Summary for September 3 2019 Our tales begin just after midnight when A5, and a short while later A30, calls announced that the whales were back after an absence of a day. There was just a hint of I15 calls as well. At 12:23am the recording was started and not long after the orcas made their way into Blackney Pass from Blackfish Sound. It was sizeable group and they were in a rush. At 12:38am they were already off Parson Island and by 1am they were gone. No further blows or calls were heard. They simply put on their cloaking devices and vanished. We suspect the the A42s actually went towards the west on reaching Johnstone Strait and circled out to Blackfish Sound. We have no idea what happened to the A30s or the I15 group (if that was even real). A long while passed before the next tale unfolded. Just before 6am we heard quite excited A5 and G clan calls in Blackfish Sound. We strained to identify the various G clan calls. Biased from the reports of the other day, I31, G12, I15 and even G1 calls seemed plausible. But then when the orcas dropped into Blackney at 6:49am, and despite the once again foggy conditions, the number of orcas passing did not match the expectation of all those groups, that is unless there were just smaller matrilines present, or we just could not see everyone because of the conditions. It didn’t help that the whales were spread out somewhat and so family profiles were not even possible. Enough excuses! It was exciting to hear the mix of calls. Ironically, the clearest images were of A66 and his A42 family as they passed. The orcas made their way south in stages and a very exercised group of dolphins, at one moment, headed in the opposite direction close to the Lab. By 7:18am the scene had shifted to the entrance of Blackney Pass and on towards Cracroft Point. The pace never let up. The various groups headed quickly east past Cracroft Point. “CP” was struggling as well to see through the low cloud conditions. We could hear A5 calls at Cracroft Point at 0815am, and some orca were spotted heading east at 0815. We started to hear I15 and other G clan calls in Robson Bight at 8:32am, and as the fog got thinner, we could see groups of whales foraging, milling and then heading toward the rubbing beaches to the east of Critical Point. Some echolocation then could be heard at the Main Rubbing Beach followed by whales having a quick rub at 9:13am and seen underwater at 0919. At this time there were still whales orcas spread from the Bight to east of the Main Rubbing Beach. The exciting mix of calls continued. As most of the groups continued eastward from the Reserve, the last group, the A42s moved from the Bight eastward to the Main Rubbing Beach where A66 was clearly visible at 11:11am offshore rolling about and very relaxed. He turned to the west. At 11:46 his family rounded the corner at the eastern headland of the Bight. They went deep into the Bight and followed the shoreline to the west. They were fairly distant when the camera lost track of them at 12:25pm. Meanwhile, the other groups were continuing eastward. By 12:25pm the lead group (s) were off the Adam River and others were between Naka and Adam Rivers. Any day would not be complete without Bigg’s orcas showing up. Our third tale of the day. Two Bigg’s orcas were seen travelling west favouring the Cracroft shore from the Sophia Islands at 12:49pm. As they came closer to Cracroft Point it became evident that this was T010 and her son, T010C. They continued their journey west toward Weynton Pass and the Stephenson Islands by 1:36pm. Our fourth tale involves the A42s again. At 4:11pm, they crossed over toward “CP” from the Kaikash Creek area. They had been taking their time coming west and they had been undisturbed for several hours, quite a feat these days. By 4:28pm they had reached the rip off the entrance to Blackney Pass where they foraged until 5:40pm when they shifted back towards the east and eventually the Reserve. So that pretty much ends our tales for the day except for the river otters, Humpback whales, herons, seals, dolphins, porpoises, seagulls, seals, slugs and sea lions who filled the gaps in between. A wonderfully rich day even with its unanswered mysteries. OrcaLab 03 Sep 2019 21:49:06 PDT