No orcas present. What a morning! After our last update last night, we continued listening to the calls of the A34's. As we mentioned they headed towards the main Rubbing Beaches at around 9:30pm. But they must have been at quite a distance, because we could only hear faint calls which never became really close. Thereafter we started hearing their echolocation and calls from the Bight again at 9:41pm. The whales must have turned around on their way to the Rubbing Beaches and were foraging in the Bight again. Until 11:33pm we listened to their calls from the Bight when it then became silent. After twenty minutes, at 11:53pm, our Cracroft Point hydrophone picked up some very faint calls! A minute later the calls became very loud and clear. It sounded like they were off the entrance to Blackney Pass. We were hoping that they would enter Blackney Pass and pass by the Lab, but to our regret they did not enter. We couldn't hear any more calls at 12:03am. All was quiet until 7:12am when we started hearing A34 calls on the Cracroft Point hydrophone. It was at this time a bit too dark and foggy to spot them on the camera but the calls were mid range and shortly after we started hearing some echos to Critical Point hydrophone and some echolocation as well. At around 8:21am Lucas on the Sophia's spotted 1 male and a small group of small fins heading west past the Sophia's mid strait. He also noted that he could see more blows further to the west around the Cracroft point area. Shortly after this, around 8:40am, we spotted the first of the whales on the Cracroft Point camera. It was one male foraging around the Kaikash area mid strait. A few minutes later there were more small fins mid strait spread across to the Vancouver Island side all heading west. At least 6 whales in total. At around 8:55am we started hearing I15 calls on Cracroft Point hydrophone as they entered Johnstone Strait via Weynton Passage. At this point we had stopped hearing any A34 calls. At 9:06am we began to hear calls on the Parsons Island hydrophone as the whales began to forage in the entrance of Blackney Pass. At 9:26am we spotted a larger resting line out by Big Bay on the Hanson Island side heading to the east and we assumed that group was the A34's. At 9:41pm, a male (most likely I76) was foraging in the rip by Cracroft Point. The large group of Orca joined with those already foraging in the rip at the entrance of Blackney Pass with breaching and tail slapping. We assumed that the A34's and the rest of the I15's met up west of Cracroft Point. At 10:40am, the whales started travelling north in to Blackney Pass. 15 minutes later, they came into the view of the Lab, spread from Parson Island side to Hanson Island side, headed north silently. At 11:46am, all of them cleared into Blackfish Sound, shortly after we started hearing calls from them. The whales kept travelling out of our hydrophone range and the last calls we heard were at 1:26pm. We over heard transmission that a group of orcas were off Lizard Point at 1:51pm. Orcalab 19 Sep 2018 14:50:42 PDT Orcas approaching Orcalab. Orcas look like they are entering Blackney Pass, watch with us on the OrcaLab Base camera here: https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Shari 19 Sep 2018 11:12:26 PDT Distant calls audible. We have the I15's foraging at Cracroft Point, the A34's are much further west. Watch live on Explore.org.https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-cracroft-point-surface Megan and Anika 19 Sep 2018 09:31:29 PDT Orcas near mics. The group that passed in front of the Lab, turned out to be Bigg's (probably T055's). They took long dives and cleared into Blackfish Sound around 6:20pm. Unfortunately, the A34's didn't make it into Blackney Pass. But we followed them on our cameras until the light faded, as they travelled further east in the Strait. At 7:24pm they headed into the Bight, where they foraged for a while until they started to continue travelling to the east. All of them went out from the view of our Robson Bight camera at 8:11pm. Right now we can hear their faint calls from the Rubbing Beaches. Laura, Shari & Momoko 18 Sep 2018 21:32:22 PDT Orcas approaching Orcalab. Orcas just came in into Blackney Pass! https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Orcalab 18 Sep 2018 17:58:09 PDT Distant calls audible. Who we think is the A34's are spread out at the entrance of Blackney Pass. Hopefully they make their way into our view soon. Watch live at explore.org on the Cracoft Point camera.https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-cracroft-point-surface Laura, Anika, Megan, & Momoko 18 Sep 2018 17:31:40 PDT Distant calls audible. A relatively quiet night apart from a Humpback that couldn't quite muster the energy for a proper song but tried on occasion throughout. A beautiful morning began with flat calm water and at 08:15am Brook from Farewell Harbour Lodge reported finding 4 Orca, 1 Male and 3 smaller fins coming out of Baronete passage and headed towards Cracroft Point. We quickly found them on the Parsons Island camera and followed them into the Johnstone Strait on the Cracroft Point camera. They slowly headed east and at around 09:30am Lucas on the Sophia Islets reported seeing the same whales headed east. 1 male closer to the Cracroft island shoreline and the smaller fins mid strait slightly ahead in line with the cliff. We believe it may have been the T055's again who have been using the area a lot in the last few days but we couldn't confirm this. At 12:22pm we heard the first news of the residents heading closer to our area with an email from Jared Towers that the A34's where at Penfold's. At 13:30pm Donna Mackay reported Orcas between Lizard Point and Donegal head, spread out and foraging. At this point they didn't know which groups it was. At 14:56pm AJ from Farewell Harbour lodge reported that the Orca were spread between Donegal head and Stubbs Island and it looked like they were heading into Weynton passage. He later reported that they were heading into the Johnstone Strait making a b-line for the Vancouver Island shoreline around the Blinkhorn area. At 16:20pm we started to hear some faint A calls on the CP hydrophone. Its so lovely to have their sounds back in our lab on this lovely September afternoon. Fingers crossed we can pick them up on our Cracroft Point camera soon as they continue to head east. Momoko, Laura and Megan 18 Sep 2018 16:29:50 PDT No orcas present. Finally! The Sea Lions in Blackney Pass are howling and resting on the rocks next to our Sea Lion Rock camera. We are able to get a close view and good sound! Follow these adorable animals on our camera. https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-steller-sea-lion-haulout Orcalab 17 Sep 2018 17:27:27 PDT No calls but orcas nearby What an amazing start into the week! The last days were pretty calm with not much going on, except for a lot of Sea Lions, more than we can count, howling and fishing around. But this morning, events came thick and fast. After we heard Bigg's this morning at around 4am we were also glad about hearing Humpback sounds at 5:32am and more than happy to see one in front of the lab at 7am, since they have been pretty infrequent in Blackney Pass for the last couple of days. Only thirty minutes later, at 7:30am, one big male (Bigg's) came into Blackney Pass from the north very close to the Hanson Island shoreline! We believe it was T055C again. He was vocal only once at 7:34am, before he passed the Lab very quickly into Johnstone Strait. Luckily he did not take long dives, so it was easy for us to follow him into the Strait, where 4 other Orcas were waiting for him, as they started heading west all together along the Hanson Island shoreline. At 8:31am we couldn't see any more blows on our cameras and figured they headed further west past Pearse Island. Sneaky as Bigg's are, they came silently into Blackney Pass again at 10:08am from the north, although we have not confirmed for sure if those were the T055's again. This time there were 4 individuals passing through. They took a few longer dives and did not make a sound! At 10:35am they cleared from our view, but we followed them heading into the Strait. Suddenly the Bigg's turned around and came into Blackney Pass again. One sprouter was very close to the Hanson Island shoreline and swam near the resting Rock of the Sea Lions! The Sea Lions became very silent in this moment, but the male turned away and swam north into Blackfish Sound. All Orcas cleared from our view at 11:38am - still silently. At the same time we received a report from Jared Towers that the A54's, I16's, I27's, I65's and probably more are off Masterman right now, and that the A50's and I4's are in Gordon Channel. Orcalab 17 Sep 2018 12:09:26 PDT No calls but orcas nearby Bigg's are probably in Blackney Pass again heading South! https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Laura 17 Sep 2018 10:11:18 PDT Superb sounds!! We started hearing some lovely Biggs' calls on the Local Left Hydrophone at around 04:00am this morning. Momoko could hear blows at 04:02am outside in Blackney Pass between Turtle Rock and Greenhouse so they may have been traveling to the south. The calls stopped around 04:05am. Megan and Momoko 17 Sep 2018 04:15:43 PDT No orcas present. At 6:09pm, we received a report that one male Bigg's orca was off Bold Head, circling. Shortly after, this male orca (probably T055c) headed down to Weynton Pass, into Johnstone Strait. Momoko 16 Sep 2018 20:49:29 PDT A slow day on the Orca front with the only report being at around 8:30am Paul on Sailcone reported finding a group of Biggs' heading into Knight Inlet at Chop Bay on Gilford Island. There was one male and two smaller ones in the group. At around 9:30am a Humpback Whale surfaced very close to the lab surrounded by SealIons, the whale disappeared around Burnt Point shortly after this and unfortunately we did not manage to ID it. At 9:35am we found a huge pod of Pacific White Sided Dolphins in Blackney Pass heading south by Parsons Bay. We followed this pod on the Orcalab camera and then onto the Parsons Island Camera until they reached Cracroft Point. They seemed undecided as to whether they would go into Baronet Passage or around Cracroft Point into the Strait. After ten minuets they finally made the decision and began to head East in the Strait. They were making some lovely calls on the Cracroft Point hydrophone. Later around 10:45am we picked them up on the Critical Point camera and they were also vocal on the hydrophone at this time. Shortly after that at 11:10am we started to hear them on the Rubbing Beach hydrophone and again we were able to see them on the camera. They continued to the east and we lost track of them shortly after that. No word of the whereabouts of the Resident Orca but Blackney Pass has been full to the brim of Sea Lions everywhere. None have yet to haul out on the main rock but we anticipate it will be any day now. On the Parson Rock camera we have been enjoying the Cormorants and are happy to report we have seen a chick in one of the nests. Megan, Momoko, Shari, Laura and Anika 16 Sep 2018 15:27:33 PDT Dolphins are in front of CP camera! Watch now on http://explore.org/live-cams/player/orcalab-cracroft-point-surface Orcalab 16 Sep 2018 09:47:43 PDT No orcas present. What a surprise! It was a calm and quiet midday. Until 3:35pm - that's when we overheard a transmission about a big male Orca heading south right in front of the Lab. There were no calls, no signs of Orcas heading into Blackney Pass, so it really hit us by surprise! We followed the big male and 4 small fins, which turned out to be Bigg's, on their way south to Johnstone Strait. They took very long dives, so it was very hard to follow them, but at around 3:50pm all Orcas have cleared from our view. Usually Bigg's are not very vocal when they pass by, but at 4:07pm we were lucky enough to hear some calls for a few seconds as they headed into the Strait. In the meanwhile we tried to identify the group of Bigg's and Jared Towers helped us to identify them as the T055's. We were able to follow the T055's for quite a while on our Cracroft Point Camera heading east in the Strait, as they swam inside Sophia's and Barons Reef. Because they took very long dives, we lost them after a while and assume they headed further east. We also need to mention that Donna Mackay passed on a message from Troy, who sad that residents were off Bere Point foraging at around 3:43pm, but are now heading west. Shari, Megan, Anika, Momoko and Laura 15 Sep 2018 19:04:43 PDT No calls but orcas nearby We have a group of Biggs Orca heading South in Blackney Pass. Follow them live on The orcalab base cam.https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Megan 15 Sep 2018 15:42:30 PDT No orcas present. The night was again very quiet here, except for the sea lions howling out on the rock, south of Orcalab. Our morning started at 5:15am with some faint calls from the A30's and I15's from the Rubbing Beaches. The Orcas moved very slowly to the west as we could hear echolocation off the Bight at 6:52am and seven minutes later the first faint calls from the A30's. At 7:36am, we spotted at least three orcas, heading west between Sophia's and Swaine Point, mid-strait to Cracroft Island side on our Robson Bight camera. At 7:39am, we heard a lot of echolocation on Critical Point hydrophone but all remained distant. Four minutes later, the group had passed Cliff, continued to the west and at the same time, we were hearing faint calls. Shortly after, we picked up I15 calls on Critical Point hydrophone. At 8am, a group of orcas were visible on Cracroft Point camera, between Robson Bight and Western Boundary, mid-strait to Vancouver Island side, heading west. The whales were very spread out. At 8:27am, we could still hear super faint G clan and A30 calls on the same hydrophone. The group was between Izumi and Kaikash Creek, very close to Vancouver Island shore line, travelling west at 8:34am. A few minutes later, we began to hear faint calls on Cracroft Point hydrophone. Shortly after, we spotted at least 4 small fins closer to our Cracroft Point camera, going west, passed Kaikash Creek. A72 was following this group, between Kaikash and Little Kaikash Creek at 8:49am. Meanwhile we were hearing A30 calls. At 8:53am, we saw a group of 3 to 4 small fins, possibly A54s, passing Cracroft Point, heading towards Blackney Pass, and 2 juvenile orcas were rolling on each other and tail slapping. At the same time, we were hearing faint A30 and I15 calls. Some orcas were still foraging in the entrance to Blackney Pass at 9am. At 9:05am, we watched a group coming into Blackney Pass on Parson rock camera. At 9:11am, they were in the view of the lab, travelling north. The A30s were in lead, followed by the I4s, a group including one sprouter - possibly the I65s and the I27s. The I27s were closest to the lab. At 9:42am, all cleared from the view of Sea Lion camera. Three minutes later, we heard very close and excited A30 and I15 calls from Blackfish Sound. The last calls we heard were at 10:04am. At 1pm, we received a report from Lukwa that the A30s are off Lizard Point, travelling west, and another group is near Penfold also going west. Laura, Shari, Anika & Momoko 15 Sep 2018 13:33:21 PDT Orcas approaching Orcalab. Orcas passing in front of the lab! http://explore.org/live-cams/player/orcalab-base http://explore.org/live-cams/player/orcalab-steller-sea-lion-haulout OrcaLab 15 Sep 2018 09:14:57 PDT Orcas approaching Orcalab. Orcas passing in front of the lab! http://explore.org/live-cams/player/orcalab-base http://explore.org/live-cams/player/orcalab-steller-sea-lion-haulout OrcaLab 15 Sep 2018 09:11:39 PDT No calls but orcas nearby Today continued steadily, with brief notes from a humpback in Blackfish Sound and an intense few minutes watching a Sea lion guzzle down a whole salmon close to the lab. It wasn't until 2:25pm that we overheard Bill Mackay on the Naiad report that there was a group of Orca heading east at Lizard Point. We continued to wait and eventually at 3:22pm we heard the first faint calls in Blackfish Sound. Over an hour later, at 4:40pm, we saw the first dorsal fins on the Sea lion camera. At this time we could still hear very faint G-Clan calls in Blackfish Sound. A cruise ship rolled through Blackney Pass with a excited group of Pacific White-sided dolphins riding the bow wave and just at the time the first group was in sight a couple of the Orca sped up and enjoyed porpoising through the wake. They travelled south through the Pass in two groups and finally all had cleared and began to forage in the rip at the entrance to Blackney Pass by 5:57pm. Not long after we could hear distant echolocation and calls on the Critical Point hydrophone as the A30's and some of the I15s traveled east towards the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve. At 7:30pm we watched on Cracroft Point camera as a group of between four and five orca west of Kaikash Creek also heading east and we heard I15 calls on the Cracroft Point hydrophone. Fifteen minutes later on the Robson Bight camera we saw a group in line with Swaine Point traveling in the middle of the Strait along with some Pacific White-sided dolphins. At 7:51pm there was a group of at least three small fins traveling east and close to the shore and at the same time we were hearing A30 calls and echolocation which then became fainter. The last echolocation we heard was at 8:02pm on the Critical Point hydrophone. Momoko, Laura, Anika and Shari 14 Sep 2018 21:45:18 PDT Distant calls audible. Orcas are passing in front of the lab! http://explore.org/live-cams/player/orcalab-steller-sea-lion-haulout http://explore.org/live-cams/player/orcalab-base OrcaLab 14 Sep 2018 17:15:25 PDT No orcas present. It has been a while since our last update. But to be honest - it was very very quiet since 7:41am yesterday. There where no calls and no sightings in our reach. The morning started as peaceful as it could be, with the sun trying to break through the clouds, a lot of Sea Lions bellowing and also a pod of Pacific white-sided Dolphins passing by. We are hoping that maybe the A42's will finally start heading north from Powell River, as we haven't seen them for so long. We will see what the day brings us, but, it is already a great, with the news from Brazil that the moratorium on commercial whaling will not be overturned. Laura, Momoko and Shari 14 Sep 2018 10:10:50 PDT No orcas present. Today has remained quiet and reports form Donna and Bill Mackay on the Naiad confirm that there was a group up by Malcom Island. This group was heading west, foraging and traveling slowly. At 4pm Donna relayed a message from Troy at Bere Point that some of the group had turned to the east. Donna also told us that the A42s are reported to be near Powell River at this time. We are very grateful to Donna today! Laura, Momoko and Shari 13 Sep 2018 17:56:24 PDT No orcas present. After last update, the A30s and I15s had turned to west in Johnstone Strait. At 6:23am, we were surprised by I15s who were passing in front of the lab, half way through Blackney Pass to the north. In the poor lighting before the sun came out, we could see some dorsal fins, including a male, passing Compton Island to the north, mid-pass. At 6:35am, we picked up I15 calls from Blackfish Sound, 10 minutes later, echolocation as well. All of them had cleared from the view of the lab around 6:48am. Shortly after, we began to hear A30 calls from Blackfish Sound. We were able to listen to their calls for about an hour, then they went out from the range of our hydrophone. The last calls we heard were at 7:41am. Shari, Laura & Momoko 13 Sep 2018 10:31:34 PDT No orcas present. The group of Orcas we followed in the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve last night at around 8pm were the A30's and I15's again. They went east, and not west, as we mentioned in our previous update, after their little detour into Blackney Pass. For a while we were able to listen to their calls in the Reserve until 8:37pm, when their calls started to get fainter. Because it was already to dark to see the whales properly through our cameras, we lost sight of them at around 8:25pm. Gladly we could still hear their faint calls until 10:13pm from between the Reserve and Rubbing beach. After that it became quiet. At 2:33am we picked up some faint calls from our Critical Point hydrophone. Unfortunately, those calls remained faint and sporadically. A short time after, at 3:02am, we weren't able to hear any further calls. Laura 13 Sep 2018 04:09:01 PDT Superb sounds!! We are watching a big group resting in the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve swimming into the sunset. They seem very relaxed. There is plenty of echolocating and they have just begun to vocalise. Laura, Momoko and Shari 12 Sep 2018 20:11:45 PDT No orcas present. Shortly after our last update, the whales stopped calling from Blackfish Sound at 2:29pm. But the silence didn't last for long. At 3:07pm we began to hear A30 and I15 calls again, but this time from the Johnstone Strait on our Critical Point Hydrophone. The whales must have taken Weynton Passage in to the Strait. We tried to find them on our cameras, and as we luckily overheard a transmission about Orcas at Blinkhorn, we were successful and were able to follow the Orcas travelled east. We heard some nice echolocation and saw that the whales were foraging at Cracroft Point. In the same area was also a Humpback whale milling and singing. We followed the Orcas as they started entering Blackney Pass at 4:59pm with one male and a small fin in the lead. Ten minutes later both came in sight of our Lab and were followed by a second group of around six orcas. The first group swam towards Parson's Light, but suddenly turned around. To our regret all of the Orcas had turned south again and began moving back into the Strait. We followed them for a little while until we lost sight of them on our cameras, as they returned to the west. They have not been very vocal after their detour into Blackney Pass, as we couldn't hear anymore calls, after 5:30pm. While we are waiting for the Orcas to appear again, we are watching some beautiful cloud formations from the Lab. Momoko, Shari and Laura 12 Sep 2018 19:22:41 PDT Distant calls audible. As the day began all hydrophones remained silent and the sun battled against the cloud cover. At 7:34am we heard some faint I15 calls in Blackfish Sound but it was hard to hear through the boat noise. For half an hour we heard these faint calls until approximately 8:15am when there was eventually none. At 8:58am we received a report form Captain Wayne on the Lukwa that there was a group of Orca between White Cliff and Fosters, heading west. At 10:11am we heard some brief and distant calls in the Johnstone Strait at Cracroft Point, we continued to listen but the group was then silent, remaining a mystery. Donna Mackay informed us at 10:26am that the group that Wayne had mentioned seemed to be around Penfold and twenty minutes later we received an update from Wayne that they were only hearing G Clan calls. It was at 12:59am that an overheard transmission from Fish'n'chicks alerted us to a pod of Orca in Blackney Pass. They had made no calls and moved steadily past us, while we watched on the Orcalab Base camera and Sea Lion camera. Momoko identified at least the A50s, I4s and possibly the I16s. They looked to be foraging for a bit by West Pass and then continued to the north all in silence, finally clearing at 12:30pm. Ten minutes later, at 12:39pm the first calls and echolocation were heard in Blackfish Sound. At 1:30pm the clouds have made a triumphant return to the Pass and we continue to hear faint calls in Blackfish Sound. Laura, Momoko and Shari 12 Sep 2018 13:38:50 PDT No calls but orcas nearby Orcas just sneaked silently into Blackney Pass heading north! https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Laura 12 Sep 2018 12:08:26 PDT No calls but orcas nearby What a beautiful quiet night! As we posted earlier, a humpback whale was singing in Blackfish sound without boat noise! At 2:14am, we started hearing humpback whale sounds, and then we heard Pacific white-sided dolphin calls as well on Cracroft Point hydrophone. At 2:31am, we picked up G clan calls (most likely the I15s) from Blackfish Sound, very distant and sporadic. At 3:18am, a humpback whale started singing. He was close to our hydrophone. 20 minutes later, he stopped singing. At 4:12am, we heard a couple of very faint G clan (probably from the I15s) calls on Critical Point hydrophone as they entered Johnstone Strait. It has been quiet since then. Momoko 12 Sep 2018 05:04:51 PDT Superb sounds!! Humpback singing in Blackfish Sound! Beautiful! Momoko 12 Sep 2018 03:21:57 PDT Boat noise What an exciting day! The Orcas definitely spoiled us today! The T049As continued to the east in the strait, and the T010s made their way further to the west. Jared Towers reported that the T010s had passed Alert Bay to the west at 2:12pm. We started hearing A30 and I15 calls at 2:25pm from Blackfish Sound. About one hour later, we received a report that a group of resident orcas were spread across Johnstone Strait, heading east, coming up to Little Hanson Island. It seemed likely they took Weynton Passage to Johnstone Strait. We then started hearing A30 and I15 calls at 4:02pm on both the Cracroft Point and Parson Island hydrophones. We watched them on the Cracroft Point camera in the entrance of Blackney Pass. The orcas foraged for half an hour then started moving north into Blackney Pass at 4:36pm. At 4:46pm, they came into our view and headed past the lab, with two breaches. We think the A30s were in lead followed by the I15s (without the I65s?). There was some foraging going on and at 6pm, all of them cleared into Blackfish Sound. We kept hearing their calls, and at 6:13pm they were joined by beautiful humpback whale singing. The last calls we heard were at 7:20pm, since then we can hear only boat noise. Laura, Shari, Megan & Momoko 11 Sep 2018 20:59:04 PDT orcas are heading North in Blackney Pass. Watch it live on Explore.org https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Megan 11 Sep 2018 16:48:57 PDT Orcas (may be) approaching cameras. Some lovely scenes of Orca foraging at CP right now. Watch it live at Explore.org Megan 11 Sep 2018 16:15:23 PDT No calls but orcas nearby The plot thickens this morning. After the excitement of the Residents passing through Blackney Pass to the North we overheard a transmission from Bill Mackay that Jared on the Merlin was at Dong Chong bay with a group of Bigg's Orcas close to the Hanson Island shoreline heading South towards the lab. We immediately began a recording at 11:45am just in case they became vocal. We waited in anticipation for their arrival at Burn Point and shortly after, at 11:49am, we spotted them. We had just also received a text message from Dylan on Jared's boat that the group was the T49A's including 5 individuals. The group rounded Burnt Point slowly and then quickly went for a deep dive. After what felt like a very long time the group reappeared around Graffiti and looked as if they were hunting for something. There was as usual for this time of year a lot of Sea lions milling around but the Orca or SeaLions didn't seem to bothered by one another and slowly the Biggs's continued south and cleared our view at around 12:10pm. We got the Cracroft Point camera ready to watch them come into the Strait and at around 12:15pm we spotted them in very close proximity to a Humpback whale. A lot of splashing happened and the Humpback appeared to be rolling around whilst one or two of the Orca were close to it. It was then that we began to hear very close clear beautiful Bigg's vocalisations on the Cracroft Point hydrophone. We were all very excited as this is something we rarely get to see and hear. The group left the Humpback whale after a few minuets and at 12:30pm Laura spotted the group rounding back into Baronet Passage on the Parson's Island camera but they quickly changed their mind and headed back into the Johnstone Strait and began to head to the East. We only heard approximately 3 or 4 calls from the Bigg's but it was pretty exciting for us all here in the Lab. The T49A's have now continued to the East on the Cracroft Island shoreline possibly angling out towards Mid Strait. At 12:56pm we received another report from Dylan on the Merlin that there was group of Biggs, this time the T10s, westing in the middle the Johnstone Strait across from Cracroft Point. We found this group of three individuals on the Cracroft Point camera at 1:00pm. We are still watching them slowly make their way west. So it has been an eventful morning and we look forward to whatever the afternoon brings. Megan, Momoko, Shari and Laura 11 Sep 2018 13:18:02 PDT No calls but orcas nearby Bigg's are just coming in into Blackney Pass from the north!! https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Laura 11 Sep 2018 11:49:43 PDT Distant calls audible. A truly spectacular morning here at the lab. After a relatively quiet night, we heard the A30s clearly around Cracroft Point at 7:35am. They called only for a few minutes before becoming silent. At 8:02am we suddenly heard the A30s again plus some I15s, close to Parson Island. We scanned the pass to the south, and sure enough, from the glassy waters emerged several dorsal fins: travelling north at speed. We identified these as the A30s and I4s, and they were vocal as they passed. They rode the ebbing tide northward, mid-pass, and they cleared from our view by 8:17am. Just as we were reflecting on the beautiful passing, Momoko spotted more fins coming in from the south, very close to Hanson Island! There were loud, excited calls in Blackfish Sound and Blackney Pass as we watched the second group pass. Perhaps only 200m from the lab, the I27s and I16s also sped past us, tail slapping and breaching as they went. They cleared Blackney Pass to the north at 8:28am. We are currently listening to their continued, faint calls in Blackfish Sound. As if that wasn't enough, at 8:48am we were surprised by a huge humpback breach, directly opposite the lab mid-pass. The clouds are still lying low over the surrounding mountains, and a glorious light is shining through over Parson's Bay. Today we say goodbye to volunteers Suzie, Sian & Dylan - what a beautiful farewell! Suzie, Sian & Dylan 11 Sep 2018 09:22:37 PDT We have started hearing lovely Humpnack calls on the Flower Island hydrophone. There is also some Pacific White Sided Dolphin calls on the Cracroft Point hydrophone. Tomoko in Japan also reported hearing some A30 calls. These were also on Flower Island but we only heard a couple of faint calls and nothing else yet. Lets see how the night unfolds. Megan 11 Sep 2018 02:08:51 PDT No orcas present. The A30s and I15s kept going west in Blackfish Sound and went out from the range of our hydrophone. The last calls we heard were at 6:31pm. Momoko 10 Sep 2018 21:18:00 PDT Distant calls audible. We continued to listen and watch the A30's and I15's as they were foraging in Robson Bight in the hope that they would pass by the Lab at some point. We waited until 4:23pm when we could hear faint calls on our Parson Island hydrophone, which means they continued heading east, entering Blackney Pass. A few minutes later at 4:37pm we could see the first fin from our Lab. The A30's passed the Lab heading North and were very spread out, after a while, the I15's also entered Blackney Pass as one group. The I15's passed through very quickly close to the Lab, and the A30's took their time, clearing from our view at 5:21pm. During all of this we could hear some beautiful close calls from the I15's while they were heading into Blackfish Sound. Currently we can still hear faint calls in Blackfish Sound as the Orcas are heading further north. Laura 10 Sep 2018 18:41:22 PDT Orcas approaching Orcalab. Orcas just came in into Blackney Pass heading north! https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base Laura 10 Sep 2018 16:34:10 PDT Orcas (may be) approaching cameras. The morning rolled on quietly, save for some boat noise and the Sea lions bellowing. We have also had a few snippets of Humpback song which is always a joy. The Orca were still silent at 11:35am when we first spotted two small fins on the rubbing beach camera but, unfortunately, it seems they were not in the mood to stop. At 11:48am we heard some echolocation on the Robson Bight hydrophone and saw two small fins heading west along the Vancouver Island shoreline. One male was spotted on the Robson Bight camera at 12:06pm and a minute later we heard 'G' calls and soon after some very loud echolocation. 10 minutes later we followed at least 3 small fins as they headed west, close to the shore, into The Bight. At 12:51pm we saw two groups, three in the lead with four close behind, travelling west in to The Bight as well. By 13:15pm the calls began to get fainter on the Robson Bight hydrophone and at 13:36pm we picked up the first call on the Cracroft Island hydrophone and have since continued to hear I15 and A30 calls on CP while watching the group of approximately six Orca forage on the Cracroft Point camera. Megan and Shari 10 Sep 2018 14:39:23 PDT Superb sounds!! Lovely A30 calls on Cracroft Point right now. Megan and Shari 10 Sep 2018 13:44:23 PDT No orcas present. We continued to hear A30 and G-clan calls on our Robson Bight (Critical Point) hydrophone until 3:51am when the night fell silent once more. A little while later at 4:05am we picked them up again on the Rubbing Beach hydrophone and their calls sounded quite excited. They continued calling for around one hour and fell silent again at 5:22am when they likely continued east in Johnstone Strait, and out of the range of the hydrophone. It has continued to be a quiet, rainy morning with the occasional sunbeam bursting through the thick clouds. As ever though, the sea lions have kept us company, milling back and forth in front of the lab and we are watching a humpback make its way north. Sian 10 Sep 2018 09:08:08 PDT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TksMuqp3AvE&frags=pl%2Cwn Helena & Paul 10 Sep 2018 06:24:33 PDT Orcas near mics. After our last update, we heard a single call around 9:20pm and couldn't figure out where the call was. At 0:39am, we started hearing calls from Cracroft Island hydrophone. We identified these calls as the ones from the A30's and G-Clan. After passing by the Lab this morning heading north, they then must have moved west into Weynton Passage. With some nice Humpback whale sounds in the background from Blackfish Sound, we could hear faint A30 and G-Clan calls on Critical Point until 1:45am. It then became silent for quite a while. Since around 3:15am we can hear close and very excited calls, as well as great echolocations on our Critical Point Hydrophone! Laura 10 Sep 2018 03:29:06 PDT No orcas present. Unfortunately the Orcas did not move south into Blackney Pass again this afternoon. We could hear A30 and GI calls in Blackfish Sound until 3:10pm and also some Humpback whale sounds. Since then it has been quiet here in the Lab. But as the sun is breaking through the clouds, we had some beautiful rainbows right in front of the Lab, and watched some Humpback whales and Sea Lions milling around here at Blackney Pass. Laura 09 Sep 2018 19:30:17 PDT Multiple pod calls audible. Beautiful sounds in Blackfish Sound! We have at least the A30s and some I15s, and have received a report from Jared Towers that the G12s and I33s are there too! They are all currently milling in the Sound. We also have a vocal humpback in the same area - such a treat! We are desperately hoping that they make their way past the lab this afternoon. Join us as we listen! Suzie 09 Sep 2018 13:47:07 PDT After a very quiet evening and night it wasn't until 10am that Laura spotted some Orca heading North in Blackney Pass around graffiti during her scan. There were no calls before this since 7:26pm the previous evening. It was raining heavily and the visibility in Blackney Pass was poor. The whales were mainly using the middle of the channel but at 10:10am we were able to identify A72 and her baby at Parson's Edge. We shortly after Identified A61 in the group too. At 10:14am we heard the first calls coming through on the local left hydrophone and they were A30 calls. At 10:14am we started to hear mid range A30 calls on Local Left, a few minuets later at 10:17am some I15 calls were also heard. At 10:21am some faint pings were heard and some very excited A30 calls. By this point we were seeing quite a lot of male whales and trying to figure out who we were seeing other than the A30's and A25's. After the last whales had cleared heading North into Blackfish Sound at around 10:32am Dylan, Momoko and Shari headed back into the lab to compare photographs with the catalogue. They shortly managed to ID the A50's, A25's, I27's, I16's, and the I33's. At 10:47am we were still hearing mid range A30/GI calls on the Flower Island hydrophone as the whales continued into Blackfish Sound. We hope to see and hear them again very soon as this beautiful day begins to unfold, the rain patters off and the sunshine starts to breakthrough the clouds making every look pretty dramatic and cool! Momoko and Megan 09 Sep 2018 11:18:16 PDT No orcas present. It was a quiet day here at Orcalab but we did have a fantastic view of a harbour seal chasing a salmon right in our cove! Shortly after the last update, we received a report from the Mackeys that there were about 20 orcas off Ledge Point. At 10:28am, there was another report that they were with the A25s , I11s and C10s. Jared Towers identified the A23s, A25s, I13s, I42, C10s and all of the Ds and they were heading west in Broughton Strait in this morning. At 6:53pm, we started hearing I15 calls and I11-type calls from Blackfish Sound. They remained faint all the time and were often drowned out entirely by vessel traffic. The last calls we heard were at 7:26pm. Soon the tide will begin to flood making it easier for the whales if they choose to come to the east. We wait to see what happens next! Momoko & Shari 08 Sep 2018 22:05:03 PDT