September 10 2021 Orcas:A50s, A54s, A23s, A25s, A42s/A94,T049A1 PWD Throughout the night Blackfish Sound entertained humpbacks, orcas and dolphins. Each taking turns at various times, sometimes overlapping each other. A humpback was first, calling from 1:04am to 1:21am. The A30s were then heard off in the distance at 2:21am, then closer ten minutes later, even clearer at 2:51am and finally they produced some heavy echolocation by 3:23am before their calls faded away by 3:37am. They made no commitment to Blackney Pass but they did not go far. They were back by 4:49am and fairly close at 5:27am. The humpbacks were not to be outdone and from 5:33am to 6:34am someone from their ranks broke into a sustained effort. Dolphins, also in Blackfish Sound, offered their chatter to the mix. Orcas made it to Blackney Pass at 6:11am as calls were heard on the Parson Island station located southeast of the Blackfish hydrophone. Whoever it was who ventured away from Blackfish must have returned soon after. This good try was to be repeated more successfully later in the day. Nothing further occurred until 9:18am when there was a report from Andrew that 10 orcas entered Johnstone Strait from Weynton Passage and were hugging the Hanson Island shore as they moved eastward. At 11:54am a more definitive report had the A42s travelling east mid strait opposite Blinkhorn. Silent until just after noon their whereabouts were not easy to track acoustically at first but this situation improved.. By 1:10pm they were off the entrance to Blackney Pass. Around this time Scotty told us the T049A1s were entering Beaver Cove. The A30s began calling again in Blackfish Sound just before 2pm. This was twelve hours after first being heard in the early morning. As the A42s continued calling in Johnstone Strait the rest of their family, the A23s and A25s, became vocal in Blackfish Sound along with the A30s. It was so very foggy when at 2:16pm orcas began to file into Blackney Pass on their way to Johnstone Strait where the A42s were waiting. They came in two waves but because of the fog we could only follow their progress by blows and calls. When the orcas entered the Strait (which was much clearer and less fog bound) and joined the A42s the following scene unfolded. The A42s stopped and began to mill about off of Cracroft Point. They began to float, rest on the surface, spyhop, group and regroup. They were in no hurry as the others arrived and passed them. By 2:45pm there were whales everywhere but the majority of the A42s still drifted contentedly nudging each other, doing more spyhops, rolling around. Others like Bend (of the A50s),were criss-crossing every which way, foraging and sorting themselves out. This went on for a very long time. At 3:21, we believe the A54s made a break for Blackney Pass and headed north. Again, the fog obscured this passage and we had to wait for calls in Blackfish Sound to confirm our suspicions. As the rest found themselves in the rip west off Cracroft Point, Squiggle the humpback, let out a loud resonant and declarative groan while in the same rip. Too much company? With the A54s out of the picture this left the A50s, A23s, A25s and the A42s in the Strait. A stream of Alaska fish boats moved through the foraging, milling orcas causing a lot of noise but no other consequence to the activities of the orcas. By now it was getting past 5:30pm. There were a few breaches as the whales became a bit more restless. Emily, who had been following the whales on the remote camera for hours, observed that the whales seemed to use the rip like a slide. They would go forward far enough against the current, reach a certain position, and then allow the current to push them back to where they started. They repeated this behaviour. Just before 6pm whales were spotted through BlackneyÕs fog at the corner of Hanson Island. Another group who had also tried for Blackney were swept back and were seen on camera exiting Blackney in favour of Johnstone Strait. But the game had definitely changed and the whales now became more seriously focused on moving into Blackney. Despite the still poor conditions and everyone on deck straining to see into the fog Lucile located fins opposite the Lab. They were going north. We surmised that the A30s (the A50s) along with the A23s and A25s were headed to Blackfish Sound. But what of the relaxed A42s? It took them a beat or two longer but by 7pm they too were on their way in. As they neared Blackfish Sound there was a mixed chorus of loud and excited calls before everyoneÕs calls began to fade around 8pm. A humpback, and then some dolphins in Blackfish became vocal over the next hour. It was so reminiscent of when in the early hours of this same day all these species had shared their world with us listeners.   OrcaLab 11 Sep 2021 08:36:24 PDT