Our day, here at the lab, was bookended by the A23s.
As a recap: The last calls we heard in the night ended on Flower Island just before 1am. The recent groups in the area, with the exception of the A25s, had gone west into Blackfish Sound earlier. The A23s were the last group to do so.
Our day really started then with the A23s passing the Lab mid channel from 7:35am to 7:50am. There was fog but we saw most of the southbound pass from the Lab deck as this family made their way steadily through and on to Cracroft Point ten minutes later. As they did so, young but growing Fern (A95) led three others and A60 moved to mid strait. Midsummer’s immediate family favoured the Cracroft island side, first angling toward Vancouver island as they turned to the west.
CP had both humpbacks, Hunter and Meteorite, in front.
A50 calls in Blackfish Sound had already drawn our attention at 8:22am. AJ saw, at 9:08am, orcas off of Bold Head while another whale watch boat Eagle 56 noticed that the A23s were still near the entrance to Blackney Pass, undecided and spread out.
Ridge was off CP.
As 10am approached, Scotty was now convinced the stalling A23s were going west.
The Cliff Research site had already called in at 9:08am called in to say that unidentified orcas were moving towards the Sophia Islands. These whales, later identified as the T099s had turned and were now going eastward by 10:30am. The T099s, who were yesterday’s Biggs orcas, had been last seen in Cormorant Channel the previous afternoon. They must have made a pretty extensive circle back to the Strait.
The humpback Tag was seen easting.
The morning was progressing. Tomoko said her good-byes while Olivia prepared the Sonic for the trip into town where Tomoko would spend the night before travelling on to Vancouver and back home to Japan. It was also a grocery run so there was a lot to get ready. After the boat departed and was travelling toward Alert Bay Tomoko and Olivia saw A60 nearing Blinkhorn who was probably still far ahead of the rest of his family. Just after 11am he was seen off of Telegraph Cove still travelling on his own.
Humpbacks were trap feeding in Blackney Pass.
Before Scotty found and identified the T099s at 11:41am, four other but unidentified orcas were seen off Naka Creek. Naka Creek is much further east and on the Vancouver Island side. Nothing seemingly came of this report. But Scotty did find the A25s heading west close to the Cracroft island shore opposite the east end of the Reserve at 11:58am. Had the Naka Creek sight been the A25s who number a close three? Had they crossed over? Whatever the case might be, the Resident (A25s) and Bigg’s orcas (T099s) must have passed pretty close to each other. Once again it was a case of Bigg’s orcas and Resident orcas being in relatively close proximity.
The A25s must certainly have crossed over to the Vancouver Island side because after another hour passed they would begin a rub at Strider at 1:07pm. This would last until 1:13pm. As they rubbed, the A23s, at the opposite end, had turned east. For a while near noon A60 had been foraging off of Ella Point near Beaver Cove. The reason for the A23s originally choosing to go west on entering the Strait became clearer with the report of the A34s now seen milling about off Weynton Island, near to where Weynton Pass converges with Johnstone Strait. Earlier, at 12:39pm, they had been seen at the north end of the Stephenson Islets in Weynton Pass and from there over to the more recent sighting off Weynton Island.
It seemed as if the Strait was slowly becoming more congested.
Cordero and Twilight, of the A25s, slipped into Robson Bight at 1:33pm and Surge joined them two minutes later. As they foraged, the A34s came east along the Hanson Island side of the Strait and the A23s took the Vancouver Island side. CP could see them advancing from Big Bay at 2:16pm.
What we (and others) didn’t realise immediately was that the A50s were also in the Strait. They had been heard earlier in Blackfish Sound. They must have come in with the A34s through Weynton Pass undetected. Four orcas, surrounded by dolphins, who approached Blackney Pass at 2:35pm may have been them. The A34s were now foraging in the rip to the west of CP.
Surprisingly, the A50s came into Blackney Pass and went slowly north to Blackfish Sound between 2:39pm and 3:24pm. In particular, the Lab tracked Bend among the dispersed group moving in every which way as they foraged their way through. They gave a burst of excited calls after reaching Blackfish Sound.
This was while Echo (A55), Simoom (A34), Rainy (A96) and her baby, who had gone east past CP, crossed to mid strait and while Dylan was still off the entrance to Blackney Pass with the A67s, who a bit later at 3:37pm, may have poked their noses into Blackney soon after the A50s let out that excited burst as they pushed deeper into Blackfish Sound.
As all this activity was happening off of CP and in Blackney Pass the A23s, meanwhile carried on going east in the Strait. Just after 3pm they were, according to the Cliff, off of Izumi Rock. They had an extra male travelling with them and the speculation was that it was Hope (A80) from the A34s. The rest of his family were to the west.
A change happened around 3:23pm when A34, A55, A96 and A132 turned around and started to go west. By 4pm, the A34s were moving west and the A23s and A25s, who they had picked up along the way to Strider, went in for a long, very extended rub that lasted from 3:55pm until 6:04pm, an astonishing two hours and twenty-two minutes! It was, by far, the longest rub of the season. It went on and on and involved all members of these two groups. Quite beautiful and their calls were loud and clear the whole time.
Just before the rub concluded, a lone female orca was seen traveling east by herself. One thought was that perhaps this was Simoom (A34) going to collect Hope (A80)? – just a Mum making sure her son was okay and on track.
Both the A23s and A25s initially turned west after the rub. The A25s returned to Strider at 7:23pm for a short three minute rub after which they moved offshore and travelled east.
Eventually we stopped trying to follow their disappearing figures in the gloaming. Besides we soon had to pay attention to the A23s who had continued west to Blackney Pass. They arrived off of CP by 8:20pm and entered Blackney Pass six minutes later. The Lab would first see them at 8:39pm. Even though the light was fading, seeing A60’s progress was possible. He travelled mid channel as did the others and stopped every so often to grab a bite to eat, as did the others too. As they mosied through the Pass they eventually filed out and into Blackfish Sound by 9:16pm.
At 8:57pm humpbacks Tag and Quartz travelled together from Blackney.
The day’s bookend was complete. A few calls lasting to 10:39pm from the A25s at the east end and a few calls from the westbound A23s at midnight closed August 12th.
A surprisingly quiet night followed.
