January 2026, of course, marked the start of a new year. Very much still winter but here on the coast of British Columbia a rather mild one. Temperatures never got below freezing for long and even the winter storms were fewer and of shorter duration. This made life on Hanson Island pretty bearable for caretakers Cam and Mat.
They had their moments like the very high tides the first week of January. The tied down outdoor bathtub situated on the rocks outside resembled a boat with water all around. We collectively held our breath during these tides and hoped with fingers crossed that the solar panels at Strider Beach in Johnstone Strait would not be damaged by a combination of high water and stormy winds. Quin had secured what he could at the site earlier in the hope we could continue to power the hydrophone through the winter. For the previous two years this site suffered extensive damage at this time of year. Quin installed a temporary surveillance camera so we could monitor the situation. We got lucky. No significant winds and the hydrophone signal continued. This paid off just a few days later when on 4/5 January some of the A5s (we suspect Fife’s family) came into Johnstone Strait and had a thirteen minute, mostly silent, rub at Strider Beach.
Holly’s group were still deep into Georgia Strait much farther south of the Lab. From the few incoming reports we got a sense of their movements north of Vancouver near both Howe Sound and the Sunshine Coast. Cordero’s small group was with them and on 7 January they even made the CBC National News after someone filmed them coming in for a rub along one of the beaches.
On 17 January, Cam and Mat heard the beautiful wild sounds of a wolf howling. The same day Bigg’s orcas were also vocal, having last been heard on 8 January. A few days later there were northern lights across the entire sky reminding them of a similarly spectacular display last January.
Sandwiched between encounters with Bigg’s orcas on 17 and 30 January we even had a rare winter report of Simoom’s group, who on 26 January were heard as they traversed Campania Sound not far from Cetacealab’s Whale Point hydrophone further to the north.
Cam and Mat coped with the dark days of winter by making sure it was cozy inside, fixing up the chimney (now looks beautiful), looking into the luxurious tide pools exposed by the high/low tide cycle, watching the winter birds of forest and ocean come and go, listening and watching for whales and dreaming up delicious things to eat!
January in these ways is a special month offering both the expected and unexpected.
