Summary for September 15 2019: A42, I4, I27, I16, I65 and possible I31s The rest of the night was quiet until 2:05am when there were again calls in Johnstone Strait. Somehow and sometime the groups found their way back to Johnstone Strait, possibly through Weynton Pass which they seem to favour as a route to and from these days. The calls lasted until 4:31am. The whales seemed to be very spread out from Cracroft Point to Robson Bight, a pattern they continued into the rest of the day. Generally, the movement was east and very slow. By 6am, some of the I15s were off the Main Rubbing Beach making clear and lovely calls. They were joined by the A42s soon after. Neither group showed any interest in having a rub but continued on their way past the Reserve. Even though they became quiet by 8am we could follow their progress eastward on the remote camera. For a short time a humpback called around 9am in Blackfish Sound and for a very long time the sea lions relaxed on their rocks. We became very busy around the Lab organising for a dive to retrieve Marion Poupard’s hydrophone array located just off the Lab. This required going over to CP and getting Suzie and Alicia to help. We set Quin down at CP to look after things there and allow him to get a feel for Johnstone Strait and the camp. Once Alicia and Suzie were back, Suzie and Megan donned their dive suits and gear and prepared to dive. Getting this equipment back to the surface with its long cable and sensitive equipment is fairly complicated and required everyone to help. The dive was very successful and as Alicia attended to the equipment Megan and Suzie regaled everyone of how curious sea lions came to check them out as they dove. Hot tea and showers were the order of the day afterwards. Alicia and Suzie went back to CP. By this time Bill Mckay had reported finding the whales stalled off Cedarstedt Creek at 12:44pm. Then at 2:41pm Bill reported orcas off the Adams River. With an incredibly slow turn these whales finally began to move west. No one was in a hurry and like before, they were very spread out. We did not hear any calls on the rubbing beach system (our most easterly hydrophone) until 3:29pm and the calls were still very distant and we did not see anyone until 3:46pm. These whales were right across the Strait closer to the Cracroft Island side. There was again no interest in a rub even by whales closer to the Vancouver Island side. After some milling or pacing back and forth some of the I15s passed offshore of Robson Bight. Most of the calls so far were those of the I15s, sometimes excited and mostly on the Robson Bight system to the west of the Main Rubbing Beach. There were a few calls reminiscent of the I31s so we wondered if they had joined the others sometime during the night before everyone returned to Johnstone Strait. Just before 5pm we began to hear the A42s on the rubbing beach system. They too were incredibly distant. And we guessed (correctly) that they too were closer to the Cracroft Island side. In the distance, off the “Spirit of the West” camp east of Boat Bay at 6:30pm, we could just make out their fins as they carried on to the west. By this time the lead I15s were being picked up by the Cracroft Point system as they passed the area off of Izumi rock west of Robson Bight. Their blows were clearly visible by CP and the remote cameras. It was disappointing to see that the same boat which had followed the whales continually up the Strait was still there and still too close. Slowly the train of orcas moved closer and closer to Kaikash and CP. Suzie and Alicia supplied the Lab with updates as to their progress. By 7:30pm, some of the I15s were approaching the CP area. Taking their time, several whales milled off the entrance to Blackney Pass. We were hopeful that they might fully commit to coming into Blackney but they didn’t and eventually these whales stayed Strait side and pushed on toward the eastern end of Hanson Island. The day had turned sunny earlier and the evening became spectacular. The ocean was calm and the sky bright with hues of red, orange and pink. At 7:48pm both the A42s and more of the G clan whales were crossing the entrance to Blackney Pass. After more hesitations the array of whales eventually passed the entrance of Blackney and carried on up the Strait calling pretty much the entire time. Alicia and Suzie absorbed the fading light, and listened to the distancing calls, while the Lab did exactly the same around the corner in Blackney.  OrcaLab 16 Sep 2019 00:36:32 PDT