No calls but orcas nearby Shift Summaries 2021: August 14 2021 Orcas: I4s, I27s, I65s Humpbacks: Ridge, Tag, Stitch, Inukshuk, Guardian The silence under a starry sky was broken in the early hours of the morning, by a humpback breaching repeatedly around 3:30am. Wake was rolling up on shore, as Katie counted 35 bangs, slaps, splashes and crashes! Shortly after, we began to hear the now very recognisable trills of the I15 groups at 4:34am. Their calls and echolocation remained distant, as they teased the western edges of Blackfish Sound, out of our range an hour later. We only had one clue as to their whereabouts: they were between Donegal Head and the White Cliff Islets at 7:50am. Direction unknown. Wondering where they might pop up, we spent the rest of the beautiful sunny morning enjoying the warmth and humpbacks from the lab deck. At 10:06am our head-scratching was over, as the I27s came round Burnt Point, close to the lab! They were altogether as a three, travelling south. They came fairly quickly and it was beautiful to watch them in the morning glow. They rounded Licka Point and headed into the Strait. The I4s and I65s, however, took a different approach. They came into our view minutes after the I27s, but they were mid-pass and bunched in a tight group. They were resting, pointed south but drifting back north in the ebb. It was quite beautiful, watching them take long dives and then surface in almost exactly the same spot. Unfortunately, a large super-yacht was cruising through Blackney at the time and spent a lot of time maneuvering its noisy engines around the peaceful whales. We alerted them to the fact that the whales were resting, and they obligingly moved on. By 11:16am the whales had drifted back into Blackfish Sound, still pointing towards us but not making much effort to cover ground. They stayed this way for a good portion of the afternoon! The I27s, meanwhile, positively zoomed down Johnstone Strait, quickly crossing to the Vancouver Island shore and into the Ecological Reserve. They were silent, but a well-timed report from the Wardens alerted us to their presence near Strider Rubbing Beach, and at 1:23pm they began to rub. All three members of the family participated, often “lining up” behind I27 to rub one after the other. Quin has successfully overlayed the surface audio onto the hydrophone feed for our camera stream, and it was so lovely to listen to the blows alongside the calls. By 1:46pm they had moved on, angling over to the Cracroft Island shore. We had been tracking the I4s and I65s in Blackfish Sound via our Flower Island camera while the others rubbed, and finally it looked like they were making an asserted effort to come through Blackney. They entered our view again at 2:43pm, travelling quickly this time into the Strait on the near-slack tide. They were very vocal as they headed east after the I27s, and we caught some beautiful clear calls and echolocation as they passed Critical Point in Robson Bight. Another rub ensued as the I4s and I65s visited Strider at 5:25pm. These whales have been around for so long that our assistants are getting very good with IDs! Almost all members of the I4s and I65s were accounted for, and we saw the latest baby (I165) doing lots of rolls, mini breaches and bubble blowing - copying mom’s lead. Our underwater camera providing yet another fantastic insight into this incredible event. After a good 45 minutes or so, they finally left the beach, heading back to the west. The I27s had made their way over to Cracroft Island, and by 6:50pm were westing past Boat Bay. They travelled pretty quickly, being seen by Vanessa and Shelby at Cracroft Point by 8:11pm. They passed close by to the point and headed straight into Blackney. We were hearing their calls on CP, but also some calls on Strider which we deduced was the I4s and I65s, likely still together. In the fading daylight, the I27s passed the lab heading north around 8:45pm, while the others’ calls moved steadily westward through Johnstone Strait - they were following suit, and also entered Blackney Pass just after 9pm. The darkness settled fast and we did not see all fins travel through, but we think we were still hearing the last blows around 10pm, as the calls and echolocation started on Flower Island. It is very likely that all groups did indeed pass us by. Their calls dwindled, and we believe that they have all continued west. It looks to be another starry night, goodnight all. OrcaLab 15 Aug 2021 01:03:19 PDT