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No calls but orcas nearby
August 2 2022 Orcas: A50s, A54s Humpbacks: Insomnia, Ridge, ?Stitch Today has been quite different to the last few, with very few visual clues as to the whales’ movements. With no rubs, and only one passing, we are left to piece together the acoustic clues of what happened over the past 24 hours. Here is our best summation of what occurred. The A30 and I15 groups remained in Blackfish Sound for the early hours of the morning. At some point, the A50s and I15s likely peeled off and out to the west, while the A54s remained. Around 3:29am, they turned and pointed towards Blackney, as their calls and echolocation began to get clearer on our Flower Island hydrophone. They passed seamlessly by the lab, audible in the cross-section of Blackney Pass and Johnstone Strait at 4:27am. They made their way quickly east as the dawn began to break, grabbing a bite to eat in Robson Bight before 6am, and heading past our Strider cam offshore shortly after. A few whales came in for a brief 9-minute rub at Main Beach at 6:24am. The only minor ‘confusion’ was the appearance of a tall fin in the mix - too far away to ID but seemingly too tall to be a member of the A54s. It is possible that some of the I15s were still in the mix (or perhaps a new group?) and silently slipping by… We last heard this group at 8:15am fairly close to the Main Beach before heading east. Later in the day at 2:52pm, we heard a report of Northern Residents by Adam River (east of the Ecological Reserve) and heading west. It was very likely the same group, although no updates or sightings since then still leave us pondering exactly who and where they are! Meanwhile, the A50s had spent the early morning out in Queen Charlotte Strait, and were heading back our way before midday. At 11:23 am they were reported off Lizard Point on Malcolm Island, and a trickle of reports over the next few hours saw them steadily tracking their way through Blackfish Sound towards the lab. Our patience was rewarded, and at 3:13pm they entered our view, closer to the further shoreline. They were altogether in a tight-knit group, travelling fast. Despite their small scale in our static view, we could easily identify the notched fin of A72 (Bend) and the ever-growing fin of A84 (Klaoitsis). They cleared into Johnstone Strait quickly, and spent the next few hours foraging around the ripping current off Cracroft Point. Very slowly angling east, we lost their calls for a little while around 7:10pm as they made their way to the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve. Their arrival at Strider at 9pm was completely unannounced, with only the dashing of pebbles audible for a good while. We could identify this group as the A50s, and around the same time we heard faint A54 calls approaching from the east. A meeting of family groups at the beaches! The A50s moved more offshore at 9:11pm, possibly making room for their kin. At 9:20pm we heard rubs start again simultaneously on Main Beach and Strider. It was a little difficult to get IDs in the fading light, but it is likely that the A54s were at Main, possibly spread to Strider, with the A50s in the mix too. They did not stay long, ending by 9:30pm before moving offshore and angling over to the Cracroft Island side. One tailing whale came in for a solitary swoosh of the beach at Strider at 10pm. The rest of the evening was spent offshore in range of the beaches, as the A30s milled at the eastern end of our range in Johnstone Strait for the next few hours. The only ‘mystery’ that remains is the report of Northern Residents out east earlier in the day, with two male fins present. Perhaps a mis-ID, or a different group has remained east and is evading our ears! We hope tomorrow will bring further clarity and more wisdom into the world of these whales.
Suzie, OL
03 Aug 2022 11:40:10 PDT |
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