Once again, as usual, the A50s, A23s and the A25s, were in Johnstone Strait. In their own “orca way” more or less together. The A50s and the A23s after midnight went east past the Ecological Reserve. The A25s had long preceded them by a day. Very faint calls between 5:22am and 5:42am indicated a return. Less than an hour later there were loud A50 calls and echolocation at the Main beach as the whales entered the Reserve. But as it was once again foggy, “zero-zero vis” as they say, visual clues were sparse. At 7:19am possible fins were seen to the west of Strider. Whales were definitely headed west.
Boat Bay heard blows through the fog from whales going west at 7am and 7:45am.
Excited calls echoing from Main to Strider told us more were on their way.
Close echolocation on the Critical Point system in Robson Bight announced the A50s arrival. They kept going and soon were heard further along on Vancouver Island, and seen stopping only to forage around Izumi Rock.
By 9:37am Sailcone estimated that orcas were stretched from Izumi Rock all the way to Kaikash Creek. A5 calls were heard on the Main beach system. Scotty commented that the A50s were off Kaikash at 9:51am. Five minutes later they were crossing toward CP. 10:15am, and CP could see blows and even a few fins coming from the Kaiaksh area. Four speed boats coming from Blackney Pass disturbed the scene. Whale-watch boats were seen through the fog. The whales moved on to the rip off the entrance to Blackney. CP could see a few fins “popping” up in the fog.
At the Lab, attention was quickly redirected to the A25s rubbing at Strider beginning at 10:33am. Surge was on camera. It was only a five minute rub. Often when whales come from the east their rubs are quite short. Rubs by whales coming from the west usually are longer. The A25s carried on to the west like the others.
The others were getting ready to enter Blackney Pass. A72 (Bend) and her little one were floating on the surface on the Hanson Island side while A84 still foraged in the rip. By 10:51am it looked like the A50s were now ready to enter. The Hanson Island side was obscured but the shadowy form of the Ocean Magic II could be seen over by Little Hanson.
The humpback Sponge Bob was off CP.
The A23, moving west, surfaced below the Cliff research site further east of CP in the Strait, A50 calls and echolocation were now on the Parson Island system as they moved further into Blackney Pass. But they did not go very far into the Pass. The Lab was having difficulty hearing their blows but their calls were heard on the local system encouraging the idea that at least someone from the A50s had explored a bit further north. At 11:19am orcas were seen foraging off of Parson Island’s southern end. Not long after CP reported that whales were coming back out of Blackney Pass. It had been a short foray.
Meanwhile, wardens of the Ecological Reserve were talking with a sports fisherman in the Bight. He had not understood that Robson Bight is off limits to recreational boats. The encounter was positive and the sportsman left.
The stalling A50s may have been waiting for the A23s to catch up. As A99 and A123 were identified off the entrance to Blackney, the A23s were approaching CP from the east. A60 was a little further back from his family. The two groups spread out along the rip and entrance to Blackney Pass where they collectively paused, floated and finally oriented toward Blackney. By 12:10pm they were decidedly entering the Pass.
Still in the Strait and about this same time, the A25s were seen, steadily making their way west past Kaizumi, a short while later east of Kaiaksh Creek and finally over to the rip just past CP. By 1:05pm they too cleared into Blackney Pass essentially following the others who had managed to go into Blackfish Sound at 12:55pm after passing the Lab.
The A25s who passed through Blackney Pass mid channel joined the others in Blackfish Sound by 1:24pm.
An eagle, seen on the Strider remote camera, had found a small puddle and was taking a bath. The unguarded moment totally upstaged, for a short while, the passing of the whales in front of the Lab. Everyone came in to have a quick look before the eagle flew off.
In short order, after less than an hour, Nicolette at Double Bay saw orcas headed west. The Ambient Light then saw approximately 16 orcas, perhaps the A23s and A50s, north of the Plumper Islands turn back at 2:23pm. Straitwatch then confirmed that the A23s, A50s and the A25s were on the Hanson Island side and that they were indeed eastbound. But they were not in a hurry. Lots of foraging, resting and pushing against the ebbing tide slowed any intended travel to Blackney Pass. We finally resorted to looking for them on the remote camera and eventually, at 4:42pm, found a distant group holding tight together.
The humpback Quartz was in the entrance way to Blackney Pass.
Surprisingly, orcas came into view of the Lab at 4:44pm. The perspective of the zoomed in remote may have belied just how far away the group we had spied actually were. Regardless, the A23s and A50s, together in two close groups, proceeded through Blackney. The A25s who had entered separately joined the others by 5:55pm before everyone cleared by 6:06pm. The tide was now in their favour.
CP began its observations at 6:18pm and as the whales came into view. The A50s were first, spread out and soon in a rush to move east. The A23s, travelling still as their own group, came close to Cracroft and were much more relaxed.
From CP, the whales continued to move in the direction of the Reserve. Scotty remarked, at 7:14pm that the orcas were from mid strait to the Vancouver Island shore. At the Lab, echolocation was heard on the Critical Point system and two minutes later, using the remote camera, orcas were seen right off Critical Point. Dolphins were there with Bend and her little one.
As far east as Bend’s A50 group had come it was the A23s who went for a rub at Strider beginning at 8:46pm. It was a good lengthy rub ending at 9:16pm. The entire group was there with the exception of A60. With the rub finished the A23s went off to the west.
We then followed movements and recorded as calls continued in the Strait. Between 10:30pm and 10:52pm the close calls on the Kaizumi station indicated for us that the orcas had moved west of Robson Bight. The camp at the Sophia Islands heard whales pass at 10:58pm. Calls on Parson Island at 11:22pm and blows heard at CP confirmed that the movement west had continued. Once again the orcas turned into Blackney Pass and through to Blackfish Sound. The chance to hear their blows was confounded by the wave action stirred up by the westerly breeze. But the echolocation and later the A1 calls in Blackfish at 11:53pm confirmed for us that at least the A50s had made it back to Blackfish.
It was now midnight. Not all the groups had left. Had the A23s stayed in step with the A50s and gone north silently? Had the A25s remained straitside? The answers will have to wait till later.
Quin, who was here for some technical work, wrapped it up earlier in the day and headed back to Courtenay via a quick stop over at CP. Quin had worked on installing a new Starlink connection. This involved a climb up a very tall tree by the Lab! But after coming down and checking he was pretty happy with the results. Thanks Quin, we are too.
