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No orcas present.
Paul and I have been back at OrcaLab, Yukusam/Hanson Island since March 15. It is great to be here after a busy time in town and city. Must say this March has been chilly and windy most days. Today is wet and drizzly with a calm ocean. Truly lovely west coast weather! The forest is so green and still. The fox sparrows chirping out their springtime song wake us each morning. Relaxed sea lions on the nearby rocks are unperturbed by the wet or wind. After our arrival they seemingly had abandoned these rocks earlier but a few loud growls announced their return as well. Pretty soon they will all be off to their rookery further north. The Spring has been peppered with reports and sightings of Bigg's orcas. Jared Towers has commented before now on how at this time of year the Bigg's orcas make their presence known both here and in the Salish Sea. Twice the Bigg's have been seen hunting sea lions successfully off of Sointula. Jared captured amazing drone footage of one of the hunts and later commented on how often the T055s come into this area specifically to hunt sea lions at this time of year. Earlier, we were honoured to participate in a ceremony marking the passing of a young minke whale. The cermony conducted by First Nations was held on a beach near Alert Bay. The young whale had died near Sointula earlier. The ceremony was moving and I believe everyone there felt its significance of properly acknowledging the spirit of the whale and our collective connection. This event was repeated a couple of days ago for a young fin whale who died as the reult of blunt force trauma off of Pender Harbour. This was a stark reminder yet again of the dangers whales face. Noise, pollution and ship strikes make life a lottery for these ocean travellers. It is not the first time a fin whale has been struck and killed. Sightings of fin whales in southern coastal waters is relatively rare. A fin whale (whose skeleton is now mounted in the Whale Interpretive Centre in Telegraph Cove) once ventured into the Johnstone Strait area and generated a great deal of excitement which was dashed soon after when the whale was found draped across the bulbous bow of a cruise ship after it docked in harbour. As spring moves forward we wait for the arrival back of the humpbacks. Alex Morton saw a small individual nearly two weeks ago so most likely they are on their way. One very favourite regular, Inukshuk, was sighted in Mexico this winter- humpbacks either go to Hawaii or Mexico after their migration away from their summer feeding grounds. Such a long journey! Inukshuk will be hungry when he gets back here! There has been a lot of discussion regarding the status of herring abundance and with good reason as herring are a key indicator of the health of the ocean and basic to the chain of life. The best strategy has been to limit the number of herring caught and allow local populations to rebound. This idea could be so easily applied to other sea life as well. You can listen to our hydrophones via http://www.orca-live.net/community/ Who knows? You might even hear a Bigg's orca from time to time!
Helena
27 Mar 2022 14:45:17 PDT |
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No orcas present.
Paul and I have been back at OrcaLab, Yukusam/Hanson Island since March 15. It is great to be here after a busy time in town and city. Must say this March has been chilly and windy most days. Today is wet and drizzly with a calm ocean. Truly lovely west coast weather! The forest is so green and still. The fox sparrows chirping out their springtime song wake us each morning. Relaxed sea lions on the nearby rocks are unperturbed by the wet or wind. After our arrival they seemingly had abandoned these rocks earlier but a few loud growls announced their return as well. Pretty soon they will all be off to their rookery further north. The Spring has been peppered with reports and sightings of Bigg's orcas. Jared Towers has commented before now on how at this time of year the Bigg's orcas make their presence known both here and in the Salish Sea. Twice the Bigg's have been seen hunting sea lions successfully off of Sointula. Jared captured amazing drone footage of one of the hunts and later commented on how often the T055s come into this area specifically to hunt sea lions at this time of year. Earlier, we were honoured to participate in a ceremony marking the passing of a young minke whale. The cermony conducted by First Nations was held on a beach near Alert Bay. The young whale had died near Sointula earlier. The ceremony was moving and I believe everyone there felt its significance of properly acknowledging the spirit of the whale and our collective connection. This event was repeated a couple of days ago for a young fin whale who died as the reult of blunt force trauma off of Pender Harbour. This was a stark reminder yet again of the dangers whales face. Noise, pollution and ship strikes make life a lottery for these ocean travellers. It is not the first time a fin whale has been struck and killed. Sightings of fin whales in southern coastal waters is relatively rare. A fin whale (whose skeleton is now mounted in the Whale Interpretive Centre in Telegraph Cove) once ventured into the Johnstone Strait area and generated a great deal of excitement which was dashed soon after when the whale was found draped across the bulbous bow of a cruise ship after it docked in harbour. As spring moves forward we wait for the arrival back of the humpbacks. Alex Morton saw a small individual nearly two weeks ago so most likely they are on their way. One very favourite regular, Inukshuk, was sighted in Mexico this winter- humpbacks either go to Hawaii or Mexico after their migration away from their summer feeding grounds. Such a long journey! Inukshuk will be hungry when he gets back here! There has been a lot of discussion regarding the status of herring abundance and with good reason as herring are a key indicator of the health of the ocean and basic to the chain of life. The best strategy has been to limit the number of herring caught and allow local populations to rebound. This idea could be so easily applied to other sea life as well. You can listen to our hydrophones via http://www.orca-live.net/community/ Who knows? You might even hear a Bigg's orca from time to time!
Helena
27 Mar 2022 14:13:55 PDT |
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