Tuesday, October 11, 2005

11 October Orcalab reports:

10:32 PDT Distant calls audible.
just a short while ago we started to hear A1 and G calls on Critical Point. CP has seen one male mid strait off to the far west so most likely the whales came in via Weynton on the last of the flood and are making their way to the east.

10:55 PDT Distant calls audible.
We have heard the A36s along with the Gs. They are getting closer and are now in range of CP but still to the west.

12:34 PDT Distant calls audible.
The A36s and Gs have passed CP and are heading into the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve. They are traveling mid strait and along the Vancouver Island shore,we didn't get a clear look at the group this time and so we are not sure which Gs are present yet.

12:37 PDT Distant calls audible.
The Gs and the A36s have moved on closer to the Bight. They can still be heard even with the constant boat noise. They sound pretty relaxed & social. There are a lot of "quiet" calls with a few slightly more energetic bursts from time to time.

13:06 PDT Multiple pod calls audible.
It is beginning to sound like the A12s are there as well. Also there have been a few I31 type calls as well. Perhaps the same groups of the last week are again together in the Strait.

13:43 PDT Orcas near mics.
The groups have moved into the area near to Robson Bight.

14:27 PDT Orcas rubbing on the shore bottom.
Some of the orcas are rubbing.

15:28 PDT No calls but orcas nearby
It looks like the orcas have left the rubbing beaches and are returning to the west... possibly, we'll soon hear them again on the Critical Point hydrophone.

15:36 PDT Distant calls audible.
At least some of the orcas returning to the west have reached the area off Robson Bight. We're listening to them on the Critical Point hydrophone, along with a lot of boat noise.

16:13 PDT Superb sounds!!
Some of the orcas are closer to the Critical Point hydrophone now... we've heard the A36s & possibly G3s so far, along with another "G-G" group, and with others likely to come.

16:58 PDT Distant calls audible.
The whales after stalling near the Bight for a while may now be moving "up" the Strait to the west. We are hearing calls in the CP range.

17:19 PDT Orcas (may be) approaching cameras.
As they move westward, some of the orcas are coming within range of the surface camera at CP. Channel A.

18:46 PDT Orcas near mics.
The A36s are taking up the rear. They finally left the area off the Bight and are now approaching CP & the entrance to Blackney Pass area. We can still hear the others to the west of the A36s from time to time.

20:55 PDT Distant calls audible.
The distant A1 and G clan calls we're hearing are still on Critical Point. We just started to hear them on CP again after they disappeared there for about an hour. Sounds like they have turned on their way west and going east now with the flooding tide.

22:16 PDT Orcas near mics.
The A1's and G's went into Blackney Pass and we're now listening to them on the Local Left hydrophone as they're heading north.

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