Monday, September 30, 2024




September 29 2024 Northern Residents: A62s BiggÕs orcas: T023s, T109A2s Humpbacks: Quartz, Hunter Sea otter ÔThe world belongs to those who get up early!Õ It was just bright enough in Blackney Pass this morning for Jianna to spot orcas near the Sea Lion Rocks at 7:04am. We soon identified them as BiggÕs orcas. The presence of the T023s in Johnstone Strait yesterday was a good clue as to who these whales could be and we were able to note the distinct dorsal fin of T023. We counted at least 7 whales in her group as they moved to mid channel and spent some time milling, slowly pointed South. As they cleared our view half an hour later, we heard them vocalize in the southern entrance of Blackney Pass. Their calls had an interesting tone and we enjoyed this great opportunity to match these calls with the T023s matriline. Other BiggÕs orcas were calling further down in the Strait until 7:56am, were they answering to the ones closer to Blackney Pass? Just before midday, Alex and Jared reported the T023s westbound between Malcolm Island and Haddington Island. This day turned out to be a very calm and sunny one and Jeremie took the opportunity to go to the Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve to install the Critical Point camera which had been under repair for the past few weeks. Hopefully, Northern Resident families will visit again soon! This trip was also the opportunity for our assistants Georgia, Nora and Laura to see the Reserve and where the whales had been rubbing during this busy September month while they had been watching remotely from the lab with excitement. At 5:37pm, AJ reported a group of orcas in Weynton Bay and followed them to Double Bay where they continued east towards Blackney Pass. According to Scotty, they looked like the T109A2s. They were not in sight yet when we started hearing a humpback in the same area in Blackfish Sound at 6:47pm. AJ, who was now posted off Dong Chong, identified the singing whale as Inukshuk! Meanwhile, everyone at the lab was watching a sea otter cracking up a seashell close to the deck, what a lovely sight! The sea otter moved away towards Burnt Point just as the T109A2s showed up, close to Hanson Island shore, pointed South. The light was fading as the dusk whales traveled in a tight group close to the Lab. They investigated the sea lion rocks and all the hauled out sea lions jumped in the water in big splashes. We lost track of the whales as they traveled further away from the Hanson side towards Parson Bay. This wasnÕt the end of our day just yet. As we were gathered around a bonfire for LauraÕs last night on Hanson Island, we heard A1 calls in Johnstone Strait at 8:32pm! The calls were distinctive of the A62s and we knew they were coming back from the East. For about an hour, their calls were close and frequent on the Strider Rubbing Beach hydrophone but they chose not to come for a rub. We could hear them slowly moving west as their calls became more sporadic and distant, last heard in the Strait just before midnight.
OrcaLab
30 Sep 2024 11:41:51 PDT
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Saturday, September 28, 2024




September 28 2024 Northern Residents: A62s BiggÕs orcas: T023s? Humpbacks: Hunter, Moonstar, Quartz Pacific White-sided dolphins After the storm on September 26th, we thought the Northern Resident had left Òfor goodÓ. But today told a different story! Our morning started very early with a humpback vocalizing in Blackfish Sound during JuliaÕs night shift. Then nothing - until Alex relayed a radio report at 12:19pm that the A62s were in Johnstone Strait! We jumped out of excitement and started scanning the Strait with our remote cameras. A few blows were spotted westbound along the Cracroft Island shore. Our hopes for the return of Northern Residents were dashed when a later report indicated that these whales were actually BiggÕs orcas. Georgia was able to watch the BiggÕs actively foraging in the rip for about an hour from our Cracroft Point camera until 2:21pm when they came close to the entrance of Blackney Pass. They made very faint calls as they continued their journey west in the Strait. The group was identified as likely the T023s. Encouraged by the presence of orcas, albeit BiggÕs, we still had high hopes that some Northern Residents were not too far away and decided to play the kelp horns to call them in! A playful concerto took place on the lab deck. Less than four hours later, Jared reported the A62s at Donegal Head heading for Weynton at 4:45pm! Waw! Magical kelp horns! At 6:21pm, we started hearing them in Johnstone Strait. It felt so good. After almost 3 days without hearing Northern Residents calls, we were all very relieved to hear their distinctive calls once again. Nora described their calls as excited. We listened as their calls changed as they travelled east in Johnstone Strait. After the initial excited calls on entry their calls became fainter and sporadic until 7pm as they came into range of the Kaizumi hydrophone, by 7:45pm, their calls were louder and more excited on our Strider rubbing beach hydrophone as they began their approach to the Ecological Reserve, at 8pm their calls stopped only to resume at 9:29pm. By 10:47pm, we definitely knew that they were in the Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve. The A62s continued their calls sporadically until 11:25pm and were heard solely on the Strider hydrophone. About ten minutes later, Georgia heard what sounded to be ÒchuffsÓ along Strider rubbing beach, but as there had not been any consistent calls for about an hour, only hearing a faint call here and there, it was uncertain at first if this was an actual rub by the A62s or just the wake of a boat passing by. With ClaireÕs help, it was determined that it was indeed a rub which lasted from 11:35pm to 11:38pm. Some echolocation on our Main rubbing beach hydrophone at midnight convinced us that the A62s continued east after their rub. Hopefully, this will not be the last we hear from them! The humpbacks had already started calling as night descended and before the A62s were well on their way east in the Strait. From 10:07pm, loud humpback social calls and even some short presongs on Parson Island continued well into the night. These calls and songs increasingly keep us company during the solitude of night shifts. Side note: we counted 120 sea lions hauled out on the sea lion rocks just south of the lab!
OrcaLab
29 Sep 2024 08:57:59 PDT
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September 27 2024 Humpbacks: Freckles, Lucky, possibly Zostera or Drogon or Twister Pacific White-sided dolphins
OrcaLab
28 Sep 2024 10:32:36 PDT
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Friday, September 27, 2024




September 26 2024 BiggÕs orcas: T060s Humpbacks: unknown ID Pacific White-sided Dolphins As of 9pm today, we will not have heard the Northern Residents for 24 hours. Our day was not uneventful though and it started early with Georgia recording a humpback vocalizing in Blackfish Sound at 4:35am and again at 5:27am. The clouds were pink and vibrant just before the sunrise but the sunshine was soon covered by thick dark clouds as the wind started to blow, stronger and stronger. The rain spattered the Lab deck and all our equipment was safely kept indoors. We watched from inside the ever moving waves and the white caps forming on their crests. From our remote cameras, we witnessed the power of the winds in Johnstone Strait, even the underwater camera was kind of hypnotizing as whirlwinds of bubbles, seaweed and nudibranchs kept swirling by. Alex noted: ÒI can see how much oxygen storms put into the water!Ó. The rescued sea lion was seen again from our remote camera and seemed fine, resting on its back undisturbed by the cold winds. From the Lab deck, Julia later saw a huge sea lion catching a salmon right on the rocks just a few meters away! At 3:31pm, while looking at a lovely rainbow rising above the north side of Blackney Pass, Jianna suddenly spotted 4 orcas traveling South close to Burnt Point! They were silent. One quick photo of the male was enough for Claire to identify T060C. They took a long dive and were seen again mid channel pointed North. We spotted a few humpback blows too but their dorsals were barely visible hidden by the waves. At 5:13pm, we heard the BiggÕs orcas calling in Blackfish Sound with some echolocation sounds, until 5:40pm. The recording ended shortly after and it was time to have a warm dinner and get comfy by the wood stove. At 8:24pm, Nora heard Pacific-White sided dolphins near Strider Rubbing Beach. They were vocal for a while, while a humpback made a few grunts at the entrance of Blackney Pass. Then, it was back to the loud sound of a restless ocean.
OrcaLab
27 Sep 2024 12:20:21 PDT
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