September 11 2021 Orcas:A50s, A54s, A23s,A25s,A42s/A94 This day starts just before dawn. In regard to resident orcas the ÒnightÓ had been uneventful They had been last heard in Blackfish Sound in the late evening. A humpback in Blackfish started things off from 6:09am to 6:15am followed by A5 calls in Johnstone Strait just after 8am. We suspect the orcas had come into the Strait from Weynton Passage but Blackfish, Blackney and Johnstone Strait were all shrouded once more in fog. Suddenly, as the A5s called, we heard the distinctive sounds of another humpback in Blackfish and, at the same time, some distant BiggÕs orcas in the same locale. A lot happening all at once! An hour and half later the orcas had advanced far enough for their calls to be heard on the Cracroft Point and Kaizumi Beach systems. By complete chance the fog curtain parted just enough for the remote ÒCPÓ camera to glimpse the A25s heading east. There were no reference points in the dense fog and soon these whales were enveloped in mist. Even though the fog bank was not as intense on the Vancouver Island side we were unsuccessful in locating any whales as we continued listening to clear calls. By 11:42am we were only hearing faint calls. This situation changed when the calls became more frequent and excited on the ÒCPÓ hydrophone after 1pm. The impression was that the different groups were pretty spread out, with some closer to Cracroft, others nearer Kaizumi and even more off the Ecological Reserve. At 1:48pm we got a break. The fog dissipated and an individual orca was seen heading west. AhHa, a definite direction! Soon there were A30 calls on the Parson Island system telling us that whales were advancing west. A large male was seen crossing toward Big Bay on Hanson Island. In tandem, whales on the Vancouver Island shore were approaching Kaizumi Beach to start a five minute rub at 2:05pm. To make this simpler, the A50s, some of the A54s (of the A30s) entered Blackney Pass around 2:30pm and slowly began to head north. In the background of their slow progress through the Pass several other dramas unfolded in the Strait. Furthest east in the Strait one of the A5 groups (we suspect the A42s) had a quick rub at Main Beach at 2:46pm. Then the scene shifted west to Strider when another A5 rub happened at 3:03pm. All this time the mixed A30 group was still in Blackney Pass. A more sustained sixteen minute rub at Strider occurred at 3:14pm as the groups filed past to the west. The A30 group off the Lab were still negotiating Blackney Pass. One of their members, the young male, A84 took up the rear foraging as he followed the others. We knew that the rest of their family, the remainder of the A54s, were still back in the Strait as we could hear their calls from time to time. Some of the A23s went in for a rub at Kaizumi Beach starting at 3:44pm. This was a lovely, lovely,long rub. The water was clear, quite a tropical green blue in the afternoon light. A43 and her granddaughter A109 were the main participants just as they had been two days ago at Strider. A43s took lazy, relaxed passes over the stones while the younger A109 rubbed more energetically repeatedly while A43 took moments to rest on the surface. As this rub continued, the A50s and A54 and her two youngest finally cleared into Blackfish Sound by 4:06pm where they began calling. The rub at Kaizumi meanwhile lasted until 4:31pm. Forty-seven minutes! Further east and still within the Ecological Reserve the A42s and possibly the A54s as well were nearing Robson Bight on their way west. The A30 group in Blackfish was enduring the attention of several boats. It was now 5pm and the whales in the Strait were beginning to set the entrance of Blackney Pass in their sights. Whales, previously near Kaizumi began to angle toward Cracroft Point after some indefinite milling offshore. Soon calls were heard on the ÒCPÓ system as their approach took shape. The A30 group, who had been vocal ever since reaching Blackfish must have already decided to turn around. Their echolocation and calls became very loud just as the first groups from the Strait approached the entrance to Blackney Pass 6:02pm. A few minutes later some of the A50s came back in view of the Lab, just on the edge of Blackfish Sound and Blackney Pass. They got half way through the Pass and then turned around in advance of the incoming whales. Our dinner was ready and we decided to eat on the deck where we could continue to watch the orca parade. At 6:35pm, the A23s showed up but A60 was not with them. The A50s were almost all back in Blackfish by the time these A23s were half way through. A69 was with her new baby while A43 and A109 were still travelling together. They left the Pass just after 7pm. Then it was A61Õs and A60Õs turn. These large males came in more or less as a pair with A61 as leader. A60 rolled on his back looking very relaxed. Not far behind came the A42s (all together) at 7:18pm. A61 and A60 made it through by 7:52pm and the A42s three minutes later. Obviously we did not account for every individual but we are fairly certain that all the groups, the A50s, the A23s, the A25s, the A42s and the A54s ended their day in Blackfish Sound where the once glorious sunset was fading to dark. The last calls (A30s) we heard were at 8:54pm and by then a distant humpback had already begun his haunting evening serenade.  OrcaLab 12 Sep 2021 16:19:03 PDT