No orcas present. August 24 2020: A50s, A54s, T055s, vocal Humpbacks So midnight is where we left off . . . Our gang was over at Boat Bay for the night having a socially distanced get together at the Warden camp in lieu of the traditional Boat Bay party which usually signals the end of the Warden Programme’s busy summer. For most, this was a new experience and a chance to experience somewhere different from OrcaLab in Blackney Pass. Boat Bay is a beautiful spot directly opposite Robson Bight, and everyone, aware that the A30s were in the Strait not too far away (remember the Lab was listening to them vacillate undecidedly off the Reserve), strained to hear blows across the water and listen to the www.orca-live.net broadcast. At 12:20am they were rewarded by hearing blows off the camp which sounded like the whales were going westward. Actually, the whales probably sometime soon after swung around to the east again. Briefly there were faint calls at 1:06am. A far off distant ethereal humpback (or was it two?) sang into the void of Blackfish Sound starting around 1:25am. The orcas made a few very distinctive rubs at 2:15am followed by a burst of calls in Robson Bight. That was it for orca calls. Tomoko, Momoko and Shari had joined Helena on “shift” and helped keep track of when there were calls despite being thousands of kilometres away in Japan and England. The humpbacks then occupied the rest of the night’s effort in the Lab. What started in Blackfish Sound shifted into Blackney Pass and then into Johnstone Strait over the next hour or so. The slack tide began at 3am and with it boats in transit from A to B. There were large fishing vessels and tug boats, one after another. The ocean everywhere was filled with noise. The streaming spectrograms became solid sheets of yellow as the boats passed through. No more humpback song was heard. Time to take a break. Just before 6am a humpback began again, this time, close to Parson Island. Two hours later there was more of the same. These humpbacks usually wait until later in the Fall before singing but for some reason, this year, they have decided that right now is time to do so. Change-ups in usual routines is what makes whales so interesting every season. Briefly, at 8:27am, Helena heard distant orca calls. She was unable to source the calls before they ceased leaving the question as to where the A30s were. East or West? There had been such a long gap between calls and changes in the currents as well. The answer came at 12:30pm when they were seen at Strider Beach. They rubbed for 5 minutes before heading west. They would continue westward along the Vancouver Island shore for the rest of the afternoon. Just before 1pm they were in the Bight, excited and breaching. By 2:30pm, they were rubbing at Kaizumi Beach. This was the same time that the T55s were seen off the Egeria Shoals in Blackfish Sound. By 4:30pm, the A30s were off Blinkhorn Peninsula foraging. They stayed foraging until 6pm when they moved east and out to mid strait. The slack tide (to ebb) was not expected until 9:05pm. The whales spent their time calling and foraging/milling mid strait.just west of the entrance to Blackney Pass. Finally, and it was dark by now, they collected themselves and made a bid for Blackney Pass. The journey to Blackfish Sound was quick and efficient. The last faint calls we heard were at 10:28pm. This may have completed their day here but assuredly their busy night still surely lies ahead.  OrcaLab 24 Aug 2020 23:27:23 PDT No calls but orcas nearby August 23 2020: A50s,A54s, I15s (Goletas Channel), humpbacks, PWD We woke after an uneventful night to zero/zero visibility. Fog had descended. Pippa who was on the early shift however managed to hear the blows of a group of Bigg’s orcas passing southward through Blackney Pass and amazingly “CP” actually saw and identified the T49As as they passed Cracroft Point. These whales went east and passed the Cliff at 10:33am still on the Cracroft Island side. Just as the Cliff was reporting the Bigg’s orcas and their progress, the A30 matrilines (the A50s and A54s), came out of Blackney Pass! Again CP caught the action. They were as silent as they had been when they went out in the opposite direction the evening before. They too headed east but only after crossing towards Vancouver Island. When they started to call we had an easier time following their direction and path into Robson Bight just before Noon. They became quite vocal as they neared the eastern headland of the Bight. A lot of close echolocation declared their intent of going eastward. Our fingers were crossed that they would choose to go into Strider Beach where, just the day before, we had reestablished and adjusted the underwater camera. All we had to do was wait. Our hearts sank a bit when it looked like the whales might give the beach a pass. However, it was not a total disappointment as a couple of whales made a quick touch down on the underwater camera before continuing east. It was lovely. The whales headed to the Main Rubbing Beach but there too they were not committed to a full rub. Several of the whales moved on east past the Main beach. But then, they turned, as if, after consideration, they thought that a rub might be a good idea after all. Rushing westward once again one or two of the whales gave the Main beach some consideration before Strider was reapproached. This time they, and the camera, did not disappoint. Several were seen underwater and in one incredible moment, Clio (A50) came to rest on the smooth stones in front of the camera. She swayed gently side to side, and just as her little one came in behind her, she lifted and swam away. The baby touched down too before hurrying after Mum. From there it was on to Robson Bight once more. Not holding back now they were very vocal. Rubbing now was in the air and the next stop was Kaizumi Beach. It was now 2:30pm. The fog had lifted, the day had that over-bright look of an August afternoon. We listened as the A30s went in for a fairly energetic rub at Kaizum for over ½ hour before turning and heading east once again, reaching the Bight by 3:43pm and Strider beyond just before 4pm. Again they divided their attention between the two beaches, Strider and Main. Then just as before, the whales went east. It looked like such a definite move to the east that we thought that was it. However, after a short while we checked on the cameras, zoomed in, and saw that they had changed their minds yet again. These “yoyo” whales were headed west once more and this time with even more energy. The calls were wonderfully varied with lots of “flavour” and “intonation”. At Strider, one after the other whale passed by on the underwater camera in succession. We lost count. Above, on the surface the whales rushed just as fast. Everyone was westbound in a hurry. How come so restless? We received an intriguing report that further to the west there was a large group (60-70!) in bound. Were the A30s anticipating? Really nothing much developed from this vague report but Jared Towers did go to have a look and found the I15s in Goletas Channel. Whatever the reasons the whales might have had for their behaviour we were along for the ride and continued to follow them by listening to the hydrophones as they reapproached the Bight. A group of young orcas had banded together and were rolling over each other as they crossed the Bight. Their calls were pretty crazy! It was now 5:14pm. Half and hour later they were far enough along for us to listen to the Kaizumi hydrophone. By 6:34pm they were approaching this beach and ten minutes later they were in for the rub which lasted around 10 minutes. While along the Vancouver Island shore they were bookended by whale watch boats and a research boat as well. After a while, and when the whales looked like they were pulling away to the west, the whale watch boats left off and headed for port. The research boat stayed and followed the whales closely across the Strait toward Cracroft Point. The ocean had picked up with the late afternoon westerly and the sun was beginning to set and lending greater colour to the sky and ocean. As the whales neared the Cracroft Island side they spread out, milled and perhaps even foraged for a time while the research boat tried to position itself well enough to deploy a “D” tag from the end of their pole. The whole time the whales continually called, sometimes excitedly and changed direction. Then another decision was made and the whales began to file back across the Strait and to the east. The research boat followed. The whales, moving quickly, continued calling until a little over half way across. They stopped soon after the research boat left the scene at 8:25pm. The whales remained silent until 10:08pm when they let it quietly be known they were in the Bight. No longer energetic, they seemed content to repeat the same single syllable call over and over along with the occasional echolocation. The bouncy back and forth of earlier in the day subsided into a drifting between the Bight and just a bit further east. This lasted for a while until 11:38pm they suddenly woke up and began calling. Had another decision been made? Nice calls followed past midnight.  OrcaLab 24 Aug 2020 00:08:49 PDT