The night was quiet—so quiet that at times any sound seemed as though it could be a call from an orca. Around 3:00am, Bianca and Tomoko, listening online, thought they heard something, though nothing was confirmed until 9:40am. Echolocation clicks and A1 calls were then detected on the Flower Island hydrophone. While pulse calls cannot be linked directly to behaviour, we know echolocation is essential for navigation and foraging. It seemed possible the orcas were having breakfast. The intermittent A1 calls continued until 10:43am.
Meanwhile, Blackney Pass lay under a heavy blanket of fog. When visibility outward is lost, it often reminds us to look inward at camp. Volunteers took the time for housekeeping, and some used the quiet day to walk up-island to Earth Embassy.
At 12:20pm, a report came in of eight Northern Residents off Lizard Point, heading northwest.
At 2:03pm, A30 calls were detected again on the Flower Island remote hydrophone. Roughly 30 minutes later, the group moved out of range. At 4:00pm, Troy at Bere Point reported the A34s (minus A62s) moving slowly west. The research vessel Achiever noted the A50s had remained off Bold Head all day. An hour later, Troy updated his report that the A34s were west of Malcolm Island, moving quietly, in the company of 50 to 100 Pacific White-sided Dolphins. Recently, OrcaLab has observed frequent interspecies interactions between dolphins and Northern Resident orcas. What these interactions truly consist of remains a mystery.
By 5:15pm, Dylan Smyth confirmed the A34s were foraging westward off Malcolm Point. Later, at 7:50pm attention turned back to the Lab because the Flower Island hydrophone picked up A30 calls. The calls and echolocation grew louder, though the whales remained in Blackfish Sound, joined by humpback calls and familiar dolphin chatter. The calls became increasingly less frequent and echolocation did not cease for a few hours. The last echolocation clicks were heard at 10:35pm.
Today, Paul remarked almost casually but it stood out as especially relevant: “So much happens in the total absence of the sound that we hear.” It is a reminder to keep open minds. Even on quiet days, we can never assume the whales’ lives are simple just because we cannot always hear them.
The final report from Jared Towers who observed the A23s and A25s resting eastbound off Masterman Islands, followed by the R13s and R18s. Maybe we are not the only ones who are not ready to say goodbye to the R Clan just yet. This report kept us hopeful of exciting days to come.
