12 October 2005, Orcalab reports:

Superb sounds!!

This is exciting! We had received reports around 3:30pm of a large group of whales moving through Pearse Passage (between Alert Bay and Pearse Islands) headed for the Strait. We had been listening to the A12s,A36s and various G groups all morning and when they headed off to the west we thought that they might be going to meet the incoming group. As the new group moved east in the Strait we started to understand that they were Offshores. The northern residents have been very quiet - listening too no doubt. The weather is very wet and quite dark. The boat noise is not making it very easy either.
Helena
12 Oct 2005 16:40:05 PDT

Superb sounds!!

The offshore calls are getting stronger as they move closer toward the Bight.
Helena
12 Oct 2005 18:29:24 PDT

No orcas present.

All quiet now. The big question in all of our minds is what happened to the northern residents? They must have "crossed" paths with the offshores at some point. They ceertainly must have heard them on Flower Island when off the entrance of Blackney Pass and then later as the offshores came east into the Strait. So did the residents go out Weynton Passage to avoid the incoming group? We believe the offshores continued to the east.
Helena
12 Oct 2005 23:16:36 PDT