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September 5 2022 Orcas: T123s, T035As, T038As Humpbacks: Guardian, Cutter, Lure Pacific White-Sided Dolphins Today, palpable anticipation hung around the lab and among community members, as the Northern Resident groups were not seen nor heard in the area for the first time since early July. It is a day that inevitably comes every year, but it will not stop us from willing their return. We desperately hope that this is a simple sojourn to the west, perhaps to say goodbye to a few groups, and not a final ‘out’ for the season! Coincidentally, today we also waved goodbye to two of our seasoned volunteers: Shari and Momoko. Shari spent her sixth summer with us, living at our remote outpost on Cracroft Point for six weeks with her best friend of fifteen years, Megan. Momoko returned for her eleventh season this year and it was incredible to have them both with us again for the first time since the pandemic. We love you,Shari & Momoko, and will miss you dearly, At the lab, the now-dwindling crew of volunteers continued to watch and listen to the waters of Blackney Pass, Johnstone Strait and Blackfish Sound day and night. We were treated to another humpback in Blackfish in the early hours. He began to ‘grunt’ and ‘whup’ at 4:21 am and, by 5:30 am, he had definitely broken into the beginnings of a song! He continued for an hour or so until interrupted by loud, persistent boat noise invading his space. As these humpbacks begin to sing, we can tell that fall is certainly around the corner. Despite the Northern Residents M.I.A., we did receive reports of a large group of Bigg’s in the area today, and even caught a glimpse of them on camera. At 9:53 am the first report came in from Scotty, that orcas were heading east from Telegraph Cove, later identified as the T123s, T035As and T038As. At 1:08 pm, they were visible to the Wardens fro the Cliff, traveling more mid-Strait. They could identify at least the T038As. At 1:47 pm we could see them on Strider cam, traveling slowly - shortly after a group of Dalls’ Porpoises was seen on the camera, too. They continued east, in no particular hurry, spending a long time at the surface as opposed to long, deep dives. They were last seen passing Naka Creek around 5 pm. Back at the lab, our assistants made most of the quieter times to catch up on some work and tuck into some of the newly-baked fresh bread that Freddy has been making all summer. Between her and Jérémie, we have had a fresh loaf every evening for almost two months! As the water turned a pinky glow in the evening light, a family of six river otters passed the lab and, shortly after, a large group of Pacific White-Sided Dolphins headed north past the deck and into the sunset. From 9pm to midnight, the chatter of dolphins and another round of humpback ‘whups’ saw us through to the early hours. Overnight, we will continue to listen and wait for those familiar faint orca calls that set our hearts a-flutter.
OrcaLab
06 Sep 2022 11:20:33 PDT |
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