Humpback singing on Flower Island! Bec 23 Oct 2020 18:34:43 PST Humpback singing on Flower Island! Bec 23 Oct 2020 18:34:29 PST Superb sounds!! Beautiful Humpback Whale song on Flower Island, follow this link to listen with us https://www.explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Jennifer 23 Oct 2020 00:52:27 PST

Beautiful Humpback son on Flower Island!  Megan  22 Oct 2020 17:57:45 PST The humpbacks have stopped singing but the most beautiful of sunrises is happening here in Blackney Pass! Watch live: https://www.explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Megan  22 Oct 2020 06:23:40 PST Superb sounds!! And now there is a humpback calling in Blackfish Sound while there is still someone of the entrance to Blackney Pass. An incredibly beautiful starry night.  OrcaLab 22 Oct 2020 05:01:42 PST Superb sounds!! Through the night we have been listening to beautiful humpback calls again but this time in Johnstone Strait. Seemingly off the entrance to Blackney Pass at the moment. OrcaLab 22 Oct 2020 03:46:39 PST

Superb sounds!! All night long! The humpbacks have been going at it through the night and now really have revved up. Helena 21 Oct 2020 06:30:23 PST

October 20 2020 T037s, Humpbacks: Stitch and Merge, Sea Lions, Harbour seals, Pacific White-sided dolphins Goodness it has been ages since we have written a summary! It is not an indication that we have not been busy, actually, just the opposite. However, the Northern Residents have not been around and that does affect our focus. The last weeks have been about surviving the heavy rains that have lashed & drenched the coast. Water has been pouring onto the beach causing deep gouges in the sand and pebbles, forming rivers where there were none before. The forest has deep pools and the once meek creeks (our water supply)are roaring. We welcomed Anthony who has come to pick up Jenn whose time here is coming to a close. Anthony volunteered to help with ÒredoingÓ the deck to the Lab. Earlier we had brought the necessary lumber to the island where it sat under a tarp waiting to be put to use. James, who arrived early in October along with Beck, had been putting his considerable skills to work fixing old stairs and various other jobs. Now together with Anthony, the two are tackling the considerable challenge of the deck despite the less than perfect conditions of both weather and the under structure of the old deck. The result is looking spectacular. The old discarded wood has given us the excuse to fire up the bath-house, a good place to get warm and dry. Paul, Megan and Jenn meanwhile have been busy as well. During a break in the weather they finally retrieved the rubbing beach systems. We do this every year in order to protect them against the avenging winter storms. This was, as it turned out, just in time, as a huge early storm struck the coast, trapping Helena and Paul in Alert Bay who then had to deal with a flooded basement (another victim of the extraordinary amount of rain). Then after two unsuccessful attempts Paul, Megan and Jenn managed to get over to Kaizumi Beach and secure the solar panels and reposition the hydrophone, two more items on the list completed! AJ arrived recently to work on the electrical systems inside the Lab. With all the new equipment the old wiring was in need of an upgrade. In the background of all of this busyness are the sea lions, humpbacks, BiggÕs orcas, the ducks, migrating geese, the seals and the various other fall/winter residents. We know from our observations that Merge and Stitch are still using Blackney Pass regularly. The humpback scene is fairly quiet compared with previous Octobers when there seemed to be more intense social activity amongst the humpbacks. Even the singers (until last night) have become quieter. Last night we were treated to an hour long session in an otherwise quiet Blackfish Sound. This was a relief from the strange, very loud, explosive sounds of the past two nights in Johnstone Strait. These unexplained loud noises, heard on the Kaizumi system, occurred late in the evening and during the first part of the early morning. We are trying to figure out what they might be. On October 17, Alex Morton noticed a group of BiggÕs orcas headed through Weynton Pass from Donegal Head at 11:55am. Jared picked up their trail and identified the T037s off of Cracroft Point at 1:30pm. The sound of Pacific White-sided dolphins two nights ago might be an indication that other BiggÕs orcas may turn up at some point. The sea lions have continued to haul out in numbers along the Hanson Island shore. When they are forced off their rocks by the rising tides they can be seen travelling back and forth looking for a tasty meal to tide them over when they get out of the water and resume their sleepy postures. The many flocks of migrating geese high in the skies above remind us to keep going with our winterising efforts: the days are shorter, the weather more temperamental, the air is cooler. Helena 20 Oct 2020 12:08:22 PST Performing maintenance Good lovely morning, everyone! We will be shutting down Lab power in a few minutes, so are stopping streaming video and audio. Will be back as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience! OrcaLab 20 Oct 2020 10:31:13 PST Superb sounds!! Beautiful Humpback whale song on Flower Island, follow this link to listen https://www.explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base  Jennifer 20 Oct 2020 03:18:06 PST

Performing maintenance HI everyone, we will be doing some work in the Lab tomorrow and for at least one more day that will require us to shut down power to the Lab. It means that we will not be streaming audio or video. We will be back as soon as possible. Meanwhile, take good care, please, and stay safe! OrcaLab 18 Oct 2020 21:16:43 PST Distant calls audible. The humpback was interrupted by a boat but picked it up again about a half hour later. Recently there have been a few calls, nothing very social but perhaps some feeding effort going on through the night. OrcaLab 18 Oct 2020 04:41:44 PST

We have a Humpback calling on Flower Island!  Megan  17 Oct 2020 20:31:28 PST There was a humpback singing on our Flower island hydrophone. But he has now stopped. Hopefully he will start up again!  Megan  17 Oct 2020 04:56:52 PST

Humpback calls on Flower Island  Beck and Megan  11 Oct 2020 04:39:09 PST

Orcas near mics. Beautiful humpback song on Flower Island come and listen with us https://www.explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Jennifer 09 Oct 2020 13:54:06 PST

October 7 & 8 2020: Humpbacks, Sea Lions, Harbour Seals Ever wonder what we do when the orcas are not around? On October 7 we welcomed Clay Fischer back to OrcaLab to oversee the installation of the BIG new (and colourful) batteries to replace the old (less colourful) bank that had outlived their life. The job of replacing the batteries began with ordering, shipping and transporting to Hanson Island. Amazingly, we had help at the dock. Bill Mckay came down to the dock in Port McNeill where the shipment was unloaded. He took one look at the stack of 120lb batteries (16 in all) and went home to outfit his truck with his trusty winch. When he arrived back three young men were loading their boat on the opposite side. As Bill hooked a battery onto his winch he called them over. In the space of what felt like 10 minutes they manhandled (always wondered about that term) the batteries onto the June Cove for the ride home! The trusty June Cove made it home, no problem. But this of course meant the batteries needed to be lifted off the boat and onto shore. No strong young men at this end. The solution was to beach the boat and wait for the tide to go out the next day then slide the batteries down a ramp and walk them up the beach to the deck. Easier said than done. But the task was accomplished without complication. It was time to take a break. Fortunately, additional help was coming. James and Beck arrived just in time. James modified the battery box so the old BIG batteries could be lifted out easily and moved the new BIG batteries closer to their final resting spot. Then Clay arrived, and saw to it that the old batteries were dismantled and removed. Everyone helped. The new batteries were put in place and hooked up. Clay made sure everything was working as it should. During these quieter non-whale moments the idea of getting the woodshed in shape for winter starts to be very appealing. The October weather is definitely turning cooler (and wetter). The stoves are getting more use of late. To meet the demand we need to secure a good supply each year. Megan took it on herself to grab a couple of promising logs, one from across the bay and the other from under the feet of several seagulls who were using it to ride the current. Both were excellent choices, one hemlock, one fir. In no time the two logs were bucked into rounds, chopped and stacked. The gift of winterÕs warmth. Today, October 8, was very wet. We had caught a break in the weather yesterday when we were fiddling with the batteries but the rains came in the night and continued through the day. Everything was drenched thoroughly. Before Clay left the conversation turned to the benefits of resurrecting the micro hydro installation. A hike over to the creek, now overflowing its banks, looked encouraging. Most of the pictures from today all have the same grey theme. Grey humpbacks, grey skies, grey water. One exception,James noticed as he worked on a shelter for the outdoor bath firewood, a seal in the green waters of the inner bay, just meters from where he was working, had a large salmon. Another seal came by and grabbed some of the bounty. The two, focused on their feast, ignored the camera shutter and carried on until the salmon was devoured. With the dark evening, day and chores done, the stoves making cozy, the continuing rains patter down noisily drowning out the somewhat distant humpback calling on the hydrophone.  OrcaLab 08 Oct 2020 21:02:55 PST

Performing maintenance Good morning everyone! We are doing some work on power at the Lab and will be off line for several hours. Back as soon as possible. Meanwhile, thanks for your patience. OrcaLab 07 Oct 2020 10:06:33 PST

Superb sounds!! Really interesting and good humpback sounds in Blackney Pass at the moment. Ocean quiet!  OrcaLab 06 Oct 2020 19:57:00 PST It's that time of night again, The humpback has started singing on the Flower Island hydrophone!  Megan  06 Oct 2020 18:39:35 PST Superb sounds!! October 4 & 5: Humpbacks, Sea Lions Thought it a good idea to catch-up before too much time passes. Listening to very nice humpback vocals in Blackfish Sound at the moment. It is 3am on October 6. This began at 8:18pm yesterday evening. Without jinxing it, the ocean has been quiet, no boat noise for a long time while this humpback has been seemingly content to carry on. Ayway, going back even further, a good deal of October 4 was dealing with power issues at the Lab and we had to turn the power off for a while. Luckily, the whale scene was uncomplicated and nothing major was missed. It is beginning to feel as if the Northern Residents are now some distance away. We last heard the A5s near Robson Bight mid day on September 30. There have been no reports of their whereabouts since. We welcome James and Rebecca to the Lab. Friends of Megan, they will be helping out through the month of October. Rebecca heard humpback vocals for the first time this evening. The Sea Lions are carrying on with their daily rhythm of getting on and off their haul-out rocks.  OrcaLab 06 Oct 2020 03:15:06 PST Still going! Still in Blackfish. OrcaLab 06 Oct 2020 02:34:14 PST