Superb sounds!! This morning shortly after 8am there was a rather large group of Pacific white-sided dolphins swimming slowly against the ebb offshore of OrcaLab. Some of them came in close by the Lab before turning back north. The large offshore group flipped direction, too, and rushed quickly after them. At 12:30pm we received a report via VHF of orcas near Donegal Head traveling towards Weynton Pass. We rushed to the lab and prepared the cameras. We began hearing vocalizations at 1:17pm of Northern Residents on the Cracroft Pt hydrophone. The orcas came into sight at 1:56pm and we followed their movements as they travelled east along the Vancouver Island shoreline. We also saw several groups of Dalls porpoise in Johnstone Strait. The orcas changed direction towards Little Hanson Island and stopped to forage near the tide rip. They were joined by many Pacific white-sided dolphins who raced along and jumped beside them. They crossed to the Vancouver Island shoreline again and resumed an easterly course. However, they don't seem to have gotten very far, and we are continuing to listen to them on the Cracroft Pt hydrophone only for six hours now continuously - distant but beautiful calls. There was also a humpback song coming from Blackfish Sound sporadically throughout the day. Four humpbacks came into Blackney Pass at 6:30pm. We were able to obtain two distant fluke photos. We believe we saw BCZ0339 'Inukshuk' clear to the south at sunset with multiple breaches prior to entering Johnstone Strait. And, we believe the other was BCZ0297 'Pulteney' who was milling in Parson Bay.  Barbara and David 11 Oct 2018 20:48:18 PST Superb sounds!! Northern Resident Orca calls on CP Hydrophone began at 1317hrs. Quite distant but becoming clearer and closer to CP David 11 Oct 2018 12:26:15 PST

No orcas present. We were watching four noisy river otters swim into the bay next to OrcaLab when Shari noticed a male orca heading south along the Parson Island shoreline. At 4:17pm hrs we began recording and monitoring cameras and found four more orca at Cracroft Point. The five orcas (from our photos possibly T049A's) were engaged in a hunt at 5:00pm and moved toward Little Hanson Island. There were two or three calls at 5:08pm. At 5:42pm, a Humpback Whale also began vocalizing in Blackfish Sound. The song continued sporadically for the next two hours. The orca headed north in Blackney Passage and stopped to hunt south of Harbledown Island before clearing our view at 6:30pm, near sunset.  Barbara 10 Oct 2018 19:18:11 PST No calls but orcas nearby We are watching a small group on Biggs hunt in the entrance to Blackney Passage. Watch with us : https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-cracroft-point-surface David, Barbara and Shari 10 Oct 2018 16:06:00 PST

No orcas present. From 6:30pm on Saturday evening we heard calls in the Johnstone Straight, centred around Cracroft Point, for an hour. They slowly became fainter as the orca moved east towards the Robson Bight. By 8:55pm calls and echolocation were heard on the Robson Bight hydrophone and Tomoko, listening all the way from Japan, confirmed that it was the to the A34s foraging in the Ecological Reserve. An hour after the last faint calls were heard, a humpback began its song in Blackfish Sound and continued until 1:10am. Over the course of the following day we heard no orca calls, but were treated to numerous songs from humpback whales, one of which was in Blackney Passage. At 9:20am this morning, Barbara first spotted a large dorsal traveling south through Blackney Passage. A few minutes later this male was joined by at least two small fins and, we thought, possibly a sprouter. No calls were heard and though we did follow them on the Orcalab Base camera and Sea lion Rock camera, the group were taking long dives and we lost them by the time they got to the entrance of Blackney Passage. Jared Towers later confirmed that they were the T55s and at 12:15pm Jackie Hildering, on the Maple Leaf, reported that a group of Biggs fitting the same description were off the north-east corner of the Pearce Islands, suggesting that the T55s had headed west in the Johnstone Strait. We are currently enjoying the varied sounds of a song from humpback in Blackfish Sound. We have uploaded two short clips of humpback song onto Soundcloud. If you would like to hear, please find them here: https://soundcloud.com/user-361819329 Barbara, David and Shari 08 Oct 2018 20:49:35 PST

Distant calls audible. Today has been a day of distant calls, few visuals and further distant calls. Last night at 10:27pm there were brief and distant calls in Blackfish Sound. Nothing was heard again until 4:37am when a sporadic calls commenced in the Johnstone Strait on the Cracroft Point hydrophone. These continued for an hour but by 5:33am silence had resumed. Later at 8:00am we heard further calls the Cracroft Point hydrophone and these slowly became a little louder at 9:23am. Unfortunately we were unable to find them on the cameras and for the next three hours they remained vocal but out of sight. They were eventually found on the Cracroft Point camera thanks to a tip from the Bill on the Naiad, heading west slowly. It seems they took their time because all afternoon their distant calls were audible on Cracroft Point. An overheard radio transmission confirmed that they had indeed been "pretty much stopped" between Telegraph Cove and Weynton Passage for at least two hours. Faint calls continue in the Johnstone Strait but unfortunately the orca are out of reach of the super zoom on the cameras. It is one again a lovely calm evening here, and the Sea lions remain as noisy as ever and the Cormorants seem to be heading back to their rock nests around 7pm, at dusk.   Shari 06 Oct 2018 16:36:35 PST

No orcas present. We followed the A34s and A42s as they travelled west. They were back in the entrance of Blackney Passage at 1:29pm where they spent some time foraging and then continued to the west. By 1:54pm the calls in the Johnstone Strait were very faint and we had lost them on the camera ten minutes earlier. For the next two hours we continued to hear very distant A1 and A5 calls in the Johnstone Strait. At 4:14pm the first calls, A5, were heard in Blackfish Sound suggesting that the A42s took Weynton Passage first, and ten minutes later they we heard A1 calls in there too. All went quiet at 5:03pm, however at 5:47pm there was a small flurry of distant calls, but silence has resumed since. After a choppy day in Blackney Pass the wind has entirely calmed down and it is a beautiful, still evening here at the lab. Shari 05 Oct 2018 17:44:31 PST Distant calls audible. After listening to the A34s and the A42s for a long time in Blackfish Sound this morning they finally made it to Blackney Pass and came through in a rush from 11:54 to 12:20pm. We watched as they moved through the entrance to Blackney and opposite cracroft Point. After hanging toward Vancouver Island they swung around to the west. They were mostly silent until they began to go west. We can still hear distant calls. Helena&Shari&Paul 05 Oct 2018 13:01:44 PST Distant calls audible. We are listening to distant A34 calls on the Blackfish Sound hydrophone. Late yesterday at 10:58pm we heard A5 calls in Johnstone Strait. The A34s and the A42s had been off Bold head and Queen Charlotte Strait most of yesterday afternoon. In the early morning we heard A5 calls again between 3:12 and 3:30am closer to the entrance of Blackney Pass. We wondered if the group then went through Blackney Pass but the calls were few and the southeast wind was already picking up. The humpbacks yesterday evening were incredible and we can hear someone revving up in Blackfish Sound as the orca calls (possibly A5 as well as A34s now) continue and getting closer! Helena&Shari&Paul 05 Oct 2018 08:57:28 PST

Distant calls audible. Started hearing the A42s and A34s once again in Blackfish Sound after a brief pause. before this the calls had gotten to be quite distant. Perhaps the whales have turned. Jared Towers let us know that the Bigg's were the T90s, T87,T002B and T46C2. They were up by the White Cliff Islets by 11:14am. T46C2 is, of course, the young whale who was swimming by herself two days ago. Yesterday we think we saw her before the A42s showed up in Blackney Pass. T46C2 is also known as Sam and in 2013 was rescued from a small bay on the north coast. Since 2013 her travels and associations (she is not always alone) have been opportunistically documented. It is a great story and affirmation of the strength of orca individuals to survive adverse situations. Her resident counterpart, Springer, is another such success story. For those who doubt the orca Morgan and who never gave her a real chance might take a moment's pause.  Helena 04 Oct 2018 12:24:29 PST Superb sounds!! Where to begin? Perhaps when we first started to hear the A42s in Johnstone Strait. They seemed to be heading west and by the time they were approaching Cracroft point the A34s were more obviously in the mix an hour later. It was too dark to see but Shari kept track as both groups travelled across the entrance to Blackney Pass and continued west. They went quiet and so impossible to track. With daylight and a quick look around after training the cameras on the lovely sunrise revealed a group of orcas in the entrance to Blackney Pass about 8am. This group slowly made their way into Blackney against the tide which had begun to flood at 6:29am. As they came around the corner from Licka Point we began to think that this small group of 5 were actually Bigg's orcas. They were silent but determined to make their way to Blackfish Sound. The cleared our view at 9:44am. Then at 9:37am we were pleasantly surprised when the A34s and the A42s became vocal on the Blackfish Sound hydrophone. Our guess that they had gone west seemed to be correct after all. Must be a bit of a traffic jam up there with the residents and Bigg's not too far from each other! Lovely morning here, surprisingly relaxed sea lions enjoying the sun.  Helena&Shari&Paul 04 Oct 2018 09:22:29 PST

No orcas present. Today started off slower than yesterday. We heard no calls during the night and save for an unconvinced Humpback in Blackfish Sound at 3am all was quiet. However, we saw that Current (A79) and her baby at least went for a rub at the Main Rubbing beach at around 2pm. They made no calls during this time and it was only after we had spotted a male heading towards the Ecological Reserve at 2:24pm that we then heard calls. The next orca we saw on the Robson Bight camera was Current and her baby as well as two other small fins. This small group angled further into the Bight and were there for some time, and we heard a great deal of echolocation and some lovely calls both close and distant. By 3:14 however we lost the orca on the camera and the calls ceased. We have heard no more calls since. At 3:34pm we received a report from Jared Towers that the A34s were south, now in Okisollo! We can assume they heard good things from the A42s.  Shari&Paul&Helena 03 Oct 2018 19:00:58 PST Orcas near mics. We began watching a lone male slowly make his way west mid strait after hearing just a few calls on the Robson Bight hydrophone. Since then, more calls (A42s) and more fins, including A79 and her baby :) closer to the Bight but also headed west. https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-robson-bight Shari&Helena&Paul 03 Oct 2018 14:06:13 PST

Hearing both groups (the A42s and the A34s off the Main Rubbing Beach after they grouped up and headed east past Robson Bight about 7:35pm. Have not heard any rubs and of course it is now too dark to see anything on the cameras. It has been a lovely day and we are so glad to have had a glimpse of A79's (Current's) new baby! The amazing thing was how silent the whales were with minimal vocals throughout the day and even when they got together and were socializing as a group as they met up and headed east. They can be such a mystery.  Helena&Shari&Paul 02 Oct 2018 19:26:14 PST Superb sounds!! Finally we have calls! We have been following the the A34's and A42's as they travelled East in the Johnstone strait and they have been moving slowly in total silence all afternoon. But at 6:12pm beautiful calls erupted on the Robson Bight hydrophone. Watch with us: https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-robson-bight Helena and Shari 02 Oct 2018 17:25:16 PST No calls but orcas nearby http://explore.org/live-cams/player/orcalab-cracroft-point-surface Helena&Shari&Paul 02 Oct 2018 14:00:14 PST No calls but orcas nearby What a morning so far! Just before 8am we heard a few "A" calls on the system. They were only brief and we did not locate where the calls were originating from. While we were trying to figure this out we noticed a single orca blow and then dorsal fin midway into Parson Bay. There were lots of sea lions puffing away and their blows were also backlit. At one point we wondered if there were more blows but came back to believing that there was just a single orc there. At 8:49am we spotted more orcas heading south in Blackney Pass. There was just one male and several smaller fins. These whales moved back and forth in Blackney Pass, milling, foraging and changing direction a lot. Eventually, they finally made a more positive move toward Johnstone Strait around 10:30am. The male was in the lead. After transiting the entrance to Blackney Pass and passing through the rip there these orcas headed west. They had been totally silent. As they moving west in the Strait we now had a chance to look at our pictures and we were able to confirm that it was the A42s! So unexpected - they had been in Georgia Strait for sooooo long. Since being in the Strait we have heard a few calls (briefly) and a lovely humpback in Blackfish Sound. Earlier this morning "Ridge" went by north close to the Lab - a good day! Helena&Shari&Paul 02 Oct 2018 11:20:30 PST

No calls but orcas nearby Sam is now on https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base as well as the sea lion cam. She apparently had a bite to eat and then turned back east and has re-entered Blackney Pass headed south. Helena&Shari&Paul 01 Oct 2018 14:44:01 PST No calls but orcas nearby Briefly we were following on the cameras (still on the sea lion cam - https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-steller-sea-lion-haulout) the movements of a lone orca, T46C2 or otherwise known as Sam. Sam is well known for her antics. In August 2013 when she was just 2 years old she was "rescued" after she became "stuck" in a bay off the north coast. Afterward opportunistic sightings provided more details about her life after the rescue. She has been seen travelling with family and by herself like today. She was probably first seen today off Cracroft Point and then was reported off Bold Head by the Lukwa. jared Towers came out and identified her. He followed her into our camera view in Blackney Pass. But she soon turned and slipped back to Blackfish Sound. She looks well and managing ok. Helena&Shari&Paul 01 Oct 2018 14:20:34 PST