As we say goodbye to a lovely September, and our lovely friend and volunteer Laura, we reflect on the incredible events we were able to witness, and are grateful for how late in the season it is to still be hearing and seeing the Northern Residents.
The A62s seem to be the only Resident group still around, but their calls show us they are constantly moving, coming in and out of our hydrophone range both into Queen Charlotte Strait and down Johnstone Strait. We ended yesterday hearing distant A62 calls westing in Johnstone Strait with calls stopping by 10:08pm. It was not until 4:35am today that we heard their distant calls again in Blackfish Sound. We hoped they would continue to grow louder, traveling closer to Blackney Pass, but they faded out once more shortly after. We neither heard nor saw any signs of the A62s until 1:06pm when we got a report of 4 orcas traveling southeast through Weynton toward the Strait. By 1:22pm the A62s were back in the Strait! Their calls remained distant, but were easily identified. However, their calls once again faded out by 2:30pm and we did not hear from them for the rest of the day.
At 2:56pm, we got a report of 5 Bigg’s orcas mid strait between Big Bay and Telegraph Cove heading east. With the stormy weather and choppy water, could it be possible that Residents be mistaken for Bigg’s? We were not entirely sure. Even with some sleuthing on our CP camera, we tried to find the orcas, however, the crashing waves and whitecaps in the Strait made it near impossible. No helpful calls.
Although the Resident season might be coming to a slow end, the humpback season is ramping up. All throughout this night there were splashes and gurgles, clicks, groans and moans heard on both our Parson Island and Flower Island Hydrophones. Here at the Lab we will be sad to see the Residents leave, and we will miss their calls, however, the humpbacks are making up for that. Their social calls and songs, often accompanied by Pacific White-sided dolphin chatter, keep us occupied most nights. Sightings during the day keep us on our toe .
On this day with how choppy the water was, it was very difficult to identify individuals. Our photos often came out blurry or unfocused due to the whitecaps that were often mistook for dorsals. Although they were often hard to see, Jianna spotted a humpback, likely Black Pearl, close to the lab at 5:40pm as it headed South through Blackney Pass.
As for the sea lions, today we counted 120 individuals hauled out on the Hanson Island rocks near the lab. They never cease to remind us of their presence with their boisterous barks and roars, often waking some of us up in the night. We never complain though, it’s so special to just be in their presence and listen to their active conversations as we drift into a stormy October.
