Summary for September 1 2019: A30,A25,A42,I4, I27,I16,I65, A34 (Queen Charlotte Strait),G27 (Queen Charlotte Strait), I35s (Queen Charlotte Strait) In and out pretty much describes the orcas today. After we left off from the last summary we heard a few more A30 calls in Blackfish Sound and then nothing until just after midnight when blows were heard heading back toward Johnstone Strait. There were enough blows to imagine that all the groups, the A30s, the A5s and the I15s, were possibly still together. But without those blows we would not have had a clue. The whales were in silent mode and nothing was heard from them until just after 7am when they turned up off the Bight. A lone humpback broke the “silence: at 2:47am with a few all too brief calls. In the morning the orcas passed by the Bight and headed west. By 8:10am calls were heard on the CP system indicating that they were making steady progress. They were up to the Sophia Island, east of the CP camp, by 8:40am and in front of the camp by 9:21am. The area was shrouded in thick fog, the thickest and most pervasive yet. Megan remarked if they had only been 10 meters closer! . . . sigh. She and Shari did manage to see Bend (A72) before she slipped into Blackney Pass. Unlike their midnight pass the groups were quite vocal while in Blackney, first in the entrance, and later in the Pass proper. It was helpful to be able to pick out the various groups and be assured who was in front of us. Karien, because of the thick fog, only managed a glimpse of one male not far from Burnt Point. After this we relied on reports from the whale watch boats. Larry Roy mentioned whales at Bold head by 10:48am and Bill Mackay described groups off the “Blow-Hole” headed across to Egeria Shoals (not far from Bold Head). Bill was delighted by the young ones from the A42s but surprised when he absolutely lost the whales in the fog a short time later. After a while the trail was established but by this time the orcas were in Queen Charlotte Strait where they continued westward. Around 1pm there was news that the A34s had finally shown up! They were with the G27s and possibly G62s as well off Port Hardy. Their direction changed however and by 1:04pm they too were westbound just like the others further east. According to Bill Mackay only the A50s apparently went if for a rub at Bere Point. Eventually all the groups apparently merged together along with the I35s who appeared in the very late afternoon. In fog until late afternoon the Lab busied itself with other routines including a long yoga session on the deck. Long overdue work was done on the batteries and power systems by Clay Fischer and Jonathan Barnet and his daughter Madison helped Paul with the water supply. Guardian, Meniscus and Slits kept the CP camp company while Megan worked on her amazing videos. Everyone productive despite the absence of orcas! “And so to bed” as Samuel Johnson would say . . . OrcaLab 01 Sep 2019 21:28:56 PDT