Multiple pod calls audible.

The Cs and the A34s are headed to the Ecological Reserve and the whales coming from the east have been identified as the A23s and A28.
Helena
22 Jul 2008 13:52:27 PDT

Orcas near mics.

The Cs just went south through Blackney Pass. They were very spread out but we believe both matrilines (C10s and C6s) were there. They are entering Johnstone Strait now. The A34s headed west past the entrance of Blackney Pass along the Vancouver Island shore earlier. Another group of orcas were also seen heading west at the Broken Islands (lower Johnstone Strait).
Helena
22 Jul 2008 12:21:30 PDT

Distant calls audible.

We are hearing calls from newly arriving orcas on the Flower island hydrophone! Meanwhile, the A34s are westbound on the Vancouver Island side of Johnstone Strait, around Kaikash.
Helena
22 Jul 2008 10:26:55 PDT

Orcas near mics.

After a busy night moving back and forth through Johnstone Strait, Blackney Pass and Blackfish Sound, the A12s eventually ended up off the Rubbing beaches and eastbound from there by 5:55am. Just now, they are returning west off of the Ecological Reserve. We lost track of the A5s around midnight when they were still in Johnstone Strait.
Helena
22 Jul 2008 08:57:26 PDT

Orcas near mics.

The A12s made only a brief tour of Blackfish Sound. As the tide turned they have travelled back toward Johnstone Strait. One whale (?A55) has streaked ahead of the others and is already rushing eastward.
Helena
22 Jul 2008 03:13:24 PDT

Orcas near mics.

The A12s have travelled through Blackney Pass and are now vocal in Blackfish Sound.
Helena
22 Jul 2008 02:29:12 PDT

Orcas near mics.

Sounds like the whales are westbound from the Beaches.
Helena
21 Jul 2008 21:42:22 PDT

Orcas rubbing on the shore bottom.

The orcas are at the Rubbing Beaches.
Helena
21 Jul 2008 20:37:49 PDT

Orcas near mics.

We have been listening to T14 who followed the rest of the transients through Blackney Pass. He continued into Johnstone Strait where, once off Cracroft Point, he became vocal. The others had already moved into Baronet Pass (the north side of Cracroft Island adjacent to Blackney Pass). T14 moved back into the entrance of Blackney Pass, still in Johnstone Strait, and continued to call. He is still westbound while the others continued east up Baronet. The residents are continuing eastward in Johnstone Strait.
Helena
21 Jul 2008 16:17:19 PDT

Multiple pod calls audible.

The A12s,A8s and A23s are moving west again opposite the Sophia islands. Meanwhile, yesterday's transient group (T124, T124D, T124E, T90s, T21s) are eastbound in Blackfish Sound not far from Blackney Pass. They took a dalls porpoise a short while ago.
Helena
21 Jul 2008 14:51:17 PDT

Distant calls audible.

THE A12s met up with the A5s (who came up from the east) and immediately formed a social, resting line. They are doing lots of spyhops but almost no calls. Right now, they are mid Robson Bight.
Helena
21 Jul 2008 12:21:46 PDT

Distant calls audible.

Those were the A12s arriving back to Johnstone Strait! Hundreds of dolphins are rushing southward through Blackney at the moment.
Helena
21 Jul 2008 06:26:33 PDT

No orcas present.

We believe they continued west past Cracroft Point but at this point it is not clear what they did soon after. We are waiting.
Helena
20 Jul 2008 22:50:12 PDT

Orcas near mics.

The A23s and the A8s (except A60 who is mid strait) are travelling west along Vancouver Island just shy of Kaikash Creek. Thanks Lukwa Wayne for the report. Also, Donna reported that the whales to the west were last reported near the Port Hardy airport headed east.
Helena
20 Jul 2008 20:18:18 PDT

Orcas near mics.

Medium range A5 calls at the east end of the Ecological Reserve, whales are west bound, next stop Critical Point.
Helena
20 Jul 2008 18:45:20 PDT

No orcas present.

We were hoping that a late report via the MacKays last would develop into something interesting from the west. All quiet last night andthis morning we found out from Nick Templeman that the A23s and the A8s were still very far to the east, however, they were west bound and as of an hour ago, they were off Kelsey Bay, still moving west. Last night, the Boat Bay camp heard 5-6 blows in the Reserve. Just now a small group of transients are headed into Knights Inlet quickly.
Helena
20 Jul 2008 12:37:13 PDT

No orcas present.

Jack Springer "down east" reported to the "Cliff" that the A23s and the A8s spent yesterday in Frederick Arm. We also heard that the A11s have been spending some time in Queen Charlotte Strait lately so they have not gone too far away. Promising news.
Helena
19 Jul 2008 10:08:51 PDT

No orcas present.

The excitment this afternoon was the reports of T14 making progress eastward through Queen Charlotte Strait. We waited and waited but we never saw him.
Helena
18 Jul 2008 19:21:56 PDT

No orcas present.

We are not aware of any close at hand activity over night. We checked in with the "Cliff" and they had the same impression. It was too, too windy (NW) to hear blows and ther has been no word from the eastern whale watchers yet this morning.
Helena
18 Jul 2008 09:11:10 PDT

No orcas present.

Our tuckered out sleepy A5s made their way back eastward, past CP, past the Cliff and onward.
Helena
17 Jul 2008 16:51:48 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The A23s and the A8s did it to us again! They are back and managed to get all the way to Telegraph Cove before being seen. Thanks to Stubbs Island for the heads up report.
Helena
17 Jul 2008 09:17:32 PDT

No orcas present.

The usual suspects are wandering the lower Johnstone Strait thhis morning still going eastward.
Helena
16 Jul 2008 11:47:57 PDT

No orcas present.

They have done the BIG LOOP again! Last night, Marie from the Cliff, saw 3 orcas enter Johnstone Strait via Weynton Pass. Later, around midnight, the camp opposite Robson Bight, saw a group of whales head east "down" the Strait. We did not hear any calls after 8pm last night.
Helena
16 Jul 2008 09:09:59 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The A8s and the A23s continued east to Critical Point where they turned at 4:45pm and crossed back to the Cracroft Island side. From there they followed the Cracroft Island shoreline until the entrance of Blackney Pass. They then turned into the Pass and are now headed to Blackfish Sound. They have been very quiet all day.
Helena
15 Jul 2008 18:53:26 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The whales are off the western tip of Hanson Island now.
Helena
15 Jul 2008 14:15:23 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

Busy morning! The A23s and the A8s, in johnstoen Strait, have turned to the west. The A23s with a28 are on the cracroft island side once again and have passed the Cliff and are headed to the Pig Ranch near the Sophia islands. The a42s are on the other side off Robson Point (the west side of Robson Point).
Helena
15 Jul 2008 12:06:06 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The A23s and the A8s must have made a loop around Hanson Island once again for they are back in Johnstone Strait this morning heading east past the Reserve.
Helena
15 Jul 2008 09:10:30 PDT

Orcas near mics.

We believe the A5s went through Blackney Pass and are now in Blackfish Sound.
Helena
15 Jul 2008 00:13:51 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The A5 calls became very loud in the entrance to Blackney Pass. We are trying to figure out if they have gone north through the Pass. There is a lot of wave noise which is making it hard to hear blows and calls have dropped off.
Helena
15 Jul 2008 00:07:03 PDT

Distant calls audible.

We are hearing calls on Cracroft Point.
Helena
14 Jul 2008 23:27:33 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The A23s and the A8s are passing the Western Boundary of the Reserve headed east. They turned earlier off Blinkhorn and made the trip eastward silently. A small group of dolphins were attentive to A60 for a while before heading toweard the others.
Helena
14 Jul 2008 18:38:52 PDT

Orcas near mics.

And also some dolphins!
Helena
14 Jul 2008 15:16:22 PDT

Distant calls audible.

We are just beginning to hear A5 calls on CP! Most of the A8s were travelling up the Vancouver Island side while the a23s and A28s were on the cracroft island side.
Helena
14 Jul 2008 15:04:33 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

Just heard a report that there are whales at the eastern end of the Reserve. No IDs yet but they may be heading west.
Helena
14 Jul 2008 13:22:37 PDT

No orcas present.

Pretty quiet overnight so this morning we are enjoying a calm, overcast start to the day.
Helena
14 Jul 2008 09:18:11 PDT

Distant calls audible.

Just a short while ago ther were a few dolphin calls.
Helena
13 Jul 2008 23:03:39 PDT

Boat noise

As far as we know the A5s continued eastward. There was a report of whales in Queen Charlotte Strait this morning. Nice to imagine it was the absent A11s. We will see what develops overnight. Lovely sunny day with humpbacks, dall porpoise and minke whales,
Helena
13 Jul 2008 22:53:05 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

We just heard from the "Cliff". As the fog cleared they suddenly were aware of the A5s, all together, mid strait opposite Robson Point, heading east. We have not heard any calls.
Helena
13 Jul 2008 09:51:52 PDT

No orcas present

Once the whales got into Blackfish Sound they became vocal for a while longer before fading off into the distance. Very foggy this morning.
Helena
13 Jul 2008 09:10:52 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

And once again these groups passed north through Blackney Pass into Blackfish Sound.
Helena
13 Jul 2008 00:21:37 PDT

Orcas near mics.

Well this is interesting! We are hearing A4 and A5 calls in the entrance of Blackney Pass once again.
Helena
12 Jul 2008 23:10:04 PDT

Multiple pod calls audible.

The A11s and the A5s came up to Cracroft point once again but this time they turned into Blackney Pass and rushed northward into Blackfish Sound. A60 was very active, waiting for the A8s to push through,foraging and posrpoising along. The whales were spread right across Blackney. They are now all in Blackfish Sound, still vocal.
Helena
12 Jul 2008 18:14:56 PDT

Distant calls audible.

The boats let us know that the G17s headed off towards Sointula - a quick tour with an interesting departure choice. At 1:40pm the A11s (all of them) and the A8s and A23s turned off the Wastells and began their journey back to the east while the G17s departed for points west.
Helena
12 Jul 2008 14:42:44 PDT

Distant calls audible.

The A11s, A5s and G17s are continuing west past the entrance of Blackney Pass.
Helena
12 Jul 2008 12:33:20 PDT

Orcas near mics.

The A4s,A5s and Gs are approaching the Cracroft Point/Blackney Pass area.
Helena
12 Jul 2008 12:06:08 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The whales, after a brief rub, turned and headed back to the west. One group on Vancouver Island is just clearing the western boundary of the Reserve and others are opposite the "Cliff" across from Robson Bight.
Helena
12 Jul 2008 11:32:15 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

We still are unable to listen to our normal range. But the "Cliff" was able to update our reports as the groups (the A11s,G17s and A5s) passed Critical Point.
Helena
12 Jul 2008 10:13:40 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The A4s and the Gs took advantage of the slack tide and went into Johnstone Strait where we think we heard A5 calls as well. All are east bound toward the Reserve by now. Also a report via Nic Templeman that 3 large male fins were seen at 7:15am off Stimpson Reef.
Helena
12 Jul 2008 09:19:25 PDT

Multiple pod calls audible.

We have new groups arriving! Calls on Flower Island.
Helena
12 Jul 2008 06:05:55 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The orcas continued westward. Thanks to the Columbia for the update.
Helena
11 Jul 2008 22:00:20 PDT

Distant calls audible.

The A23s and the A8s have finally made it back to this part of Johnstone Strait. They are now opposite (or just west of) the entrance to Blackney Pass.
Helena
11 Jul 2008 20:46:57 PDT

No orcas present.

We didn't hear anything over night and there have been no reports of any orca activity so far this morning. There is a humpback in Blackney Pass and the winds have died down.
Helena
11 Jul 2008 09:17:45 PDT

No orcas present.

It is a very blustery but sunny day here in the upper Johnstone Strait. We are still waiting for the A8s and the A23s to come back from the east. Yesterday, two dalls porpoises came right into our bay which was very unusual and exciting.
Helena
10 Jul 2008 12:44:41 PDT

No orcas present.

Today, the A23s and the A8s stayed in the lower Johnstone Strait. At 2pm they were off Ripple Point pointing towards Nodales Channel. Thanks to Nic Templeman for the update this afternoon. We did hear a few dophins early this evening in Blackfish Sound.
Helena
09 Jul 2008 22:35:14 PDT

No orcas present.

Sorry about the poor connection. We did hear calls (briefly) during the night just after 2am. The calls we distant but again in Johnstone Strait.
Helena
09 Jul 2008 07:16:37 PDT

No orcas present.

Our connection has been going up and down all day. We are trying to get it stable so bear with us. Meanwhile the A23 and the A8s went up to Weynton Passage entrance, spread out across the Strait, and at 4pm they turned back to the east. At 6:20pm they went past Critical Point and continued east.
Helena
08 Jul 2008 21:37:49 PDT

Distant calls audible.

The A23s and the A8s are continuing to the west past the entrance of Blackney Pass.
Helena
08 Jul 2008 15:12:08 PDT

Distant calls audible.

The A8s and the A23s are trekking westward. The A8s are in front and closer to the Cracroft side. The A23s and A28 are following are were closer to vancouver Island. We have already heard the A8s briefly on CP. Very wet and very misty this morning and our connection was down for a while.
Helena
08 Jul 2008 14:14:56 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The A23s and the A8s went up to the western end of Hanson Island by 6pm. From there they turned back to the east and just a short while ago we heard them off of Cracroft Point. Perhaps they will continue eastward. The tide is dropping but they have been swimming against the tide all day. Interesting note: CetaceaLab has seen the A30s and A4s and heard A5 calls as well. Seeming the A51s have not been seen here we have to conclude they are still north.
Helena
07 Jul 2008 19:41:29 PDT

Orcas near mics.

That call was from the A5s who are approaching the Cracroft Point area in Johnstone Strait. After continuing east to the Rubbing beaches (our system there is not working at the moment) they turned back to the west at 4:50pm.
Helena
07 Jul 2008 16:46:17 PDT

Orcas near mics.

The A23s and the A8s gave us a thrill and decided to use the back eddiy close to hanson island for their route back to johnstone Strait against the tide! The new calf from our view looked to be definitely swimming alongside of A42. They have all cleared from our sight and are headed to the Strait. calls are infrequent at this stage.
Helena
07 Jul 2008 12:30:18 PDT

Distant calls audible.

The A8s and the A23s have gone west in Johnstone Strait, entered Weynton Pass and are now crossing the top end of Blackfish Sound.
Helena
07 Jul 2008 10:36:04 PDT

No orcas present.

It seems that the A5s continued to the east. We have not heard any more reports since early afternoon when they were past Boat Bay and still eastbound. It has become unclear whether A28 actually has a calf. Today there were conflicting reports but two very reliable observers saw a new calf with A42 and not A28 so the story is still to be told. Hopefully, there will be more opportunities to sort this out.
Helena
06 Jul 2008 21:46:45 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The A5s (including A28 and her new little one!) turned east just shy of Blinkhorn and headed for the ecological Reserve around 10am.
Helena
06 Jul 2008 11:59:17 PDT

Distant calls audible.

We are hearing A5 calls of Cracroft Point every so often.
Helena
06 Jul 2008 09:27:52 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

We heard a report just before 8am that a group of 8 orcas were headed west from Boat Bay on Cracroft Island. We are waiting to hear if they will be vocal on CP.
Helena
06 Jul 2008 08:26:19 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

We heard a report just before 8am that a group of 8 orcas were headed west from Boat Bay on Cracroft Island. We are waiting to hear if they will be vocal on CP.
Helena
06 Jul 2008 08:26:14 PDT

No orcas present.

We didn't hear anything more during the rest of the night. Shortly after the orcas there was a burst of dolphin calls. The morning here is misty with slight rain.
Helena
06 Jul 2008 07:32:02 PDT

Distant calls audible.

The arriving orcas, after stalling in Blackney Pass are now in Johnstone Strait. Definitely "A" calls but very, very faint and already distant as if they travelled to the far side of the Strait before calling. We are somewhat handicapped by not having the Critical Point hydrophone at the moment but imagine the whales are eastbound headed toward the Ecological Reserve. Rather lovely to be hearing calls however distant!
Helena
06 Jul 2008 01:17:00 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

We can hear blows from orcas heading south in Blackney Pass, no calls so far, not sure if they are residents or transients.
Helena
05 Jul 2008 23:24:02 PDT

No orcas present.

We didn't hear any calls during this windy night.
Helena
05 Jul 2008 08:55:47 PDT

Distant calls audible.

The dolphins are still vocal!
Helena
04 Jul 2008 05:52:58 PDT

No orcas present.

Good morning! Audio should be working again. The dolphins seemed to move further into Blackfish Sound for at times their calls were very clear and we could hear echo location as well. A humpback is strolling along opposite the Lab this morning.
Helena
04 Jul 2008 05:29:35 PDT

Distant calls audible.

There are distant vocal dolphins again in Blackfish Sound and quiet humpbacks in Blackney Pass.
Helena
03 Jul 2008 22:09:17 PDT

No orcas present.

A few more dolphin calls, plus a thunder and lightening storm rolling over the area,through the night,
Helena
03 Jul 2008 04:34:09 PDT

No orcas present.

A note from CetaceaLab (http://www.whaleresearch.ca/) that they saw the A30s on June 30th.
Helena
02 Jul 2008 10:46:22 PDT

No orcas present.

A "quiet" night. The morning is dawning grey and overcast. Waiting.....
Helena
02 Jul 2008 06:20:53 PDT

No orcas present.

Since the dolphins it has been fairly quiet through the night. Our connection was unstable as well but seems to be there at the moment. Foggy morning.
Helena
01 Jul 2008 04:36:30 PDT

Distant calls audible.

The dolphins are vocal in Blackfish Sound.
Helena
30 Jun 2008 21:08:54 PDT

No orcas present.

Reports today count the dolphins up to 500. Yesterday, they were 200 - 250! Incredible. They are currently in Queen Charlotte Strait, west of Blackfish sound.
Helena
30 Jun 2008 11:16:16 PDT

Boat noise

Morning! Again the dolphins were pretty active during the night. lovely conditions out here this morning, calm seas and beautiful sunrise. Dalls porpoise in the Pass.
Helena
30 Jun 2008 06:23:37 PDT

Distant calls audible.

Ouch! Just too much boat noise!
Helena
29 Jun 2008 16:16:53 PDT

Distant calls audible.

If you listen ver, very carefully you just might hear the faint dolphin calls in Blackfish Sound.
Helena
29 Jun 2008 15:54:28 PDT

No orcas present.

We are back! Let's hope the connection holds but for the time being we are streaming audio once again. During the break, the A30s did not return. They were last seen travelling west from Malcolm Point in Queen Charlotte Strait early on June 25th (the day after coming in here). They had made a quick but leisurly survey of the area. Hopefully, they have gone to get friends and relations. Word has it that salmon are showing up in the last week. Last night there were vocal dolphins. Meanwhile, the humpbacks are still very active along with Dalls porpoise and even a minke or two. Today, is foggy after yesterday's sunny skies.
Helena and Paul
29 Jun 2008 10:30:38 PDT

No orcas present.

The A30s headed north through Blackney Pass around 8pm yesterday & have not yet returned. We are waiting.
Helena & Paul
25 Jun 2008 11:43:45 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The A30s have arrived! They came "in" via Blackney Pass at around 3pm today, and were spread out as they headed into Johnstone Strait. Unfortunately, our internet connection is still down, so we are unable to stream live audio & enable you to hear their their calls. But just the same, this is an exciting day, and we hope there will be many more to come this summer!
Paul & Helena
24 Jun 2008 20:31:35 PDT

Performing maintenance

Our internet connection is down at the moment, so we're unable to stream audio. We'll get it back as soon as possible but don't know when. Sorry about that!
Paul & Helena
24 Jun 2008 05:52:10 PDT

No orcas present.

It was quiet during the night. Here is a link to Paul's first day at the IWC in Santiago,Chile. http://www.orcalab.org/news-archive/orcalab_general/080622.htm Paul will be posting regularly on the www.orcalab.org site.
Helena
23 Jun 2008 06:16:24 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

Rumours have been flying today! But the latest has an appealing quality of reality. Three distinct groups of orcas have been sighted eastbound near Pine island in Queen Charlotte Strait. If they continue and take advantage of the flooding tide we may hear them later this evening or early tomorrow morning. However, nothing is ever certain and sometimes the whales like to explore QCS for a while before committing to coming all the way in. If they are not transients or offshores then this may be possible residents. Exciting any way it turns out. Stay tuned! Also today, another report had a group of 6-7 orcas right in Hardy Bay this morning and two transients were seen off Arrow Pass.
Helena
22 Jun 2008 14:14:34 PDT

No orcas present.

Humpbacks back in Blackney pass this morning.
Helena
21 Jun 2008 10:48:16 PDT

No orcas present.

The audio should now be working. It was just a security update glitch. Sorry about that.
Helena
20 Jun 2008 22:57:40 PDT

No orcas present.

For the record: Dolphins heard during the night.
Helena
20 Jun 2008 06:30:45 PDT

No orcas present.

Just heard from CetaceaLab that they have seen the A36s travelling with the A24s and the A51s! All three were there.
Helena
20 Jun 2008 15:05:36 PDT

No orcas present.

Yesterday, we woke up to a humpback doing a full picture postcard breach just off the Lab. This morning, well....it is windy, grey and pretty quiet so far. Summer just a day away?
Helena
19 Jun 2008 09:16:30 PDT

No orcas present.

The local humpbacks are certainly a lovely sight in the morning:Slowly and deliberately heading northward through the Pass. There was also a small pocket of Dalls porpoise busy hunting and a couple of passing sea lions.
Helena
17 Jun 2008 09:12:29 PDT

No orcas present.

This morning is just so lovely! We now see that there is a sizable group of dolphins heading into the Pass from johnstone Strait.
Helena
17 Jun 2008 09:44:19 PDT

No orcas present.

Apparently there were even orcas today. Just heard that there were a couple of transients seen earlier in Blackfish Sound headed north. Too bad we missed them!
Helena
17 Jun 2008 13:31:07 PDT

No orcas present.

As the sun struggles to come out, the humpbacks are making their way south through Blackney Pass. On the beach, three noisy baby ravens, are being supervised by their parents.
Helena
14 Jun 2008 08:41:04 PDT

June 12 OL comments.

Transients T20, T21, T69A, T69A1 in the area, and news from the A30s, G2s and G12s.

No orcas present.

A small group of dolphins headed past the Lab this morning. They were headed south.
Helena
12 Jun 2008 10:07:09 PDT

No orcas present.

We just heard from CetaceaLab that they have recently seen the A30s travelling with a small R clan group. They also have seen the G2s and G12s recently. All of this is very welcome news.
Helena
12 Jun 2008 13:12:23 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

Apparently, the Lukwa (Stubbs Island Whale Watching) has found a small group of transients in the vicinity of Blackfish Sound. We also just saw a humpback moving slowly south through Blackney Pass.
Helena
12 Jun 2008 14:48:36 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The small group of transients reported earlier have made their way through Blackney Pass headed toward Johnstone Strait. The male remained offshore while the 2 females and calf followed the Hanson Island shore.
Helena
12 Jun 2008 16:07:25 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

The transients turned and went back to Blackfish Sound!
Helena
12 Jun 2008 16:50:42 PDT

No calls but orcas nearby

Stubbs Island identified the whales as T20, T21, T69A, T69A1.
Helena
12 Jun 2008 17:20:32 PDT

No orcas present.

The weather finally has warmed up and become sunny. The forecasts promise the cool, unseasonable weather will return so we really enjoyed the day. We woke up to see a small humpback slowly making its way north through Blackney Pass.
Helena
11 Jun 2008 17:35:16 PDT

Superb sounds!!

We're listening to transients orcas calling on the Critical Point hydrophone... sounds like they're in Robson Bight.
Helena
02 Jun 2008 00:28:31 PDT

No orcas present.

No calls to listen to just now (only boat noise) but we're resumed streaming live audio anyway.
Paul & Helena
01 Jun 2008 16:54:00 PDT