31 July Orcalab reports

23:43 PDT No orcas present.
Good evening! We have been caught up with various things tonight . We had a surprise visit from the A30s at dusk. The A30s had not been seen in the western Johnstone Strait all day. They were silent as they passed and in a BIG hurry. We had been expecting the A11s because they were reported coming in and so you can imagine our surprise. The A11s must have fallen behind the A30s because not long after the A30s had cleared we heard them on Flower Island.

26 July Orcalab reports:

10:16 PDT No orcas present. Le Caique (Robson Bight Charters out of Kelsey Bay) reported this morning that the whales: probably all of last night's groups; the A12s,A30s,A4s,A43s,A25s & C6s + the A36s and A8s, are quite far to the east in the lower eastern portion of Johnstone Strait and still eastbound.

11:20 PDT No orcas present.The Naiad Explorer (MacKay Whale Watching) reports that there is a group heading west a few miles east of th Ecological Reserve.

11:21 PDT No orcas present.The Naiad now reports that it is the A30s and quite a few others nearing Forward Bay.

12:54 PDT We are listening the A30s and A4s who came back from the east.

13:30 PDT Orcas (may be) approaching cameras.The A30s and A4s are now off CP.

16:44 PDT Distant calls audible.The whales have gone to the north through Weynton pass. They are slowly coming down to Blackney with flooding tide. We are hearing the A30 calls on FI.

20:10 PDT Distant calls audible.We have been hearing the A30s in Blackfish Sound from time to time. They never did come back down through Blackney on the tide.Instead they probably met up with the A35s (and perhaps the A24s as well) after they came through Weynton Pass. The A30s,according to the Lukwa,were off Bold Head and then moved west to Donegal where the young ones from all the groups became involved in a lot of play. One can just imagine the lovely evening scene.

25 July Orcalab reports

20:01 PDT Distant calls audible.We have heard from the A30s on Flower Island! The A12s seem to be finished their rub.

21:18 PDT Multiple pod calls audible.The A30s, A11s, A23s, & others, are about to enter Johnstone Strait. We're listening to them on the Parson Island hydrophone & they should be visible from CP soon.

22:13 PDT Multiple pod calls audible.The A11s, A35s,A24s, A25s, probably the A43s, A30s and the C6s have joined the A12s in the Strait.

23:14 PDT Orcas rubbing on the shore bottom.The whales have gone into the Beaches.

16 July Orcalab reports:

05:39 PDT Distant calls audible. We are listening to the A4s and some A1 calls. The whales are back from the east.

06:51 PDT Superb sounds!! We are listenig to the A4s and A1(at least A30s) on CP!

15 July 2005 Orcalab reports:

14:47 PDT No orcas present. It is a very quiet day so far. The A30s and perhaps the A11s are still in the East and were seen this morning easting past Chatham Point. We are still waiting.

14 July Orcalab reports:

15:15 PDT Superb sounds!! Its been reported that the A30s are up near Donegal Head, the A12s appear to be waiting opposite CP, perhaps the A30s will come in for a visit.

16:4 PDT Superb sounds!!We are listening to the A30s and A4 calls on the CP hydraphone. Unfortunately they are right on the VI shore and so we are unable to see them clearly, perhaps they will come closer next time. They are heading East.

18:28 PDT Orcas rubbing on the shore bottom. The groups who passed us earlier are now rubbing in the reserve. Our camera is not running yet but will be shortly.


Seasmoke whalewatching reports:
Passenger's touring this afternoon encountered the A30 and A11 pods. They had been resting until their arrival into Johnstone Strait via Weynton Passage. At this point, they awoke and began to engage in a range of very relaxed and playful behaviours, such as breaching and spyhopping. Springer (A73), well known for the story of her separation and eventual reuniting with her family in this area a few years ago was observed , and appeared to be leading her young cousins in the games. Both pods were very vocal throughout the encounter.

It was just past midnight, the full moon rising over Princess Royal Island, as suddenly with a burst of calls the A36s announced themselves on our hydrophone on Borde Island while the A30s were still audible faintly also. We think that the A36s decided not to meet the A30s in Whale Channel, instead we think they turned around and headed back to Caamano Sound because early in the morning of June 22nd (5:30am) we spotted them approaching Whale Channel, and this time they travelled north. At the very same time, a couple of hundred miles further south, Orcalab starts to listen to the A12s, A4s and A5s in Blackfish Sound, which marks the start for their Orca season. It will mark the first time that we roughly know the location of all the A-Pod whales of the northern resident community on the same day along the BC coast. As the A36s continued to travel slowly against the tide north towards Douglas Channel, the wherabouts of the R's remains a mystery for us.
Cetacealab

We were listening to a R-Clan Orca concert and within the Rs also were the A30s with their distinct N47. The water was very calm, the whales spread themselves out through the whole channel and paraded to the North. We only got a few IDs of them, but enough to make us think that all of the R5s were present. We saw for sure R22,R29,R25 and the A30s.
Cetacealab

The A30s surprised us in the early morning of May 30th, as they came down Whale Ch. Janie heard their calls on the hydrophones while Hermann was out having morning coffee with people in the seaweed camp of Kiel. The A30s travelled right by Kiel much to the delight of the Hartley Bay elders who were already busy drying seaweed on the rocks. We followed the A30s for a little while as they travelled south through Caamano Sound. They were quite spread out with the two big males A38 and A39 in the lead. Then we saw A50, and with her a tiny little calf that was trying to keep up with mum. As far as we know this calf has not been seen before so we are very delighted to have seen this new addition to the A30s. We followed the whales as far down as the Duckers Islands and then turned around as they continued their travels towards Laredo Sound on a beautiful sunny day.
Cetacealab