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No calls but orcas nearby
July 31 2022 Orcas: A50s, A54s, I04s (new baby I102), I27s, ?I65s, I16s (Port Hardy) Humpbacks: Stitch, Ridge Last night we saw excited breaches from a few of the group’s youngest members, perhaps they knew who was about to arrive on scene… The calls of the A30s and A4s tapered off shortly after 1 am as they moved out into Queen Charlotte Strait; they were not gone for long. At 6:49 am we were awoken by a new repertoire of calls - the I15s were here! Not long after, they were joined by the A30s, and the familiar clashing of acoustic clans rang out in the early morn. They travelled steadily east and we knew it would not be long until they were in front of the lab. It was an incredibly foggy morning - we could not see more than 200ft - so we had to rely on our ears to clue us in to their movements. Out on deck, Eli began hearing their blows in Blackney Passage at 8:55 am. It was such a still atmosphere that the blows echoed around the campsite, bringing many of us onto the deck to try and track the invisible fins. The groups came through in dribs and drabs, and they were all fighting a strong ebb. We caught occasional glimpses as the fog banks shifted, and could identify the tall fin of I76 closest to the lab, with A72 in a group a little further afield. The first group had cleared into an equally foggy Johnstone Strait by 9:53 am, as we began to hear very faint calls. It took the remaining groups another 15 minutes or so to join them. At 10:40 am, the unmistakably A4 calls alerted us to the fact that A73 (Springer) and her two offspring were still in the mix, and they wasted no time angling east towards the beaches. The groups were remarkably spread out in the Strait as they headed for the Bight. A trickle of reports throughout the day confirmed the presence of the I4s, I27s and likely I65s all in the Strait, with the I16s off Port Hardy and heading east just before midday. We also received the welcome news that I102 was travelling with a new baby! The fog persisted, as did the easting orcas. A few individuals had a very close bite to eat at the eastern tip of Robson Bight, echolocating loudly on our Critical Point hydrophone at 11:45am. We didn’t have long to wait before they were visible at Strider beach, and at 12:17am the first whales were sending pebbles scattering in all directions at both Strider and Main. We could hear close A73 and I15 calls, with the A30s a little more distant to begin with. A truly lovely event was seeing Springer and her youngest on the underwater camera at Main beach at 12:36 pm. This is the third time we have seen her at this beach this year, and it is interesting that she chooses this site while the rest rub at Strider. By 12:45 pm, rubs were ended and all headed east for a little while, riding the tail end of the ebb, before switching back to the west. For the next few hours the groups remained very spread out, in no particular hurry to traverse the Strait. Coupled with an afternoon of awful boat noise, it was tricky to track their movements, but we did see A72 of the A50s closer to the Vancouver Island shore, and I122 of the I65s close to Cracroft Point, all steadily westing. We also identified ‘Ridge’ the humpback off the point around the same time. By 6 pm they had made it as far as Blinkhorn, all spread out still. A decision was made to enter Weynton Passage, and we began to hear the A30s first in Blackfish Sound at 8:11 pm. The others followed suit and we got some great footage of gulls, eagles and orca fishing a giant bait ball! They seemed determined to head to Blackney in the fading light, but were fighting a strong ebbing current and eventually peeled off to Queen Charlotte Strait. The night fell silent under a starry sky.
Suzie, OL
01 Aug 2022 11:07:32 PDT |
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