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August 24 2022 Orcas: A50s, A54s, A23s Humpbacks: Stitch, Quartz, Tag, Inukshuk and maybe Argonaut For the first time in a while, all groups moved out to the west overnight, and our morning was spent in anticipation of their return. Shortly after midnight, the A30s and A23s made a bid for Blackney. Shari, listening on the remote platform, heard breaches and blows. By 12:30am, the A30s were audible on Parson Island, and began their journey into our pass. The A23s would mill off the point for a while. At 1:09am, a humpback breached close to the lab, sending a loud crash echoing round the trees. The A30s' blows could be heard by 1:14am, traveling fairly quickly to the north. Their calls in Blackfish Sound were brief. It took the A23s a little longer to decide on their next move (or perhaps, they were just enjoying the Strait to themselves!), Whatever their motives, they finally followed the A30s through Blackney and into the Sound shortly after 3am. All whales moved out to the west, leaving us in silence for the remainder of the night. The August fog has well and truly persisted. We are enveloped in thick, low clouds until around noon each day - sometimes longer. At 9:35am, masked by the veil, we could hear the blows of returning Resident orcas heading south. The Skana on scene confirmed all A30s and A23s in the mix. Today, for the first time in a while, the groups did not go east to rub; they headed over to Vancouver Island and made their way west. Jared Towers, listening on the Telegraph Cove hydrophone, could hear them at 1:40pm. The A50s chose to head through Weynton Passage and into Blackfish Sound, while the A54s and A23s remained in the Strait. The two latter groups turned back to the east, and were just off the Wastell Islets before 2pm. The orcas were spread as they headed back to Cracroft Point, the A54s favoring the Vancouver Island shore as they often do. A60 alone was visible and audible off Cracroft Point between 3:30pm and 4pm. It is rare we can say ‘those calls belong to that one individual!’ - so this was a particularly exciting event. The A54s came for a longer rub at Kaizumi at 3:48pm, with some of the A23s joining in too. Some more frequent and excited calls from all parties tipped us off to their intention: Blackney-bound! They all moved over to Cracroft Point and then further to the Hanson shore, as the leading whales began to make their move into the pass by 6pm. They came in as a fairly large group altogether, with a few leading the way out in front. Once in Blackfish Sound, the A54s and A23s joined up with the A50s, who had been milling around Bold Head. Much to our delight, the whales decided to turn and come back! By 7:20pm we could see a few of the A54s in the pass, heading south this time. They were spread out and fairly far from us. The A23s came next, in a tight group mid-pass, and remained this way for the entire crossing. Eventually, the A54s formed another tight group, and followed the A23s towards Johnstone Strait. Parson Island was lit up with a beautiful golden glow by the sinking sun; a beautiful backdrop for this peaceful passing. But what of the A50s? Suzie’s prediction was: A50s will come last, close to Hanson, riding the back-eddy current. Bingo! At 8:16pm they came in, close to Burnt Point. On deck, we contained our excitement and maintained a respectful calm as they cruised by. There were no boats present for any of the groups’ time in Blackney, and the whales matched this lull with a silence of their own. Nevertheless, it was a magical evening - especially for new assistant Dori who was seeing her very first orcas on her first eve at the lab. The orcas all passed CP, A23s in the lead at 8:43pm, and they peeled off to the east. After some foraging in Robson Bight, a brief rub at Main was had at 11:20pm by the A54s and another slightly longer rub at Strider at 11:32pm. Just before midnight we could discern the A50s decision to come west as the others, the A54s and A23s, slipped off to the east. The mixed calls saw us through to midnight.
OrcaLab
25 Aug 2022 14:18:53 PDT |
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