We could not help ourselves when doing the summary for the 15th, not to mention the beautiful calls made by the A50s just after midnight when they were nearing Strider Beach. Despite the closeness of the echolocation that followed half an hour later the A50s, somewhat uncharacteristically, did not go for a rub. They had another agenda to attend too, perhaps it was time to reconnect with the A25s who had been calling from further east. There were a few more distant calls at 1:16am and again at 2:01am. Then the Strait fell into silence, bereft of any sign of the orcas.
It would stay that way until 8:48am when the calls of the returning orcas were heard. We had already heard five minutes before that orcas were heading west at the eastern boundary. The calls were, of course, on the Strider system and an anticipated rub began at 9:04am. It was a mixed group. The A50s and A25s had indeed found each other during the night. Clio (A50) herself, her daughter Bend (A72) and Surge (A61) from the A25s were all seen. Surge was seen at the beginning of the rub so possibly his group was leading. The rub ended at 9:32am. Everybody was then going west. Super faint calls on the Critical Point system followed.
Leaving the western boundary at 10:43 the whales were tight to the Vancouver Island shore. Way out west near Bere Point in Queen Charlotte Strait a group of orcas were seen and tentatively identified as the A23s. This group had been foraging a mile or so offshore since 7am.
Meanwhile, the trek along the Vancouver Island shore continued toward Izumi. Ahead, further “up” the shore, was a large group of kayakers moving toward the advancing orcas. Echolocation and faint calls on the nearby Kaizumi system indicated westward progress.
Scotty obligingly confirmed that some of the A50s and the A25s were off the Izumi Rock area. Clio was now with her two boys, Kolaitis (A84) and Alder (A99). By 11:23am, the whales, after passing Kaizumi, started to cross the Strait toward CP. A few minutes later Surge could be seen foraging mid strait. The amount of time these whales are able to forage contrasts sharply with the last couple of years. The huge run of Pink salmon, the evidence of Chinook, the fact that the orcas have stuck around speaks to a possible return to normal.
11:33am and the humpbacks Ridge and Quartz were lunge feeding in the rip off CP.
Calls and echolocation were now on Cracroft’s hydrophone. Bend (A72) found herself in front of CP and Surge took time to rest on the surface for a while.
Now Noon and it was lunchtime! The A50s spread out to forage in the rip just past CP. Forty-five minutes later they began to group up on the Hanson Island side of the rip and form a resting line. The whales were relaxed evidenced by their lack of movement and a few spyhops,
The humpback Quartz was still busy feeding.
At 1:03pm after some faint calls on the Parson Island hydrophone one whale breached and after some A5 calls the entire assembly began to move slowly west towards the eastern end of Hanson Island. From there they continued west and by 1:32pm they had reached the western end of Hanson and soon began to cross the Strait once again. 2pm came and went. Straitwatch informed us that the whales were now approaching Blinkhorn. By 3pm they were on their way to Telegraph Cove.
They stayed in the vicinity of Telegraph Cove from 3:30pm until almost 5pm. After which they shifted toward the Stephenson Islets and Weynton Pass. They slowly moved up to Stubbs Island in the centre of Weynton Pass. It was now 5:40pm and the whales would go on from there to Queen Charlotte Strait. By 8pm the very vocal A25s were going northeast towards Fife Sound with the A50s 2 miles west of them but pointing in the same direction.
The humpback Squall once again, it happened the night before, began bubble net feeding between the Lab and Burnt Point and then passed close by the Lab. Argonaut was to make the same pass, just a little further out, a short while later.
The A25s and A50s made a change at 8:35pm that brought them to the Foster Islands.
For ten minutes, from 11:04pm until 11:14pm, we heard both the A25s and the A50s as they came back and crossed the western end of Blackfish Sound.
The last word, before midnight closed out this day, belonged to a humpback who made very loud percussive tail or pectoral slaps in Blackney Pass. A fitting end to another long day.
