Sunday, July 31, 2022




July 30 2022 Orcas: A50s, A54s,A73s The early hours of July 30th were a particular challenge because the A30s apparently separated into two groups and occupied different locales. Before midnight at least part of the A30s (perhaps even all) had moved into Blackfish Sound. Just before 1am there was movement, someone had started back towards Blackney Pass. Blows were heard heading south at 1:19am then calls. A few minutes later separate calls were heard on the Flower Island hydrophone and in Johnstone Strait. Two parties for sure. The group in Blackfish/Blackney Pass lingered, shifting south slowly. Blows were heard outside until at least 2:16am. Meanwhile the group in Johnstone Strait, which included the A73s, continued to call and by 2:20am they seemed to occupy the area between Vancouver Island and Cracroft Point. They were not particularly close to any of the hydrophones in the remote network and we are not sure of their exact entry point. Had they gone through Blackney or come in from Weynton Pass? Part of the Blackney group possibly made it close to Johnstone Strait as the other group travelled even further east for a while longer. The Blackney group turned around 3:15am and headed back to Blackfish Sound. The Johnstone Strait group did not follow until much later at 4:25am. By 4:42am they too were in Blackfish Sound and heading west after 5:15am. In the end we speculated that the Blackney group (the pacers) were the A54s and that it was the A50s who ,with the A73s, were the ones in Johnstone Strait. This was solely based on the observation that A73 was travelling closest to the A50s on other occasions before and after this early morning milieu. We had our morning to ourselves pretty much. The fog was pretty thick so Megan had to wait for it to lift enough before she could go to town and pick up long time volunteer Shari who was returning to OrcaLab after an absence of a few years. Observers in Queen Charlotte Strait found the A50s and A73s (and more) near Lizard Point at 10:20am. At 11am the A30s and A73s were off the “top” end of Blackfish Sound east of Donegal head. There were no calls. After all our hard work during the early morning trying to track the whales by blows and calls, the now silent orcas slipped past us deep in the fog bank which had descended once again across half of Blackney Pass. We had not been listening to the talk on the VHF so we only became aware of their return to Johnstone Strait when Jackie called and told us they were off Cracroft Point! The Strait was much clearer than Blackney so Jordan was able to find them as they headed east quickly after crossing closer to the Vancouver island side. They called for a short while during the cross and around 3pm they passed Kaizumi beach where a couple of kayakers right at the beach may have discouraged any chance of a rub, even a quick one. Lucky for the whales they have other choices. Before 4pm, the groups were passing Robson Bight and then on their way through the rest of the Ecological Reserve toward Strider and Main beaches. Between 4:11pm and 4:22pm their calls became increasingly clearer and closer as they neared their destination. Then came at 4:23pm the distinctive chuff sound of pebbles being displaced. The rub at Strider had begun! On the underwater camera the whales streamed from the west, one after the other. But then most activity stayed for a long while along the eastern side of the beach. We saw a lot of the A73s on the surface camera and even underwater at 4:55pm after they had ventured closer to Main where they made some clear calls but did not rub before returning to Strider. The entire rub lasted until 5:18pm - just shy of an hour. Then it was back up the Strait for everyone: 5:40pm off Critical Point/Robson Bight; 7pm near Kaizumi; 7:37pm off Cracroft Point and the entrance to Blackney; 7:42pm heading north in Blackney Pass. The rub must have re-energised them because with the encouragement of a favorable tide they very quickly navigated their way into Blackfish Sound but not before several breaches by some of the excited youngsters. What were they excited about? From 8:10pm to 8:40pm we followed them on the remote camera and listened to their calls as they grew more and more distant. Their day and ours, was about to end where it began. 
OrcaLab
31 Jul 2022 09:25:04 PDT
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July 30 2022 Orcas: A50s, A54s,A73s The early hours of July 30th were a particular challenge because the A30s apparently separated into two groups and occupied different locales. Before midnight at least part of the A30s (perhaps even all) had moved into Blackfish Sound. Just before 1am there was movement, someone had started back towards Blackney Pass. Blows were heard heading south at 1:19am then calls. A few minutes later separate calls were heard on the Flower Island hydrophone and in Johnstone Strait. Two parties for sure. The group in Blackfish/Blackney Pass lingered, shifting south slowly. Blows were heard outside until at least 2:16am. Meanwhile the group in Johnstone Strait, which included the A73s, continued to call and by 2:20am they seemed to occupy the area between Vancouver Island and Cracroft Point. They were not particularly close to any of the hydrophones in the remote network and we are not sure of their exact entry point. Had they gone through Blackney or come in from Weynton Pass? Part of the Blackney group possibly made it close to Johnstone Strait as the other group travelled even further east for a while longer. The Blackney group turned around 3:15am and headed back to Blackfish Sound. The Johnstone Strait group did not follow until much later at 4:25am. By 4:42am they too were in Blackfish Sound and heading west after 5:15am. In the end we speculated that the Blackney group (the pacers) were the A54s and that it was the A50s who ,with the A73s, were the ones in Johnstone Strait. This was solely based on the observation that A73 was travelling closest to the A50s on other occasions before and after this early morning milieu. We had our morning to ourselves pretty much. The fog was pretty thick so Megan had to wait for it to lift enough before she could go to town and pick up long time volunteer Shari who was returning to OrcaLab after an absence of a few years. Observers in Queen Charlotte Strait found the A50s and A73s (and more) near Lizard Point at 10:20am. At 11am the A30s and A73s were off the “top” end of Blackfish Sound east of Donegal head. There were no calls. After all our hard work during the early morning trying to track the whales by blows and calls, the now silent orcas slipped past us deep in the fog bank which had descended once again across half of Blackney Pass. We had not been listening to the talk on the VHF so we only became aware of their return to Johnstone Strait when Jackie called and told us they were off Cracroft Point! The Strait was much clearer than Blackney so Jordan was able to find them as they headed east quickly after crossing closer to the Vancouver island side. They called for a short while during the cross and around 3pm they passed Kaizumi beach where a couple of kayakers right at the beach may have discouraged any chance of a rub, even a quick one. Lucky for the whales they have other choices. Before 4pm, the groups were passing Robson Bight and then on their way through the rest of the Ecological Reserve toward Strider and Main beaches. Between 4:11pm and 4:22pm their calls became increasingly clearer and closer as they neared their destination. Then came at 4:23pm the distinctive chuff sound of pebbles being displaced. The rub at Strider had begun! On the underwater camera the whales streamed from the west, one after the other. But then most activity stayed for a long while along the eastern side of the beach. We saw a lot of the A73s on the surface camera and even underwater at 4:55pm after they had ventured closer to Main where they made some clear calls but did not rub before returning to Strider. The entire rub lasted until 5:18pm - just shy of an hour. Then it was back up the Strait for everyone: 5:40pm off Critical Point/Robson Bight; 7pm near Kaizumi; 7:37pm off Cracroft Point and the entrance to Blackney; 7:42pm heading north in Blackney Pass. The rub must have re-energised them because with the encouragement of a favorable tide they very quickly navigated their way into Blackfish Sound but not before several breaches by some of the excited youngsters. What were they excited about? From 8:10pm to 8:40pm we followed them on the remote camera and listened to their calls as they grew more and more distant. Their day and ours, was about to end where it began. 
OrcaLab
31 Jul 2022 09:25:04 PDT
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Saturday, July 30, 2022




No calls but orcas nearby

July 29 2022 Orcas: A50s, A54s, A73s Humpbacks: Bartender, Insomnia, Quartz, Stitch With each day that passes, we aim to gain more of an understanding of the whales; of their relationships and movements. Today was a treat, with a more unusual pairing of the A30s and A73s (Springer’s family) traveling together all day. In recent years, Springer has often been with her close relatives, the A35s (as she was earlier in July). In the past week, however, she has been seen traveling closely with the A23s, and now the A30s, and we wonder which social dynamics may have shifted - and why - to bring about these more unusual interactions. Backtracking slightly, the night fell pretty silent shortly after midnight, as all groups continued west in Blackfish Sound. Here, the A23s, A35s and A42s continued ‘out’ (to the west), while the A30s and A73s remained in Queen Charlotte Strait. It wasn’t until the late morning that we heard news of their return: they were off Lizard Point on Malcolm island and heading our way at 11:12 am. The strong flooding current aided their efforts, but we didn’t hear a peep from the easting whales until they were right in front of us! They all came through Blackney in a tight group close to the Hanson shore at 2 pm, Springer and her two, Spirit and Storm, slightly ahead, with the A30s in tow. It was a beautiful sunny day and - rather predictably - there were many boats on scene enjoying the spectacle. Perhaps the constant whirring of engines was the reason for the orcas’ silence and close proximity to one another? They all headed into Johnstone Strait and were visible from Cracroft Point at 1420. They traveled silently still, slowly easting, deciding to bypass Kaizumi and head straight for the protection of the Reserve. Despite the strong flooding waters, it took them a while to reach the beaches, and at 5:55 pm we were caught off-guard as the first sounds of clashing pebbles rang out at Strider; no calls. It didn’t take them long to become vocal, however, and very soon we had the beautiful, excited calls and chuffs of the A30s and A73s bouncing between Strider and Main Rubbing Beaches. Springer took her two offspring to Main beach for a rub, along with a couple of members of the A54s, and we could see the rest of the A54s and A50s clearly on our cameras at Strider. The rubs ended rather abruptly at 6:18 pm at both beaches, and the groups moved more offshore, still slowly, heading over to the Cracroft Island shore. In the fading light, the wardens at Boat Bay could just make out the fins and blows of orcas westing beneath their camp, and it wasn’t long until we heard faint A30 calls coming west at 9:53 pm. They grew steadily closer to Blackney and, by 10:30 pm, we could hear blows out front of the lab and clear A30 calls on Parson Island. They passed us by in the darkness, as we counted their blows from the deck (quite the acquired skill!). By midnight - the “end” of this summer’s day - we understood that at least some of the A30s were in Blackfish Sound but not seemingly content to remain there. Lots more movement would come after midnight. 
Suzie, OL
30 Jul 2022 12:34:12 PDT
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Friday, July 29, 2022




No calls but orcas nearby

July 28 2022 Orcas: A50s, 54s, A35s (A56) likely, A73s, A23s, A42s Humpbacks: Stitch, Argonaut After another hot day, our summary begins under a cool canopy of stars in the inky black sky. The A50s, A54s, A73s and A23s dipped out to the west only for a few hours, before returning to the Strait around 1 am. For the next few hours, they chatted among themselves. There were no rubs or exciting events, just a beautiful mingling of A Clan calls drifting east. We last heard them off the Main Rubbing Beach around 6:30 am, and the only sounds heard for the next while were the whirs of assorted engines cruising by. Back at the lab, a chorus of ‘Ja, må han leva!’ rang through the camp, as we attempted to sing Happy 30th Birthday to Susanna in her native Swedish. Safe to say, it was not very coherent but a lot of fun was had by all. The whales remained east for some time, joining up once again with the A42s and A35s who had remained further down the Strait for a couple of days. By 2:30pm they were all spread out from Cracroft Island to Vancouver Island around Naka Creek, heading west. A very excited bout of calls rang out shortly before 15:30pm, as the westing whales came into our range at Main Rubbing Beach. It was not long before the familiar ‘chuffs’ of scattering pebbles rang out, as a mixed group came in for a 12-minute rub at their historic beach. By 3:40pm, the first group had made it to Strider, where they began to rub also. For 11 minutes, we had very excited calls from all A1, A4 and A5 groups as they spread out and rubbed between the two sites. The rub was short and sweet, before all groups continued westward, again spread out between the two shorelines. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and a glorious sight to see the many blows spread from shore to shore, getting steadily closer to Cracroft Point. A few orcas came in to Kaizumi at 4:50pm for a few passes of the rubbing beach, before heading off to join their kin. Several orcas foraged in the rip of east Blackney Pass by Cracroft Point for a while, and we wondered if they would ride the tide in, but alas they eventually continued west. We heard them all the way west around Blinkhorn at 7:40 pm, before they dipped out of range for a couple of hours. At some point, they turned east again and at 9:10 pm we could hear all three pods’ calls off Cracroft Point. Meanwhile, we were all gathered around the dinner table for a birthday dinner of Swedish meatballs and homemade cinnamon buns, and a round of ‘who did it’ - a very good way to learn about peoples’ experiences and oddities! Naturally, our dessert was interrupted by the familiar yell of ‘orcaaaaa’ reverberating around our camp, as the orca came into Blackney from the south at 9:23 pm. It was a beautiful, swift passing as the A50s and A54s came in first. Next, the familiar fin of A60 (Fife) led the A23s through, mid-pass, followed closely by the A73s - Springer and her two. These two families have been close together a lot this season, unlike in previous years. They made their way to Blackfish Sound quickly, and opened up into some beautiful calls - especially from the A4s. We did not confirm the presence of the A35s during the passing, so perhaps these calls were all from Springer’s family, or the A35s snuck by us on the far shore, or they took Weynton Passage north while the others turned east and joined up with the gang in the Sound. As we were admiring the A50s in the sunset close to our Flower Island camera, a very familiar set of fins came close to the lab, bundled up together in a tight-knit group: The A42s. It was just before 10pm and the light was almost gone, but there was just enough ambient light to mark the unmistakable silhouette of A66 (Surf), A79 (current) and the rest of their family altogether. It was a slow moment of calm that humbled us all after a hot, busy day. The orcas all remained vocal in Blackfish Sound until the early hours of the morning, where we’ll leave this daily report. Another day gone, another window into the remarkable lives of the Northern Residents and their world. 
Suzie, OL
29 Jul 2022 14:41:19 PDT
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