This afternoon, after long hours of waiting following an early morning phone call with the news, the first resident orcas of the 2010 summer “season” came into Blackney Pass and made their way towards Johnstone Strait. They were the “A36” brothers, A37 (Plumper) and A46 (Kaikash), now sadly without their older bother A32 (Cracroft). They were accompanied by the matriarch A12 (Scimitar), who had been sighted with them far to the north weeks ago, and appears to have been their constant companion since last summer.
A humpback whale was in Blackney Pass when the orcas arrived, as was an energetic group of Pacific white-sided dolphins who were playing around the humpback. All of them entered Johnstone Strait at about the same time, and headed east. More than an hour later, when the orcas reached Robson Bight, we heard them again, and a short time after, we heard their first “rub” of the 2010 season.
Altogether, this was a wonderful first day of summer, sunny & warm, with whales from end to end.
