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September 21 2024 Northern Residents: A62s, I16s, I65s, I04s?, I27s? Humpbacks: Freckles, Ojos Blancos, possibly Hunter In the early hours of this last day of summer, the I15s and A62s were calling in Johnstone Strait. We could hear echolocation getting closer to the Strider rubbing beach and at 1:55am the A62s engaged in a 20 minute rub! Their calls were loud and clear. Jianna was on shift that night and her words best describe this moment: ÒAt 1:46am, I15 and A34s calls on Strider Rubbing Beach increased with excitement. There were calls, whistles, buzzes, and echolocation creating chaotic symphony, stirring the night. Then, at 1:51am, the calls paused. Minutes felt like hours, was the excitement over? Then, the silence was abruptly interrupted by the loud ticking of echolocation and the sloshing of water. Then, at 1:55am Ñ Chuff! The loud buzz at the forefront of the calls was a sign that this was the A34s N9i call. With TomokoÕs sharp ear picking up on finer details, she was able to identify that the calls belonged to the A62s. These vocalizations were rich with enthusiasm and their intensity elicited both laughter and awe. The resonant buzzes were enough to quite literally take oneÕs breath away. At 2:07am, a trill sounded, a sign that the I15s were still at Strider as well. By 2:15am, the rub had ended. The calls dissipated but could still be heard distancing in the strait.Ó After the rub, the A62s remained close to the beach for the next hour and a half, before moving west around 4:05am. The I15s did not take part in the early rub but we started to hear them again in the Strait at 5:52am, faint at first then mid range, along with the A62s, before they all became silent at 6:02am. Shortly after, we started hearing echolocation and clear A62 N4s at the entrance of Blackney Pass. The following calls on our Local Centre hydrophone at 6:31am were faint which indicated that the whales were traveling on the far side. It was still dark outside and the loud sound of waves stopped Julia, who was on shift, from hearing blows. The ebb currents were strong and the whales surely made a quick pass as we started to hear echolocation at 6:48am at the north end of Blackney Pass where it meets Blackfish Sound. The A62s were not alone though and members of the I15s must have silently been traveling with them as we started to hear their calls in Blackfish Sound at 6:50am. It was just light enough for Laura to see 3 to 4 orcas on our base camera headed in that direction and clearing our view at 6:56am. This group of I15s was vocal until 7:28am, accompanied by Pacific White-sided Dolphin chatter. Later, a few reports indicated that 10 Northern Residents had headed to Lizard Point on Malcolm Island at 10:49am then turned back towards Blackfish Sound at 11:30am. We heard distant A62 and I15 calls at 12:48pm, as the whales passed Donegal Head. Alex reported 2 groups spread out possibly including the I16s. At 2:05pm a report came of 12 Northern Residents traveling South in Weynton which would account for the I16s (7 whales) and A62s (5 whales) . We started hearing them in Johnstone Strait at 2:12pm, I15 calls first then A62s. They traveled east down to the rip off Cracroft Point where they started to do a bit of foraging. Meanwhile, one group of I15s was on the Vancouver Island side and rubbed at Kaizumi for 3 minutes at 3:57pm. Only 2 whales could be observed on the camera and we wondered if these were members of the I16s or another matriline of the I15s (I65s, I4s, I27s)? Thanks to our remote camera at Cracroft Point, we were able to identify the silent whales foraging in the rip as the A62s. At 5:17pm, they started to move east, favoring the Cracroft Island side. Other members of the I15s must have been around too as we heard them calling at the entrance of Blackney Pass at 5:23pm! At 6:09pm, clear I15 calls and echolocation were heard in the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve. A rub started at Strider rubbing beach at 6:46pm and we identified them as the I65s. Were they the ones who rubbed at Kaizumi 3 hours earlier? They moved east after the Strider rub, except for I122 who was still foraging offshore. They all returned for another rub at 7:22pm before heading west at 7:34pm. Their calls were loud on our Critical Point hydrophone at 7:40pm. We also heard A clan N3s at the same time, indicating that the A62s had possibly reached the Reserve as well. Another short rub happened at 8:19pm and that was it for the day. We had no visual reports of the I4s or I27s today but we hope they were around too.
OrcaLab
22 Sep 2024 12:17:04 PDT |
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September 20 2024 Northern Residents: A62s, I16s, I04s, I65s, I27s (? I31s heard) BiggÕs: T109A2s Humpbacks: possibly Moonstar and Quartz Even though all the Resident orcas, the A54s, A62s, I4s, I65s, I16s and I27s, left for Queen Charlotte Strait late afternoon on the 19th, some of the I15s and later the A62s, returned to the Strait by the early hours of the 20th. The I15 group, or groups, came in first and by 2:30am were already west of Robson Bight travelling east along the Vancouver Island shore. In the next hour they approached Strider Beach and within ten minutes after that their calls were close and within fifteen minutes of that they hit the beach in dramatically loud fashion. The rub lasted from 3:55am until 4am. From Strider they continued east and could be heard on Main beach hydrophone as well. At 4:19am, the I15s were upstaged by a humpback in Blackney Pass who began ÒpecÓ slapping the water. Georgia likened the sound to gunshots. It was that loud. Then the humpback breached from the sea lion rock to the south of the Lab to Burnt Point north of the Lab. Shortly afterwards at 4:33am the A62s let their presence be known. They happened to be not far from the I15s. Up to this point they had been silent travelling partners. Their calls were on both Main and Strider systems. They too went for a rub from 4:41 until 4:48am. The rub was followed by loud, excited, almost frantic calls. From 5:12am their calls grew a bit more distant and in short order more of their calls were heard faintly on the Critical Point system to the west. The A62s had decided to return to Robson Bight. The humpback off the Lab added a few more breaches. By 5:18am the A62s were clearly off Critical Point, the eastern headland of Robson Bight. The I15s however lingered near the area adjacent to Strider and at 5:52am their calls were close and an hour later frequent and excited. At the Lab it was now time to change shifts. Julia replaced Georgia who on her way to get some rest, was still probably thinking about those breaching, pec slapping humpbacks just off the Lab under the clear and starry night. As Julia welcomed the dawn, the I15s and A62s were still calling and at 7:21am a mother and baby from the I15s made a few passes over Strider beach on their way to the west. The required twenty minute interval had orcas coming up to Critical Point with a strong stream of echolocation as they ÒroundedÓ the corner into the Bight. The westward trek was determined. It wasnÕt long before the orcas passed Kaizumi beach. It was not yet quite 8am. Using the remote Cracroft Point surface camera we witnessed six orcas approaching from the east at 8:29am. This sighting was followed-up by close calls and orcas passing at 8:44am. They were headed directly to the entrance of Blackney Pass. Finally, we were able to get a sense of which I15 groups had been in the Strait. It turned out to be all four family groups. By 8:53am the I4s were already half way through Blackney. Then came the A62s and the I27s. They were all moving fast with the strong ebb current. The I16s were next. After these groups left our view and entered Blackfish Sound by 9:10am we heard more I15 type calls on Parson Island. Our gaze turned south. Sure enough the I65s, the last of the I15s, came into view. Like the others they travelled north reaching Blackfish by 9:38am. There had been one anomaly during what looked to be a normal south - north passing. At 8:52am, before the orcas were seen in Blackney Pass, the Lab detected a call and echolocation on the Flower Island system. The call was clear enough to suggest the presence of the I31s. Later, at 12:54 the same call was intriguingly repeated twice more. We were left wondering. The A62s and the I15s continued to call in Blackfish Sound as they slowly staged their entrance into Weynton Pass. By 1:11pm calls stopped. When they resumed at 2:09pm the Residents were back in Johnstone Strait. There was no sign of the A54s who left during that late afternoon trek to Queen Charlotte Strait on the 19th. It was left up to the A62s and I15s therefore to occupy Johnstone Strait. After their entry they advanced eastward. In due course most found themselves off the entrance to Blackney Pass. They continued calling for several hours. Most of the calls waxed and waned in strength as the groups moved around the Strait. The I65s were an exception, they made their way to Strider where at 6:53pm they rubbed for seven minutes. Afterwards, they could be seen resting between Strider and Main beach. At 7:28pm they came in for a repeated rub but this time they left to the west and were heard with a group of dolphins at 7:49pm. Meanwhile, Scotty had found and identified the T109A2s near Stubbs Island inWeynton Pass at 7:23pm. The Strait became uncharacteristically silent for a couple of hours after this. A humpback in Blackfish, with his grumbles, clicks and creaks, caught our attention from 10:12pm until 10:40pm. Perhaps the same humpback or perhaps another started up again in Blackfish at 11:14pm. In Johnstone Strait, after 11pm, the I15s let out a few calls and did some echolocation but by 11:30pm they were quiet. They were not gone. The orca chorus would pick up once more after midnight.
OrcaLab
22 Sep 2024 11:38:35 PDT |
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