Superb sounds!! Very close humpback vocalizing right now! Lisa 11 Nov 2018 12:55:26 PST Superb sounds!! Nice Humpback calls on Flower Island HP right now! Lisa 08 Nov 2018 17:20:51 PST Sam is back! Or was yesterday afternoon at least when she was seen with two humpbacks here in Blackney pass. The humpbacks were posturing, lifting their flukes and doing tonal blows, but Sam seemed to just calmly hang around close to them anyway. She was positively ID'ed by Jared Towers who also ID'ed the T055's the day before after they passed by OrcaLab into Blackfish Sound. Lisa 06 Nov 2018 11:54:58 PST Superb sounds!! Nice close humpback song on Parson Island hydrophone right now! Lisa 01 Nov 2018 21:01:47 PST Superb sounds!! Travels with Sam: Yesterday, in the midst of all the humpback activity we noticed T46C2 in Blackney Pass. Otherwise known as Sam, Sam stayed in the Pass the better part of the day even coming close to the Lab. She sure can hold her breath a long time and we are fascinated by the effect her presence has on the humpbacks. Lisa thinks she may have been out there again today. Right now the humpbacks are tuning up, a little hesitant but getting there! Helena,Lisa and Paul 30 Oct 2018 20:39:38 PST Superb sounds!! Lovely humpback calls in Johnstone Strait on a starry night. Lisa and Helena 30 Oct 2018 03:03:42 PST Superb sounds!! You can scroll back on: http://explore.org/live-cams/player/orcalab-base To see the whole scene. In total four humpbacks were involved. And the humpback vocals continue in Blackfish Soundfrom a different humpback and to top it all off T46C2 (Sam) was in Blackney Pass as well!!! Helena 29 Oct 2018 13:05:03 PST Superb sounds!! Watching incredible Humpback feeding in front of Lab. Calls are in Blackfish from another HB. Helena 29 Oct 2018 12:49:35 PST Superb sounds!! Crazy windy! and a very vocal humpback (a "BCZ") doing headstands with frolicking sea lions. Two other humpback in the Pass but the waves are too, too big! Helena 27 Oct 2018 16:58:49 PST Distant calls audible. Quite distant Bigg's calls in Blackney Pass. Unfortunately also a boat is transiting through as well. For the record, yesterday afternoon around 3pm Sam (T46C2) was spotted off Cracroft Point. Helena 27 Oct 2018 01:03:06 PST No calls but orcas nearby The story of Sam (T46C2) continues: Late afternoon (6:45pm) on October 22 David and Barbara saw a lone orca off Bold Head from Double Bay. The orca was surrounded by 3 Humpbacks who were fairly "attentive". This orca was not an obvious male and so when they reported their sighting we wondered if it might be Sam who is often alone. Then this morning Jared Towers reported definitely seeing Sam in Weynton Passage also in the presence of humpbacks. As a reminder T46C2 was "rescued" when encouraged to leave a small bay off the north coast near Aristazabal Island in 2013. She, at the time, was thin and seemed to be stuck. Since then she has been re-sighted many times, sometimes with family, or other Bigg's orcas, or by herself. We last saw her for sure on October 1 when she was alone in Blackney Pass. She might have been there the next day as well. On October 4 she was together with other Bigg's in Blackfish Sound (T090s, T087 and T002B). Helena 25 Oct 2018 11:18:30 PST Superb sounds!! Beautiful, just beautiful humpback song tonight! OrcaLab 22 Oct 2018 19:40:01 PST Two humpbacks with sea lions right on the doorstep of the lab David 22 Oct 2018 14:56:34 PST Superb sounds!! Lovely humpback, now in Blackney Pass. Helena 21 Oct 2018 18:22:24 PST Superb sounds!! The A34s seemed to fade off into the distance from Blackfish Sound but now a beautiful humpback has taken over. Helena 21 Oct 2018 15:54:04 PST Distant calls audible. Very distant calls off Blackfish Sound. Sounds like the A34s who probably went through Weynton Passage earlier. We heard them just before they exited through the pass and now they have come full circle to Blackfish Sound. We had managed to "catch" a glimpse of whales heading across the entrance to Blackney Pass around 2pm and before this there had been calls. OrcaLab 21 Oct 2018 15:16:03 PST Distant calls audible. Distant Northern Resident Orca calls on Critical Point and now Cracroft Point hydrophone - seems like the A34s are circling the island again maybe ? David and Barbara 21 Oct 2018 10:45:42 PST Orcas approaching Orcalab. Orcas heading North in Blackney Pass David 21 Oct 2018 07:25:46 PST No orcas present. We awoke to thick ribbons of fog and a humpback who was accompanied by a few sea lions as he passed the Lab deck. We think the A34's spent last night in Johnstone Strait with calls at 1:00am and then 7:30am this morning. They came quickly through Blackney Pass at 8:50am and cleared to the north by 9:05am against the beginning of the flood tide. We watched a humpback mother 'Ripple' and her calf spend most of the day near Compton Island. A beautiful humpback song began in Blackfish Sound mid afternoon. At the same time and place we were hearing Northern Residents. We believe the Residents came through Weynton Pass and we've been hearing them again tonight on Cracroft Pt hydrophone. Barbara and David 20 Oct 2018 22:14:08 PST Superb sounds!! Beautiful humpback song happening now in Blackfish Sound Barbara and David 20 Oct 2018 15:10:38 PST Orcas approaching Orcalab. Orcas are here david 20 Oct 2018 07:48:50 PST Orcas near mics. Orca calls on Cracroft Point hydrophone - we're looking into the fog for dorsal fins David and Barbara 20 Oct 2018 07:04:41 PST Distant calls audible. Orca calls on Cracroft Point - A34s David and Barbara 19 Oct 2018 12:37:18 PST Superb sounds!! Humpback whale singing on Local Left hydrophone David 19 Oct 2018 09:13:22 PST No orcas present. Strangely quiet on the hydrophones during the night even though we could hear loud blows of humpback whales outside our door. Peaceful sunrise with glassy calm waters throughout the day. Six humpback whales spent the afternoon foraging in the tide rips of Blackney Pass and were visible on our Explore.org cameras. Barbara and David 18 Oct 2018 21:02:21 PST Superb sounds!! Spectacular sunrise today and two humpbacks, 'Twister' BCY0710 and 'Claw' BCX0749, traversed Blackney Pass with trumpeting, tail slaps and pectoral fin slaps as sea lions played alongside. A really nice humpback song of about 20 minutes began at 9:30am. 'Inukshuk' BCZ0339 rounded Burnt Pt at 11:45am surrounded by sea lions and slowly headed on a close pass of the lab. Headstands with tail high in the air. Waving his long pectoral fins vertically before slapping them to the water. Sideways tail swipes. The Sea Lions continued to leap close to the whale. At 12:38pm Inukshak was joined by another humpback whale and they swam at speed to the sea lion haul out. 'Inukshuk' was vocal the whole time on Local Left hydrophone until meeting the second whale. David and Barbara 17 Oct 2018 21:58:30 PST Superb sounds!! We've been listening to amazing humpback song on Flower Island! Barbara 17 Oct 2018 08:44:42 PST Superb sounds!! Wonderfull and amazing humpback whale song now on Flower Island hydrophone David 16 Oct 2018 19:01:39 PST Superb sounds!! Humpback started their song 1538 PST on Parsons Island Hydrophone. We currently have up to seven humpbacks in Blackney Pass which are visible from time to time on Orca Lab Cam David 16 Oct 2018 16:43:01 PST Distant calls audible. Yesterday 2 humpback songs continued after midnight into the early morning hours on Cracroft Pt and Flower Island hydrophones. At sunrise a couple of humpback whales traveled both north and south passed the Lab. One humpback breached suddenly followed by a few half breaches and chin slaps. Early afternoon, around 2:30pm, a procession of leaping Pacific white-sided dolphins surrounding two humpback whales followed by dozens of frolicking sea lions came into our view. There were loud trumpeting calls above the surface. This activity lasted until after sundown. Just after sunset the songs began. One song began at 6:45pm, another at 8pm with the finale beginning a little after 9pm which for a while became an amazing duet and the song continued until a little after 11pm. All songs were on Flower Island hydrophone. We recommend tuning in tonight at sunset in Blackfish Sound. Barbara and David 16 Oct 2018 11:50:23 PST Superb sounds!! Amazing Humpback song on Flower Island - seems to now be a duet David 15 Oct 2018 21:28:41 PST Superb sounds!! We're listening to a Humpback whale song on Parson Island hydrophone (quite close to the lab)- 10:52pm Barbara and David 14 Oct 2018 22:00:09 PST No orcas present. Clear skies for sunrise and two humpbacks came north through Blackney Pass from Johnstone Strait. We also saw our local family of four river otters swim by. We've watched the sea lions outside the Lab foraging with gusto and chasing fish into the bay. We watched our local harbor seal hunt and catch an octopus from under us. He tried to sneak into the bay but was seen by a sea lion who stole it away swinging the tentacles in the air. Approximately eight humpbacks came in with the flood at 3:30pm foraging and socializing from West Pass to Parson Bay until sunset. At one point we saw a large number of sea lions surrounding one humpback with leaps in all directions. The humpback was trumpeting and waving his tail flukes in the air with occasional slapping. A humpback song began a little before 7:30 pm and another is beginning now at 10:52pm Barbara and David 14 Oct 2018 21:52:30 PST No orcas present. Yesterday started with two humpback whales hanging out near Compton Island. There were also deer foraging on the beach in the bay at Orcalab, Uni was collecting Urchins and a sea lion chased a salmon into Orcalab bay. The salmon hid in the Bay for about an hour before I inadvertently flushed him out while carrying firewood across a log bridge. The harlequin ducks all took off in a flurry as the sea lion came charging into the shallows. There were seven humpbacks who came into Blackney Pass on the flood in the late afternoon, including Pultney and Domino. Sporadic HB calls throughout the day with a wonderful song at 7pm and a dramatic ten minute song at 10pm close on Parsons Island hydrophone. We could hear the humpback tail slaps and blows off the lab deck through midnight. David and Barbara 14 Oct 2018 12:24:57 PST Superb sounds!! Amazing Humpback whale song close on Parsons Island hydrophone now. A second humpback whale song is distant on Flower Island hydrophone David 13 Oct 2018 21:05:04 PST Superb sounds!! Wonderfull Humpback Song on Flower Island hydrophone David 13 Oct 2018 18:10:59 PST No orcas present. Northern Resident Orca calls continued on the Cracroft Point hydrophone in the early morning hours until about 3am. There were also three humpback songs taking place, one on the Flower Island hydrophone, one close on the Cracroft point hydrophone and one distant on Critical Point hydrophone. Calls dropped by 3:30 am with N.Resident Orca calls resuming at 8:30am and continuing distant on the Cracroft Point hydrophone until noon. Six humpbacks came down from Blackfish sound to spend time breaching and chin slapping across the pass from Orcalab towards Compton Island. David 12 Oct 2018 22:04:19 PST Distant calls audible. Northern Resident Orca calls continue - distant on Cracroft Point hydrophone David 12 Oct 2018 10:19:45 PST Distant calls audible. We've been hearing occaisional Northern Resident Orca calls distant on Cracroft Point Hydrophone since about eight-thirty this morning. David 12 Oct 2018 10:17:06 PST 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