub at 8:32pm. This was a very acoustically active rub. Amazing chuff sounds and lots of bubbles being heard along with the occasional call. This six minute rub lasted until 8:38pm. They were not done rubbing. They continued east and went into the last beach, Main at 8:46pm. This was just a three minute rub. Others, perhaps not so advanced to the east started yet another rub at Strider at 8:53pm which lasted until 9:02pm. Their departure from the beaches was to the east. The last calls were at 10:28pm. Of course, a humpback contributed to the evening by calling from 9:46pm to 10pm. This is how the day ended. OrcaLab 16 Sep 2021 10:21:18 PDT

Superb sounds!! The network is back! Just in time as the first Steller Sea Lions are hauled out on the rock, and we have the A30s and possibly others on our hydrophones. OrcaLab 15 Sep 2021 12:55:30 PDT

Performing maintenance Unfortunately, our connection to the Internet has been lost. We are working on the problem but do not have an immediate solution in sight. Thank you for your patience! There will be lots of updates to catch up on when we get back.  OrcaLab 13 Sep 2021 17:55:05 PDT

September 11 2021 Orcas:A50s, A54s, A23s,A25s,A42s/A94 This day starts just before dawn. In regard to resident orcas the ÒnightÓ had been uneventful They had been last heard in Blackfish Sound in the late evening. A humpback in Blackfish started things off from 6:09am to 6:15am followed by A5 calls in Johnstone Strait just after 8am. We suspect the orcas had come into the Strait from Weynton Passage but Blackfish, Blackney and Johnstone Strait were all shrouded once more in fog. Suddenly, as the A5s called, we heard the distinctive sounds of another humpback in Blackfish and, at the same time, some distant BiggÕs orcas in the same locale. A lot happening all at once! An hour and half later the orcas had advanced far enough for their calls to be heard on the Cracroft Point and Kaizumi Beach systems. By complete chance the fog curtain parted just enough for the remote ÒCPÓ camera to glimpse the A25s heading east. There were no reference points in the dense fog and soon these whales were enveloped in mist. Even though the fog bank was not as intense on the Vancouver Island side we were unsuccessful in locating any whales as we continued listening to clear calls. By 11:42am we were only hearing faint calls. This situation changed when the calls became more frequent and excited on the ÒCPÓ hydrophone after 1pm. The impression was that the different groups were pretty spread out, with some closer to Cracroft, others nearer Kaizumi and even more off the Ecological Reserve. At 1:48pm we got a break. The fog dissipated and an individual orca was seen heading west. AhHa, a definite direction! Soon there were A30 calls on the Parson Island system telling us that whales were advancing west. A large male was seen crossing toward Big Bay on Hanson Island. In tandem, whales on the Vancouver Island shore were approaching Kaizumi Beach to start a five minute rub at 2:05pm. To make this simpler, the A50s, some of the A54s (of the A30s) entered Blackney Pass around 2:30pm and slowly began to head north. In the background of their slow progress through the Pass several other dramas unfolded in the Strait. Furthest east in the Strait one of the A5 groups (we suspect the A42s) had a quick rub at Main Beach at 2:46pm. Then the scene shifted west to Strider when another A5 rub happened at 3:03pm. All this time the mixed A30 group was still in Blackney Pass. A more sustained sixteen minute rub at Strider occurred at 3:14pm as the groups filed past to the west. The A30 group off the Lab were still negotiating Blackney Pass. One of their members, the young male, A84 took up the rear foraging as he followed the others. We knew that the rest of their family, the remainder of the A54s, were still back in the Strait as we could hear their calls from time to time. Some of the A23s went in for a rub at Kaizumi Beach starting at 3:44pm. This was a lovely, lovely,long rub. The water was clear, quite a tropical green blue in the afternoon light. A43 and her granddaughter A109 were the main participants just as they had been two days ago at Strider. A43s took lazy, relaxed passes over the stones while the younger A109 rubbed more energetically repeatedly while A43 took moments to rest on the surface. As this rub continued, the A50s and A54 and her two youngest finally cleared into Blackfish Sound by 4:06pm where they began calling. The rub at Kaizumi meanwhile lasted until 4:31pm. Forty-seven minutes! Further east and still within the Ecological Reserve the A42s and possibly the A54s as well were nearing Robson Bight on their way west. The A30 group in Blackfish was enduring the attention of several boats. It was now 5pm and the whales in the Strait were beginning to set the entrance of Blackney Pass in their sights. Whales, previously near Kaizumi began to angle toward Cracroft Point after some indefinite milling offshore. Soon calls were heard on the ÒCPÓ system as their approach took shape. The A30 group, who had been vocal ever since reaching Blackfish must have already decided to turn around. Their echolocation and calls became very loud just as the first groups from the Strait approached the entrance to Blackney Pass 6:02pm. A few minutes later some of the A50s came back in view of the Lab, just on the edge of Blackfish Sound and Blackney Pass. They got half way through the Pass and then turned around in advance of the incoming whales. Our dinner was ready and we decided to eat on the deck where we could continue to watch the orca parade. At 6:35pm, the A23s showed up but A60 was not with them. The A50s were almost all back in Blackfish by the time these A23s were half way through. A69 was with her new baby while A43 and A109 were still travelling together. They left the Pass just after 7pm. Then it was A61Õs and A60Õs turn. These large males came in more or less as a pair with A61 as leader. A60 rolled on his back looking very relaxed. Not far behind came the A42s (all together) at 7:18pm. A61 and A60 made it through by 7:52pm and the A42s three minutes later. Obviously we did not account for every individual but we are fairly certain that all the groups, the A50s, the A23s, the A25s, the A42s and the A54s ended their day in Blackfish Sound where the once glorious sunset was fading to dark. The last calls (A30s) we heard were at 8:54pm and by then a distant humpback had already begun his haunting evening serenade.  OrcaLab 12 Sep 2021 16:19:03 PDT

September 10 2021 Orcas:A50s, A54s, A23s, A25s, A42s/A94,T049A1 PWD Throughout the night Blackfish Sound entertained humpbacks, orcas and dolphins. Each taking turns at various times, sometimes overlapping each other. A humpback was first, calling from 1:04am to 1:21am. The A30s were then heard off in the distance at 2:21am, then closer ten minutes later, even clearer at 2:51am and finally they produced some heavy echolocation by 3:23am before their calls faded away by 3:37am. They made no commitment to Blackney Pass but they did not go far. They were back by 4:49am and fairly close at 5:27am. The humpbacks were not to be outdone and from 5:33am to 6:34am someone from their ranks broke into a sustained effort. Dolphins, also in Blackfish Sound, offered their chatter to the mix. Orcas made it to Blackney Pass at 6:11am as calls were heard on the Parson Island station located southeast of the Blackfish hydrophone. Whoever it was who ventured away from Blackfish must have returned soon after. This good try was to be repeated more successfully later in the day. Nothing further occurred until 9:18am when there was a report from Andrew that 10 orcas entered Johnstone Strait from Weynton Passage and were hugging the Hanson Island shore as they moved eastward. At 11:54am a more definitive report had the A42s travelling east mid strait opposite Blinkhorn. Silent until just after noon their whereabouts were not easy to track acoustically at first but this situation improved.. By 1:10pm they were off the entrance to Blackney Pass. Around this time Scotty told us the T049A1s were entering Beaver Cove. The A30s began calling again in Blackfish Sound just before 2pm. This was twelve hours after first being heard in the early morning. As the A42s continued calling in Johnstone Strait the rest of their family, the A23s and A25s, became vocal in Blackfish Sound along with the A30s. It was so very foggy when at 2:16pm orcas began to file into Blackney Pass on their way to Johnstone Strait where the A42s were waiting. They came in two waves but because of the fog we could only follow their progress by blows and calls. When the orcas entered the Strait (which was much clearer and less fog bound) and joined the A42s the following scene unfolded. The A42s stopped and began to mill about off of Cracroft Point. They began to float, rest on the surface, spyhop, group and regroup. They were in no hurry as the others arrived and passed them. By 2:45pm there were whales everywhere but the majority of the A42s still drifted contentedly nudging each other, doing more spyhops, rolling around. Others like Bend (of the A50s),were criss-crossing every which way, foraging and sorting themselves out. This went on for a very long time. At 3:21, we believe the A54s made a break for Blackney Pass and headed north. Again, the fog obscured this passage and we had to wait for calls in Blackfish Sound to confirm our suspicions. As the rest found themselves in the rip west off Cracroft Point, Squiggle the humpback, let out a loud resonant and declarative groan while in the same rip. Too much company? With the A54s out of the picture this left the A50s, A23s, A25s and the A42s in the Strait. A stream of Alaska fish boats moved through the foraging, milling orcas causing a lot of noise but no other consequence to the activities of the orcas. By now it was getting past 5:30pm. There were a few breaches as the whales became a bit more restless. Emily, who had been following the whales on the remote camera for hours, observed that the whales seemed to use the rip like a slide. They would go forward far enough against the current, reach a certain position, and then allow the current to push them back to where they started. They repeated this behaviour. Just before 6pm whales were spotted through BlackneyÕs fog at the corner of Hanson Island. Another group who had also tried for Blackney were swept back and were seen on camera exiting Blackney in favour of Johnstone Strait. But the game had definitely changed and the whales now became more seriously focused on moving into Blackney. Despite the still poor conditions and everyone on deck straining to see into the fog Lucile located fins opposite the Lab. They were going north. We surmised that the A30s (the A50s) along with the A23s and A25s were headed to Blackfish Sound. But what of the relaxed A42s? It took them a beat or two longer but by 7pm they too were on their way in. As they neared Blackfish Sound there was a mixed chorus of loud and excited calls before everyoneÕs calls began to fade around 8pm. A humpback, and then some dolphins in Blackfish became vocal over the next hour. It was so reminiscent of when in the early hours of this same day all these species had shared their world with us listeners.   OrcaLab 11 Sep 2021 08:36:24 PDT

sorry, the link I just posted does not work - will try to fix - it was a sound clip of the humpback and orcas from the other night. Helena 10 Sep 2021 00:47:32 PDT https://soundcloud.com/.../september-9.../s-X6a8C366W0K  OrcaLab 10 Sep 2021 00:44:18 PDT September 9 2021 Orcas: A50s, A54s, A23s, A25s, A42s/A94, PWD To start this summary we roll back a couple of days when Luke and Emily were at Cracroft Point as observers. The following is a description of an encounter Luke experienced while there. CP report September 7th-8th After a beautiful day filled with orcas passing CP, including an incredibly close 10 meter pass by the A25Õs, I was settling into bed when I took one last moment to be outside. To my surprise, brilliant, blue bioluminescence lit up the coastline at the edge of the cliff. I went to bed until I awoke sometime between 4 or 5 am and had a feeling I had to get back outside. I walked out on the deck at CP and to my utter disbelief a humpback whale passed by only 20 feet from the deck, lit up by the blue stars of bioluminescence and leaving a jetstream of blue sparkles in its wake. The humpback breached and then went on swimming with the stars. The whale was followed by a dolphin that was moving much faster and left a bright blue jetstream in its wake. It was a sight so beautiful it is hard to describe but the memory, so vivid and special, will stay with me for the rest of my life. Today was shrouded in mist, rain and fog so much so that the sea and sky were monochrome and the forest greens intensified against the greys. Back in the night, all was quiet until a humpback in Blackfish Sound broke the silence at 2:50am. This fellow would carry on throughout the next hour, stopping at 3:41am. The orca families of the A50s, A54s,A23s,A25s,and A42s/A94 were out of range to the east. In the midst of the humpbackÕs next effort between 4:27am and 5:35am, the orcas skittered over Strider Beach at 5:21am on their way to the west. The rub lasted about a minute but was followed by close A5 calls minutes later. Other calls, the A30s, were further offshore, all were westbound. By 6:12am, they were passing Robson Bight. Being quite spread out, some were already off Kaizumi by 6:28am. Calls continued on the Robson Bight and Strider Beach systems as the lead groups passed Kaizumi and heard at 7:38am on the Cracroft Point hydrophone. They never went further west than ÒCPÓ. Luke and Emily watched as they emerged out of the fog and began to cross towards the entrance of Blackney Pass. By this time the Lab was busy preparing for the departure of Suzie and Quin, Mattis and Sara Lynn. Suzie and Quin have been mainstays at the Lab through the last two years and this summer they dedicated their time and energy making sure that the Lab ran smoothly and that the systems performed. It has been incredible help. They are not gone forever. Hanson is home. Quin plans to be back in October while Suzie works for a local dive outfit, but their departure today is another sign that summer is quickly slipping away into autumn. We wish them well on their quick trip to Victoria, for their plans to dust off their sailboat, the Orion and sail her ÔsomewhereÓ over the next couple of weeks, and with their longer plans to travel to see family later in the year. Mattis and Sara Lynn have been our Òwork awayÓ couple and have joined in every aspect of life on Hanson Island while helping in the Lab and doing the myriad practical jobs that have been needed to be done. They are off on a camping trip. Mattis will return in October, Sara Lynn in November when they both will take up the role of winter caretaker. Megan was charged with getting everyone to Alert Bay but not before she went to CP and retrieved Luke and Emily. This was all before 9am! Setting off in the fog Megan managed well and even got to Port McNeill for gas and groceries returning home hours later after enduring the rain in the open boat. The whales, of course, had their own agendas. At 7:46am they began to file into Blackney Pass on the ebb tide. CP saw A61 just as he passed out of sight. More followed. Megan on her way to CP to get Luke and Emily saw the A23s, A42s and A50s shooting past. Three minutes later these groups were in view (sort of) of the Lab. The whales were quick, the fog thick, no chance to account for all but the large male fins offered sufficient clues. Each group, save the A54s, have males who we can rely on to stand out even in these poor conditions. As the whales neared Blackfish Sound their calls were picked up on the Flower Island hydrophone until 9:22am. A couple of hours went by. It was still foggy when the whales were heard once more starting at 11:28am. For the next four hours their calls grew gradually stronger, their echolocation more definite as they neared Blackney Pass. Taking so long probably meant that they had found something of interest in Blackfish Sound. A group of six even passed close to the remote camera just before the groups began to be seen by the Lab at 1:24pm. Again we had to peer through the fog to see anything but took most of our clues from the acoustics. We had enough clues to realise they were more or less in their groups with the A50s and A23s in front. The A25s came next with the A54s. The A42s came last. It was again quite a spread. While the first were on their way to Johnstone Strait between 1:40pm and 1:50pm others were still in Blackfish Sound. However, everyone was in the Strait by 2pm and fanning out across the Strait. Instead of going east the whales turned eventually to go to the west. At 3:28pm, Patrick heard the A42s in Blackfish Sound again. They must have immediately gone west on entering Johnstone Strait under the cover of fog and against the current. There were still calls in Johnstone Strait so this seemed to be an independent move on their part. At 3:27pm, Patrick found them off the western end of Blackfish Sound moving east. At 4:10pm, they were in the Pass headed south. They were all together and cleared by 4:26pm and afterwards took time to cross over to the Vancouver Island shore. The returning Megan reported seeing whales (this would have been the A30s, A23s and A25s) easting between Telegraph Cove and Weynton Passage. The A25s looked like they had the intention of entering Weynton. During this time Kaizumi Beach was a draw for the A42s where they soon began, at 5:55pm, a marathon rub that lasted for an hour and thirty-seven minutes, and which offered up incredible views that left us speechless. Such a special, little beach, a jewel treasured by the whales. As the A42s, and it should be noted that A66 did not participate, finished their rub at 7:32pm, they moved offshore slowly just as the A30s and the other A5 groups became vocal and approached the entrance to Blackney Pass from the west. They prepared to head back into Blackney Pass by 7:38pm. Once again the ebbing tide helped them along. In less than ten minutes the A30s, A23s and A25s were gone calling as they moved deeper into Blackfish Sound. The A42s, around 8:10pm followed. Alas, not only was it still misty it was now getting dark as well. The scopes and camera were brought in and we relied instead on our hydrophones to measure their progress into and through Blackfish Sound. Calls faded away by 9:30pm. The last few hours of the day included the beginnings of humpbacks stirring in Blackfish Sound.  Orcalab 10 Sep 2021 00:28:13 PDT

September 8 2021 Orcas: A50s, A54s,A23s, A25s,A42s/A94 Leaving the A42s (along with A94) in Johnstone Strait seems to happen fairly frequently these days. The A30s, A23s and A25s had gone off to Blackfish Sound via Weynton Passage the previous evening. The A42s stayed behind to “hold the fort”. The rhyme or reason for this eludes us. From 1:44am the A42s shifted closer to Robson Bight. A humpback began a few minutes later in Blackfish Sound and would carry on to 2:18am. By then, at 2:07am, the A30s had come back into range in Blackfish Sound. They were on their way to Blackney Pass and Johnstone Strait beyond by 3am. The A42s in anticipation of their arrival turned west a few minutes before we heard the A30 calls register on the Cracroft Point hydrophone at 3:08am. They came towards the incoming A30s all the way back toward Kaizumi Beach around 3:35am. The A23s and A25s probably followed the same path as the A30s by approaching the Strait via Blackney Pass about this time. All the groups, together now, were in the general area from Kaizumi Beach (west of the Bight) to the entrance of Blackney Pass. They took the next moments to sort themselves out, even sneaking in a short rub from 4:10am to 4:12am at Kaizumi Beach. Why not? Such a convenient spot! Calls began to be heard on the Robson Bight hydrophone as the first whales advanced eastward. From 5:13am to 5:52am, the A30s and A5s remained in the vicinity of Robson Bight. Some of the whales were most likely spread offshore as the Strider and Kaizumi Beach hydrophones picked up their calls. There was no rub at Strider or Main Beaches. Instead the whales seemed to be uncertain of a particular direction until about 7:30am when the scene shifted right back to the entrance of Blackney Pass. Calls became louder and more definite over the course of the next twenty minutes. Not long after, and remember it is now light, orcas were seen entering Blackney Pass. In first were the A30s, followed by the A23s and then the A25s, and even the A42s, not left behind this time! They were quickly into Blackfish Sound by 8:14am thanks to the strong ebb. They seemed excited to be on their way, tail slapping and moving ever so smartly. They continued through Blackfish Sound and we could still hear them up to 9:45am asthey carried onto Queen Charlotte Strait. Their restlessness brought them back by 12:24pm and their echolocation clicks (some very strong) indicated their intention to come into Blackney Pass. This time, at 2:24, the A50s and the A42s were first. They were spread out and just this side of the fog bank. The whole of Blackney Pass was quite misty and drizzly. There was no immediate sign of any other groups. As they approached Parson Island by 2:36pm they began to call and so too the others (the rest of the A30s and A5s) still in Blackfish Sound. This spaced out duet carried on until the A50s and A42s reached Johnstone Strait by 2:47pm. Pretty foggy out there too! Ten minutes later the A54s, A23s, and A25s (in that order) pushed through Blackney Pass in a rush. They too got on the Cracroft Island camera thirteen minutes after clearing the Lab’s view. So now there were a lot of whales once again back in Johnstone Strait. The groups spread out and their progress east was according to their arrival in the Strait. The first groups in, the A50s and A42s were naturally further ahead. Before 4pm, the A42s were nearer Kaizumi Beach. Dolphins had paced the whales and were also in the Strait. Some fairly intense calls occurred and it was hard not to imagine that the orcas were protesting the persistence of the dolphins who seem to choose pairs of mums with very young ones. Coincidence? By 4:12pm, the lead groups were approaching Robson Bight, others were still well back, but the general direction was east. Loud echolocation and calls signaled whales approaching the eastern side of the Bight and rounding the corner. From there they headed to Strider. There were still loud calls back at Kaizumi ( from the second wave). At 4:43pm, one individual rubbed for less than a minute on the way east and at 4:48pm there was a similar effort at Main Beach and again ten minutes later at the same location. The orcas were not really putting a lot of effort into rubbing this day. We heard a variety of calls until 6:29pm, all from past Main back to Kaizumi. Then like the fog, silence descended. All but the sound of the heavy rain (fun to watch fill the rolling spectrograms with a sheet of colour) continued past 8pm. One last note for the day, at 10:32pm we heard distant A30 calls still in Johnstone Strait, the last remnants of the whales heading east. These faint calls lasted until 11:07pm.  OrcaLab 09 Sep 2021 08:47:37 PDT

Superb sounds!! September 7 2021 Orcas: A50s, A54s, A23s, A25s, A42s The darkness was illuminated by sounds from various species throughout the night. The first was a large group of Pacific White-Sided dolphins - whom we had seen across our remote cameras earlier in the day - they began to chatter off Kaizumi at 1am. Their general movement from there was eastward as they continued to chat on and off, until we last heard them on Strider around 3:45am. Around the same time, a humpback began to sing in Blackfish Sound and he, too, stopped and started as the night drew on. As the light crept in, his song developed and we caught some beautiful sounds as he welcomed the dawn. He was done by 6:08am. The A30s and A5s did not stay away for long, as we picked them up in Johnstone Strait at 2am. They had come back via Weynton Pass. They also moved in a slow, easterly direction, and we heard some lovely mixed calls very clear off Kaizumi around 5am. By 6am they had entered the Bight, and we heard them foraging and calling as they continued east. Rounding the easternmost point, they produced some very loud, clear calls as they often do. Instead of carrying on to the beaches, they moved more offshore and turned back to the west, becoming visible from Cracroft Point at 8:16am. They were spread out off eastern Blackney Pass and tussled with the idea of coming in, until at 8:49am we saw our first fins from the lab. The A50s were first, then we were delighted to identify the A42s next! They had not gone “out” after all and probably had been picked up by the others returning via Weynton Pass earlier. The A54s, A23s and eventually A25s ended the procession, and all had cleared into Blackfish Sound by 9:18am. Their calls petered off as they moved generally southwest, before they took Weynton Passage once again back into Johnstone Strait around 2pm. The A42s with A94 hugged the Vancouver Island shore heading east, being seen by Blinkhorn at 2:16pm. The other groups remained more mid-strait, also easting. By 3:40pm the A30s and other A5 groups were spread out off Cracroft Point, foraging around the rip and very slowly continuing east. Meanwhile, the A42s with A94 continued along the Island shore and a few members came in to rub at Kaizumi at 4:49pm. We could identify Mystery (A94) and Ashlar (A114) associating together - the same pairing as during the 3 hour rub at Strider the other day - and possibly Cameleon (A88). It was a beautiful rub and we recorded some lovely footage on our new underwater camera. It lasted a good 27 minutes before they slowly continued east. Just past Izumi Rock, they seemed to turn back to the west by 6:30pm (as did the other groups off CP!) and at 9:10pm we had a report of whales heading into Beaver Cove, which was very likely the group of A42s with A94, given their fidelity to this spot this summer. The A30s, A23s and A25s instead took Weynton Passage into Blackfish Sound by 8pm, and we listened to their dwindling calls as they moved west and out of our range. Another lovely day has come and gone, and we grow ever-grateful that these whales are sticking around in this area given their long August absence!  Suzie 08 Sep 2021 14:02:50 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby September 5 2021 Orcas: A50s,A54a, A23s,A25s, A42s, T11A There were three themes for this day. One, the humpbacks tuning up for the Fall serenades, the activities of Surge (A61) and the glorious rubs, especially the late morning/ afternoon one at Strider Beach. The morning began with humpbacks stirring in Blackfish Sound and although we soon began to follow the calls of the A5s, the humpbacks would continue for almost the next five hours and provided a welcomed addition to the early morning soundscape. The A5 calls in Blackfish Sound and concurrently in Johnstone Strait lasted from just after midnight until almost 1am. At 2:30am, the Wardens at their camp at Boat Bay, heard a group passing to the east. Definitely a split in the ranks. The rest of the early morning was left to the humpback. Just after 8am, there were further orca developments. Three orcas passed Kaizumi Beach after we heard loud A5 calls and echolocation. There was no rub. At 8:30am, it had become pretty foggy in Blackney Pass, as the low clouds hung over the islands opposite the Lab. Despite this, A61, just on the edge of the fog, was clearly visible headed south. His companions, Cordero and Twilight, were well hidden. Not even their blows were easy to locate. Nevertheless they all made their way into Johnstone Strait where Patrick and Caroline watched as they went past. A61 was out further. All were eastbound. We had heard the A42s in Johnstone Strait already. The A23s were there too because at 9:51am A43 and A109 came into Strider Beach for a rub and A60 was seen going past the Cliff at the same time. So now all the A5s were loosely together in the same place once again. Ripple and Eliot’s rub lasted eleven minute and then they briefly shifted east in the direction of Main. Surge’s group was in Robson Bight by 10:10am As A43 and A109 were still on the Main Beach remote camera, someone touched down at Strider quickly and was gone. At 10:15am, A43 (Ripple) headed west and came back into Strider a minute later. This was the beginning of a very, very long rub, definitely the longest this year. A43 and A109 stayed rubbing till 10:49am, thirty-three minutes, before being joined by Mystery (A94) who had been at Main Beach with Surf (A66) from 10:44am to 10:46am. Mystery and Surf had headed west together but Surf did not join the others until 10:52am. Very difficult to adequately describe the energy and effort these whales put into their rubs. Fantastic scenes above and below unfolded continuously even as the characters changed. A114 turned up, followed by Current (A79), then A119 by 11:18am. The A42s, with the exception of Ripple (A42), were there to enjoy some time at this beach. The calls were great; both regular and goofy added to the whistles, echolocation, continuous rub sounds close and distant as the orcas spread along the shoreline of this particular beach. At 11:53, A66 went back to the Main beach while the rubbing continued at Strider. Four others joined him and they stayed for twenty-seven minutes. After a brief pause of three minutes as the whales at Main reorganised, there followed a three minute rub and then another later at 12:35 to 12:38pm. A61 had arrived at Strider Beach for his turn by 10:05pm. We heard the reports of orcas off Lizard Point heading east. Excitement around the Lab went up a notch. Leaving the rest of his A42 group behind at Main Beach, A66 joined A61 at Strider by 12:46pm. There were lots of excited calls. Then A61 began to tail slap vigorously as he moved a bit further offshore and pointed in a westerly direction. He wanted to go! Did he know others were on their way into the area? The rest of the A42s arrived back at Strider at 1:33pm. Three minutes later they were gone and the rub ended. Three hours and twenty minutes (longer if you include the two precursory rubs that started at 9:51. Thirty some pages of notes, hours of exquisit video and recordings, later the Lab took a breather. The number of whales in Queen Charlotte had grown to twenty but still no IDs. Speculation was ripe. They were still beyond the range of the Flower Island hydrophone. Kate at Bere Point had told us how T11A had passed eastward by himself at 1:25pm (he would return and go the other way at 3:52pm) so there was a lot happening in Queen Charlotte Strait while most of our attention remained on the orcas in the Strait. From the beaches, the A5s all headed west in small groups that were spread across the Strait: By 2:11pm, some were off Robson Bight, others soon passed the Sophia Islands at 4:39pm, the A42s were off the Western Boundary of the Reserve at 2:45pm, some were off CP with dolphins at 3:15pm. Progress west didn’t stop there as the whales continued travelling in this direction. Surge made it to CP by 4:40pm. The work crew from the Lab doing windmill repairs got to watch him from the shore. Why was he hanging back? The others of his pod and close family had moved on. Just after 5pm, the A30s were heard on the Flower Island hydrophone and then in the distance on the remote camera. We calculated how long before they would arrive in Blackney if they chose to come east through Blackfish Sound. Just before 6pm, at 5:51pm, the first individuals came into view. A54 and her two youngest led the way. They were followed by the rest of this family with the A50s in the rear. Everyone was surprised when the A50s elected to surf inexplicably in the wake of an Alaskan fish boat who was going in the same direction. It took a while longer for them to leave off and continue on their way to the Strait. As they went through the rest of the Pass around 7pm we began to hear the A5s in Blackfish Sound. They had gone around into Blackfish via Weynton Pass. As the A30s entered and turned east in the Strait the A5s continued to pepper the recording with their calls as they slowly pushed onto Queen Charlotte Strait. No BIG meeting was going to happen after all. The A30s skipped over Kaizumi at 8:03pm and headed toward Robson Bight which they left around 9:42pm. A beautiful humpback at 8:10pm made himself known and continued to do so long after. Although they did not rub at Strider the A30 calls were close and lovely to 10:43pm. From there they moved east and were heard on the Main Beach system for a short spell. It seemed as if, from there, they turned back west, ran over Strider Beach briefly at 11:14pm, and went on “up” the Strait. Our September 5 was done. But what is a day in the life of an orca when time is measured in distance travelled? Their energy is amazing for the amount of activity and travel they accomplish in twenty-four hours. We have to do shifts to keep up!  OrcaLab 06 Sep 2021 17:28:32 PDT Superb sounds!! September 4 2021 Orcas: A50s, A54s, A23s, A25s, A42s, I4s, I27s,I65s,I16s Humpbacks: Domino, Argonaut Yesterday evening, we battened down the hatches and beached the boats in preparation for the first southeasterly gale of the summer season. The wind picked up overnight, introducing a lot of ‘sloshing’ noise into our hydrophones as wave after wave rolled in. Overnight, the A30s, A5s and some of the I15 groups headed east. The A4s likely headed back to the west and out of our range. Through the night, there were only distant calls in Johnstone Strait as the whales easted fairly silently, with a very brief rub from a couple of individuals at Strider Rubbing Beach just after 1.30am. Aside from the wind and waves, the morning was quiet except for a very vocal humpback in Blackfish Sound at 8:30am, and the re-emergence of the A30s just after 10am. Their calls were loud at the eastern point of Robson Bight, and we tracked a few fins heading into the Bight shortly after, accompanied by a group of dolphins . Again, their calls were few and far between as they headed west, visible by Patrick and Caroline at Cracroft Point by 11:37am. They counted at least five fins in the choppy water, and the A30s teased the entrance to Blackney Pass for a good 45 minutes. Meanwhile, unexpected pebble-smashing sounds were heard at Strider at 12:13pm! No calls had introduced the rub, but a few subsequent I15 calls announced the arrival of a second group back from the east. It only lasted a few minutes, before they, too, moved west. Back to the A30s and they had finally come into our view from the lab by 12:40pm. It was, however, very difficult to keep track of the fins with the howl of the wind, swell and whitecaps in the Pass! We identified a few members of the A54s and most of the A50s, As the A30s passed the lab and the I15s headed west in the Strait towards Cracroft Point, so another abrupt rub began at 1:21pm - the A5s! They were the last group back from the east and we believe they came in together. A fairly quiet day suddenly turned into a flurry of activity in the lab. We identified A60 on Strider cam before they too moved westward at 1:28pm. We were quite impressed that the whales dared to rub with the huge swell crashing against the shore. The A30s were particularly vocal as they cleared into Blackfish Sound, at around 1.30pm Patrick identified I76 and I77 of the I4s and I27s respectively, continuing west in the Strait past the entrance to Blackney. At 1:52pm, he snapped a picture of I98 (identification aided by Dylan), finally completing the roll call for the I15s - confirming the I16s had come in and were with their family. We tracked the A5s continuing west in the Strait, and at 3:30pm the duo at CP could see them heading for Blackney. We only identified a few individuals, but thankfully enough to gather that all the A5s were there! The A42s came first, followed by the A23s and eventually the A25s. A66, A60 and A61 were all nicely recognisable, despite the unfavorable sea state and them favouring the far shore; we identified the A43s and A94 too. Shortly after 4pm, we heard faint I15 calls in Blackfish Sound, telling us that the I15 groups had taken Weynton Passage from the Strait and were now with the A30s and A5s once more. The A5s, it seems, hung back, as we began to hear more distinct A5 calls again in Blackfish Sound at 7:15pm; the A30s and I15s continued west. The A5s did not come into Blackney, instead taking Weynton Passage back into the Strait where we picked up their calls at 9:20pm. Just before the day ended, A5 calls could still be heard in the Strait in the range of CP and Kaizumi, when another group of A5s were heard in Blackfish Sound. Unfortunately, two fishing boats presumably travelling south from Alaska, were very loudly passing through Blackfish, into Blackney and then the Strait - masking our acoustic efforts somewhat. The wind finally started to calm down, ending the first big southeaster of the season. Amazing how quiet it became. Fall is surely on its way!  Suzie 06 Sep 2021 17:22:13 PDT

Superb sounds!! We are 2 hours in to the most incredible rub! Tune in at Explore! OrcaLab 05 Sep 2021 12:41:20 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby September 3 2021 Orcas: A50s, A54s, A35s with A56, A73s, A23s, A25s, A42s with A94, I4s, I16s, I27s, I65s Humpbacks: Domino, Argonaut The A30s and a vocal humpback took it in turns to sing through the night in Blackfish Sound. Our dreams were interjected with lots of foraging, distant tones and ‘whups’ as the cetacean chorus rang out from 2:30am until daybreak. After a brief pause, loud A30 calls started again and we found them quickly on our remote Flower Island camera. They were pointed towards Blackney Pass and spread out. They came into our view at 8:15am in dribs and drabs, and we had all of the A50s close to the lab, mixed in with some of the A54s, and the rest further over to the far shore. They stayed as a unit and we traced them all the way (silently) into Johnstone Strait and over to the Vancouver Island shore - very slowly. With very little acoustic warning, some of the A42s with A94 were at Strider Rubbing Beach just before midday. We surmise they split from the rest of the A5s and A30s overnight and lingered to the east. The rub was brief, but just as they got started: incoming from Blackfish Sound! Three acoustically distinct groups were heard in the sound, whom we later identified as the A35s, A73s, A23s, A25s, I4s, I27s and I65s. They were all back! We had so hoped that we had not seen the last of the I15 groups, having been with us for the entirety of August. We wondered what they had been doing out west, but more on that later... As the new incoming groups headed for Blackney, the A42s with A94 finished their brief rub headed west to meet up with the slow A30s in Robson Bight around 12:15pm. We quickly located the group in Blackfish Sound and Helena was delighted to identify Springer (A73) on Flower Island camera! By 12:16pm the first fins were in our view, and the influx of whales passed before us. Their calls were vibrant and they were fairly spread out. As they passed, another monumental logging blast occurred on Harbledown Island - so loud it could be heard on our hydrophone system. What on earth must the whales think when they experience such a sound? They passed quickly, I15s followed by the A5s and the A4s at the rear, clearing our view at 12:40pm and heading after the rest. We got some lovely footage on CP camera as the A35s and A73s passed close to the platform and Patrick - who had arrived at CP just hours earlier - took some beautiful photos of the whole family group. They too head east, spread out somewhat across the Strait. Around 1pm we received a report that the A30s and A42s with A94 were now westing in Robson Bight, and by 2:33pm all groups had finally joined up - that’s 59 whales around the Ecological Reserve! They slowly headed east with no calls that we could hear… how can they possibly coordinate so many, so silently! By 3:15pm the leading A4s had made it to Strider, and we heard a huge splash followed by the first pebble-dashing sounds. We braced ourselves for an afternoon of nearly 60 whales taking it in turns to rub… but no such afternoon arose. The A4s rub lasted only five minutes. The I65s made it as far as Main Rubbing Beach (no rub) before turning slowly back to the west, and by 3:42pm we could see lots of fins offshore from Strider pointed west too. Alas, perhaps such organisation en masse had proved too difficult a challenge! They wested, slowly, and with help from a smattering of reports from the Cliff we gathered that a large group of 20 or so were together, with the others in dribs and drabs. By 5:28pm we could hear them on Kaizumi and ten minutes later more A4s came in for a rub. Clearly they had been itching for the event - literally. We identified sprouter A81 on our new underwater camera and a total of 5 or 6 orcas total, before they moved on after only ten minutes. All groups crossed over to the Cracroft Shore and we saw our first fins on camera at 5:51pm. They made no delay foraging or resting - they were Blackney-bound. Patrick and Caroline reported the first fins heading our way at 6:12pm, and we were ready. This was easily the most whales we have had in Blackney Pass for a few years. Just a few ‘R’s short of a superpod! All came in, largely sticking to their family groupings. The A23s were first, spread out a little, closely followed by the A25s. The A50s and 54s were next, further back in our view. The A35s and A73s travelled closest to the lab, and we were grateful to get a good look at Springer and see A81 breaching multiple times! The I65s and I27s travelled together, and finally the I4s and A42s were grouped - furthest away on the far shore. When there are this many whales out front it is hard to keep track, but it looked like the A25s crossed to the far side and hung back, as Surge (A61) was the last to clear into the Sound at 6:44pm. We followed them into the fading light and were hearing the last echoes of their calls around 9pm. As they headed west, a humpback struck up song (also in Blackfish Sound) and it was the most clear and ‘coherent’ song we’ve heard this year - such a treat. The last bit of excitement was a report from Jared that he was with the I16s (the last unit of the I15 group) heading east in front of Alert Bay at 7:07pm! Perhaps that is why the other I15 groups headed out - had they gone to collect their remaining family and encourage them into the Strait? They could be heard off Beaver Cove around 8pm and were joined a short while later by the A30s and A5s, and maybe some more of the I15 groups too. The A4s, it seems, headed out west again. Before midnight, we were picking up faint A and I calls in the western edges of the Strait. It will be interesting to see how tomorrow unfolds, and whether we will get our first glimpse of the I16 group.  Suzie 04 Sep 2021 10:23:03 PDT