Let’s jump right in!
Spring is happening all along the coast and the Resident orcas must be dialled into the change because reports of recent activity have been trickling in since the end of March.
On 23 March, we reported that Holly’s family along with Mystery and Cordero’s family were off Prince Rupert. This report connected the dots between the last time Holly was sighted in the Strait of Georgia (the Salish Sea) earlier in February.
A month later Bend was seen on 21 and 23 April near Ketchikan, Alaska. This was not a totally unusual sighting as Bend’s family spent time in this area in 2023. Not to be outdone, Springer (A73) was sighted near Ketchikan on 21 April too.
This “rash” of sightings may not seem like much but the fact that we got some glimmer of understanding of Northern Resident orcas whereabouts was significant especially at a time of year when such information is not easily found. The Northern Residents clearly travel often into southeast Alaska before making way “down” the coast. The next sightings will happen on the north coast, then it will be our turn! Yea!
Meanwhile, Suzi and Quin took over from Cam and Mat who left in March and then Jesse and Mark stepped in after Suzie and Quin needed to leave. Soon Paul and Helena will have a turn too. The constant monitoring has paid off with Bigg’s orcas, newly arrived Humpback Whales and Pacific White-sided dolphin sightings duly observed and noted in the log book. Just enough activity, in this relatively quiet month, to keep everyone on their toes. The sea lions long ago abandoned the Hanson Island rocks but a few still remained further away. But for how long? The urge to get to the northern rookeries must be quite strong.
Quin made sure his time at the Lab was spent well by getting some of the wireless network issues resolved. Likewise Joel Mellish returned and with the help of divers Steve, Ulrich, and Trudy, boat driver Janie and assistant Ryan managed to resurrect the “CP” hydrophone which has been defunct for almost a year. This hydrophone can be key for understanding the location of orcas in Johnstone Strait when triangulated with two other hydrophones. Joel also replaced the Blackfish Sound hydrophone which was due for a change. Megan, likewise, got us closer to being ready for the summer by re-installing cameras at Strider rubbing beach.
Taking advantage of the off season, the huge task of repairing the bath house roof was begun in April. Just in time. The old roof had suffered much and carpenters, Mark and Grant, needed to redo some of the supports before proceeding. This slowed down the job somewhat. When completed later it will be lovely. As this is the last of the larger roofs to be dealt with we will now shift attention to other needy infrastructure projects.
Right at the end of the month OrcaLab hosted a meeting in Alert Bay to discuss OrcaLab’s future given that OrcaLab has been in existence for 55 years and a review seemed timely. The meeting was a hybrid of zoom and in person participants. Over forty people from around the world, of various backgrounds and personal experiences with the Lab, came together for the whole day. The discussions were thoughtful and productive with no technical issues. Everyone agreed it was a good start so we will see! Several on hand participants enjoyed a trip aboard the Naiad Explorer (thank you Bill and Donna) to OrcaLab the following Sunday. The sun shone and the waters were calm all day – a good omen for the future, don’t you think?
