The BC coast was blessed with a long stretch of dry, sunny weather in January. At OrcaLab the month was punctuated with various encounters with marine mammal eating Bigg’s orcas, late winter Humpback Whales and fish eating Northern Resident families.
Let’s start with news about the Northern Residents. As might be expected in winter the A5s returned to the area. On 11 January their “resting” calls were heard mid Johnstone Strait. Not descriptive enough perhaps to understand which of the A5 matrilines might be there. Two days later, Holly’s A42 family resurfaced along with the A25s in the Salish Sea (formally known as Georgia Strait) near Discovery Passage. This was the first news about Holly’s whereabouts since sightings dropped off late September when she was still in the Salish Sea. Had she stayed there undetected all this time or had she managed to leave and then return? In contrast, the movements of the A25s had included a visit to Johnstone Strait in December 2024.
Fife’s A23 family presented a different course. On 16 January, Fife and his family were seen near Echo Bay in the Broughton Archipelago during the day, then heard in Johnstone Strait at 9:30pm while the rest of the A5s were now off Howe Sound north of Vancouver. Next day there was a rub heard in the early hours. Two days later, 19 January, Fife’s family had managed to travel south to David Bay near Sechelt and two days later (21 January) Fife and Holly’s families had joined up off Robert’s Creek on that same stretch of the Sunshine Coast. There would be no further reports. These were exciting reports and consistent with past winter activities. It is collectively assumed that the draw for these resident orcas is most likely the presence of winter “Spring” salmon.
The A5s were not the only Northern Residents to visit the Blackfish Sound/ Johnstone Strait area. For two days, 23 and 24 January, a group from G clan made their presence known. It was an unusual acoustic only encounter. The unidentified whales were first heard in Blackfish Sound by Double Bay around 4:30pm. By 7:40pm they were in Johnstone Strait. But the whales only emitted just one less than descriptive call type the whole time they travelled eastward and disappeared. The next day, although they returned and moved west and even had a rub as they did so, they were no less expressive so it was impossible to confidently identify which particular group was there. After 9pm they were gone.
A quick word about the Bigg’s orcas who were present on three occasions. The T060s accounted for two of these encounters on 3 and 19 January. On 5 January, Bigg’s in Johnstone Strait created a beautiful recording at 6:30pm. One gets the sense that Bigg’s orca families are never really far away and their constant movement in search for food brings them into close proximity quite often.
Mid winter sightings or acoustic encounters with humpbacks has become more frequent in the last few years. It is always somewhat a surprise as conventional thinking believes that the humpbacks move away before winter sets in. Our caretakers, Cam and Mat, even saw a quite young one when returning from a town run on 8 January. This whale had not been seen before and has earned the label BCuk2025#1 – ie, the first baby of the New Year!
A constant were the Steller Sea lions hauled out on the local rocks south of the Lab. Their numbers daily ranged from 30 to 140 individuals, averaging around 50 or so. They are counted each morning regardless of their habit of staying on the rocks until the rising tides encourage a return to the sea to feed. After patiently waiting for the tide cycle to go full circle they will return to their rocky resting spots. Occasionally, they are startled from their perch and dramatically quickly abandon the rocks for the relative safety of the sea. A passing of Bigg’s orcas, or boats which venture too close, or even disturbances from the nearby forest may suddenly dislodge the crowd. Such was the case mid January when 12 eagles swept down out of the forest onto the rocks to feed on the small carcass of a new born baby sea lion. Most days, fortunately, are much more mundane with the sea lions content to sleep next to each, occasionally producing a growl and roar as they adjust their positions.
