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July 24 2022 Orcas: A54s, Biggs (?T069s) Humpbacks: Stitch, Meniscus (first sighting for 2022), Argonaut,Guardian Pacific White-sided dolphins This day was a merry-go-round! The A54s did serious laps around Hanson Island and in Johnstone Strait. At midnight they were in Johnstone Strait after traveling from Blackfish Sound via Weynton Passage. One of our hydrophones, Strider, hears very far west and seems to reliably capture the calls of orcas soon after entering the Strait. Given how long the distances are, calls can remain distant and faint to our ears for a very long time. Even when they got further ÒdownÓ the Strait their calls remained distant even when passing offshore of Kaizumi from 1:54am to 2:35am. But they did make progress and just before 4am they were actually closer to Strider as evident by the now close calls and echolocation. They hovered here, some shifting closer to the Main beach further east. At 4:25am to 4:33am there were very loud calls on Main but no clear evidence of a rub. However, a couple minutes later there were very loud calls at Strider and in another couple of minutes at 4:37am someone made a brief pass over the pebbles. Their time here was then up, they turned and went back to the west. By 4:46am their calls ceased making tracking difficult. Calls heard on the Kaizumi hydrophone at 7am offered better proof that they were on their way west, followed by more solid evidence when their calls became loud on the Parson Island hydrophone at 7:13am They were on their way ÒinÓ and at 7:16am they were in view of the Lab heading north through Blackney Pass. They travelled quickly to Blackfish Sound then slowed, milled about and foraged for a time before continuing west. We lost track after the last faint calls at 8:22am and the last sight on the remote camera at 8:35am when they were very far away. In the ensuing break, when we were not hearing calls or obtaining reports about the A54s whereabouts, the Cliff camp spotted four orcas travelling west past Strider at 11:51am. It was obviously not the A54s but a group of Biggs, possibly the T69s. By 1pm these orcas were opposite Kaizumi. For a while we followed them on the remote cameras as they charged west mid strait. Well surprise! At 2:50pm the A54s turned up once again in Blackney Pass. As they were going north again we had to assume that they had silently circled around from Blackfish Sound via Weynton Passage and had travelled all the way to and into the entrance to Blackney Pass. It took them over 50 minutes to pass through, much longer than their previous jaunt at 7am. There was a lot of stopping to forage as they moved along. Even at 3:45pm orcas had not totally cleared our view. Most of the activity finally shifted into Blackfish Sound where they remained. After over an hour the A54s had decided they had had enough of Blackfish and they began to double back in the direction of Blackney Pass. From 5:21pm until 5:53pm they moved through Blackney Pass. This was quicker than before and this time there was not much stopping and starting. They were fairly spread out and before they all cleared our view their calls were already echoing through the entrance to Blackney Pass to Cracroft Point. They had become quite excited and made lots of calls demonstrating this change in mood. They came on to the remote camera at Cracroft Point by 6:15pm. The current wasnÕt in their favour - it hadnÕt been in Blackney either - and they struggled somewhat as they tried to get across to the Vancouver Island side. We believe they gave up and ended up going off to the west for another go at Weynton Pass. Round and round. The A54s were certainly restless. They didnÕt even go for one of their usual two plus hour rubs. Instead there was a lot of foraging. Something was definitely changing. At 10:22pm we heard them once again distantly. This time they were probably well west of Blackfish Sound and by midnight there was the hint of the possibility of new groups arriving. One other note. Jordan managed to take a picture of humpback MeniscusÕ fluke. On checking with Jackie Hildering of MERS it was confirmed this was the first sighting of Meniscus in this area.
OrcaLab
25 Jul 2022 10:58:42 PDT |
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