No orcas present. July 22 2021 Orcas: A35, A117, A77, A90 & baby, A56 Humpbacks: Stitch, Argonaut, Black Pearl and maybe Quartz Patterns repeating; the small group of 6 A4 pod family members, who have been in the area for several days now, left the Strait via Weynton Pass as evening closed in on the 21st, only to return the next morning once again, coming into Blackney Pass after first being heard in Blackfish Sound at 7:43am. Like the days before, the ocean was calm, the skies overcast with low cloud with the promise of either rain or a soon to be brighter prospect. One whale, A56 Nahwitti (A5), came into view first at 9:05am. She was mid channel all alone, swimming slowly on the soon to be flooding tide. Her dives were deep and long. The rest of her companions arrived travelling both close together and close to the Hanson Island shore. Roller (A77) was slightly in the lead. After days of travelling spread out it was a treat to see them all together. The slight back eddy along the shore gave them advantage and they made their way easily through the Pass especially as the tide turned. They were all out of our view by 9:25am. The flooding tide then carried them all into Johnstone Strait where Megan, at “CP” on Cracroft Point watched them head east at 10am. We tracked them as best we could on the remote cameras and welcomed the reports from the Wardens who informed us of their progress from time to time. Just before 10:30am the Wardens saw the lead female (perhaps A56) pass Izumi Rock while the rest were nearer Kaizumi Beach. Then at 11:07am we were informed that the orcas were in the Reserve, still with a female in the lead, and heading to Robson Point. By 11:27am they were past Critical Point on their way to Strider Rubbing Beach where unbeknownst to us an intense 2 ½ hour session was about to begin at 11:42am. It is hard to describe in adequate detail all the activity we witnessed at this amazing site. All of the individuals participated and because we have an underwater camera (which is featured on www.explore.org) we got to see the whales in this most intimate of settings. A90’s baby was keen to join in, most times close to mum but venturing out with the others as well. Impressive A77 slid in and out of view, right side, upside down, slow and fast. No one forgot to rest between rubs. The sound of rubs, chuffs, pebbles moving were continuous and unlike their passage earlier through Blackney Pass the whales were vocal as they enjoyed the beach. Just before 2pm, we thought they had finished and were looking to go west but seven minutes later they returned for another 20 minute session. Finally, the decision was made to abandon the beach and move on. They passed Critical Point once again at 3:11pm (Warden’s report). After which they moved away from the Vancouver Island shore to mid strait giving Kaizumi Beach a pass around 4pm. We then found them on the remote cameras and watched as they travelled quite quickly westward eventually approaching Cracroft Point where Megan was watching as well. Megan at first thought they might head into Blackney Pass as A77 indicated some intention to do so but after A35, A56 and A117 passed CP the direction was decidedly west. We last saw them in the distance at 4:42pm but we continued to record their distant calls until 6:38pm. While Katie made a delicious dinner with the help of Dante, we got a report from Prince of Whales that the A35s had chosen to continue west in Cormant Channel. What might this mean? The day still has three hours left, the light is fading, we remain listening and waiting. Interestingly several G clan groups have been off the west coast of Vancouver Island near the Swiftsure Banks. Seen on July 15 and 20 were the G31s, some of the G37s,G16s, G48s and I93. The Northern Residents’ range seems to be stretching!  OrcaLab 22 Jul 2021 22:15:19 PDT