While the chorus of orca calls in Blackfish Sound faded in the early morning hours of August 20th, a humpback whale became quite active near Flower Island. At 12:27am, our remote hydrophone at Strider Rubbing Beach picked up the distant calls of the I16s, travelling westward by 2:27am. Shortly after, we also heard A4 calls. By 3:07am, all the whales were assumed to be travelling westbound. Without vocalizing, they eventually turned back westward and were sighted close to Cracroft Island at 6:52am by Megan and Momoko who were at Cracroft Point to capture footage for the film crew currently living with us. The A24s+A78, the A52s (of the A35s) and the I16s passed CP in this order.
At 7:08 am, the first fins of the A64s plus A78, A52s appeared in Blackney Pass and then the I16s. In the early morning too bright light, they moved through the Pass in the mist before disappearing into Blackfish Sound. At 7:41am, we picked up calls from the groups in Blackfish Sound. They most likely continued westward, as an hour later Seasmoke reported Northern Residents off White Cliff. Meanwhile, the A25s were reported further south near Owen Point, in the Nodales Channel area.
At 10:33am, Scotty reported the A52s and I16s between Donegal and Penfold, along with many inbound whales at Lizard Point by 11:42am – including A’s, I’s, and some G’s. According to Scotty, not all whales of this group came down as far as Blackfish Sound; by 4:15pm the A50s were off the Egeria Shoals at the northern tip of Swanson Island. Shortly after, CETUS reported the A50s milling near Bold Head with a very slow southeasterly trend, which prompted the Lab to prepare for another passage. Although we picked up their calls in Blackfish Sound by 4:36pm, they never entered the Pass. Instead, they lingered near Swanson, close to our remote Flower Island hydrophone, before turning back. The last faint call was logged at 7:19pm.
On a very special note, Momoko white at the CP camp spotted a Fin Whale heading east offshore just before 3pm. Daryll Luscombe had spotted the same individual off Sointula Lodge earlier in the day. These sightings suggest something of the route this whale took through the area. It is very rare , but not unheard of for Fin Whales to use these waters. What an amazing event!!!
We also received a report of two Bigg’s orcas westbound outside of Alert Bay at 3:29 pm,IDs are still unconfirmed.
On a different note, we had to say goodbye to Katie, her dog Rozie, and Indie, Paul’s great-granddaughter. Their warmth and energy will be deeply missed on the island, and we hope to see them back here sooner rather than later.
This day, which had felt rather quiet and slow, ended beautifully with a close pass of the humpback Argonaut by the deck in the final dim light of the evening.
