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July 26 2022 Orcas: A50s, A54s, A23s, A35s, A56, A73s, A42s, I35s, I68s Humpbacks: Stitch, Argonaut Pacific White-sided dolphins The I35s and I68s made the journey back from the central portion of Johnstone Strait where they had spent the better part of the day and around midnight they were westbound to Cracroft Point and the entrance to Blackney Pass. The other groups, the A30s, A5s and A4s, had themselves gone west earlier. By midnight after travelling through Weynton Passage they were in Blackfish Sound where they started calling vibrantly. Instead of drawing the I35s and I68s into Blackfish Sound the exact opposite happened. The As travelled Blackney Pass and into Johnstone Strait and connected with the I35s/I68s just after 3am. Freddy, who was in the Lab, had checked outside and heard blows twenty minutes earlier after hearing loud A30 calls on the Parson Island hydrophone. She heard some as the rest of the As followed through the Pass before.The large wake of a cruise ship confounded her ability to listen for long. One has to ask why they just didnÕt wait in Johnstone Strait rather than spending all that energy making a huge circle around Hanson Island? Perhaps it is all about timing and the need to always be on the move anyway. Did they have another reason? Once all the groups were in Johnstone Strait they coordinated their movements to the east in the direction of the Ecological Reserve but not before some of the As accompanied the Gs closer to Vancouver Island. From 4am onwards the whales kept to the area east of Cracroft Point between Boat Bay and Robson Bight. They had a lot to say to each other. Their calls waned and waxed past 6am by which time some of the whales had edged in even closer to Robson Bight and then dropped ÒdownÓ to Strider beach by 6:24am. A series of rubs began at 6:30am at Strider. The first one ended at 6:39am, the next one started at 6:45am and lasted thirteen minutes with whales heading west. Another group slipped by into Main but did not rub and probably turned west soon after as well.. Another, much shorter rub at Strider followed at 8:34am. Nancy had managed most of this activity on her own. Though relief arrived with the next shift Nancy commented that the intensity of the moment had made her feel alive! Whales can do that to someone! The morning was foggy, very foggy. By listening we understood that at least the A30s came back past Kaizumi and up to Cracroft Point. We even managed to use the remote CP camera by 10:30am when some of the fog began to burn off. Bend (A72) and others paced back and forth for a while before the fog once again obscured them. At first we thought they were going west but later revised this when we saw these same whales at Strider some time after a very long rub had started at 12:39pm. The rub lasted two hours and involved all of the groups in a succession of appearances. It was even nuanced by a rub at Main beach as the groups looked to have their own turn at rubbing. Using both beaches was a great solution. Nancy jumped in again and worked the camera at Strider and Eli took a turn writing copious notes. Lucy took over from Nancy when she finally acknowledged that she really did need some sleep. Eventually the rubs showed signs of subsiding as groups peeled off once again to the west. Just when we thought they were done another group showed up!. To our astonishment one of the last groups turned out to be the A42s! Lucy was amazed. We had no idea they were around. The last we had heard the A42 family was still way up on the north coast. Had they come in during the midnight sojourn in Blackfish Sound? Was that the reason the orcas had circled round? In the confusion of whales rubbing we may have even caught a glimpse of Current (A79) and Surge (A66) in the crowd. Then there came the moment they had Strider to themselves. It was a good moment especially for Lucy who was at the controls of the remote camera. At 2:39pm the rub was finally over and all the whales were westbound. Even Springer (A73) and her two young one passed through Strider after having been at Main beach. It was a long slow trek ÒupÓ the Strait. The whales were spread from shore to shore passing Critical Point and Robson Bight from 2:48pm on. At 3:52pm whales passed Kaizumi and even did a flyby rub on the way without really stopping.The A23s were definitely on the Cracroft Island side around the same time as those passing Kaizumi. For a moment they looked like they might head into Blackney Pass but then carried on with everyone else toward the western end of the Strait by 6pm. This then gave everyone the opportunity to go through Weynton Passage once again, this time with the I35s and the I68s! They started to come out the Blackfish Sound side after 7:11pm. They really didnÕt spend a lot of time in Blackfish and soon started to move east. At first they were quite spread out and we followed individuals or small groups with the remote camera. While doing so closer to Flower Island at 7:50pm, a Minke Whale surfaced near the orcas going in the opposite direction. That was a surprise! Dolphins also darted and dodged among the orcas. There had been dolphins with the orcas since before the long afternoon rub. The eastbound orcas soon compacted themselves into their family groups as they entered Blackney Pass. In came the A30s, the A42s, the A23s, the A4s and the I35s. Nice pass, the ocean was mirror calm, humpbacks breaching, the orcas quiet until they reached Parson Island and the entrance of Blackney Pass. Unfortunately, a lone zodiac zipped through Blackney after the whales and spoiled the beautiful calls that were happening and interrupted the rare undisturbed moment the whales had been experiencing just before. On arriving in the Strait at 9:13pm the whales curled east and formed a long line as they began to cross the Strait. We left off using the remote camera as the shape of their blows became softer and less distinct in the fading light and the whales moved further away. Before 11pm the orcas were off Robson Bight and soon approaching Strider once again. What unfolded next was rather remarkable. The whales came very close to both Strider and Main but did not rub! The A30s were the most prominent but the A5s chimed in too. The G clan whales held a presence while the A4s, who seemed further away, only occasionally contributed. But this chorus was to take many shifts past midnight when there was even a surprise visitor too.
OrcaLab
27 Jul 2022 08:38:43 PDT |
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