Gain some, lose some. We have not heard from or of the A50s or the A34s (- the A62s) since the 26th. In their place the A54s have been the ones to travel with the I15s fairly consistently ever since.
So on this day, through the early hours, and only by 5am did the A30 (A54) calls come closer to Strider beach as the whales moved further along to the west.
One anomaly occurred when Momoko heard A and G clan calls faintly on Flower Island at 3:54am. This would turn out to be a gem of information which we account for in the storyline later.
By 5:44am the calls in the Strait were shifting to the Critical Point system as whales approached the Robson Bight area. The calls were really close by 6am. Strong echolocation and crunches implied that the whales had gained the bonus of a successful hunt. Calls then faded as this group moved further away. The recording ended at 7:54am with the cession of calls. Surprisingly, over the course of these several hours only A30 calls were noted. This gave us pause.
By 8:48am, the I15s in the Strait declared their presence. At 9:39am, we could see orcas on the CP remote camera heading west past Kaikash.
As so very often happens, we were witnessing orcas coordinate their social agendas. A report from Alex at 10:05am told us that three whales, who turned out to be the I4s, were off Donegal Head. They had come from the direction of Lizard Point. This made us realise that the three I15 groups that had been consistently in the area had separated at some point.
This sighting in Queen Charlotte Strait was approximately when the A54s and other I15s were opposite Big Bay advancing to the west and Weynton Pass. The meeting of the two converging groups, coming from Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait, was to happen soon.
We found out that the A62s had come in from Queen Charlotte Strait around the same time as the I4s. They first moved toward the Plumper Islands then at 10:32am we could hear faint echolocation in Blackfish Sound as the A62s spread out from Bold Head to Donegal Head and organised themselves for the journey to Johnstone Strait.
The A54s and the rest of the I15s were ready to receive them just past noon. At 12:40pm the whale watchers followed the A62s east past Blinkhorn. No mention of the A54s and the I15s as all the focus was on the new whales.
A62 or Misty is A34’s oldest daughter. She has had four offspring all of whom are male.
She had not come in with her mother’s and sister’s families so this was her first time in the area.
As they continued eastward we became aware of the A5s in Blackfish Sound. The whales Kate heard at 11:33am were most likely the lagging A5s. We listened to their calls in Blackfish for over five hours, from just past 2pm until 7:40pm when they finally entered Blackney Pass. They were in the Strait by 8:15pm.
Meanwhile, the new arrivals were making way in the Strait. By 2:30pm, they were halfway from Kaikash to the Robson Bight. A pair, perhaps Misty and A130 (her youngest) went for their own brief rub at 3:33pm while the rest of the family and others stayed back offshore opposite, or in, or near the Bight. Straitwatch could see a dozen or so near the western boundary of the Ecological Reserve, five others were further west while at least two others were seen foraging in the Bight. From 4:55pm to 5:36pm their echolocation on Robson Bight’s Critical Point system explained their continued presence in that area.
An aside: the T46s were seen east of the Ecological Reserve at 2:33pm. They were going east.
Misty was not done at Strider. She and A130 returned for two more rubs, the first, starting at 6:03pm to 6:09pm, the second from 6:20 to 6:30pm – just the two of them. As they quickly disappeared west some of the taller fins could be seen on the remote camera offshore to the west. They too were now going west.
Again, there was that uncanny coordination. As the A62s went west, the A23s and A25s were coming closer. They travelled through Blackney from 7:42 to 8:13pm.
They went east towards the westbound groups. This caused some excitement expressed by their energetic calls. The result was everyone turning west before 8:56pm. At 9pm, there were already whales floating off the entrance to Blackney Pass. Though pointing west at first they decided on Blackney Pass. By 9:44pm, there were blows already half way through the Pass. The blows ceased to be heard by 10:04pm when they went into Blackfish Sound. A30, I15 and A5 calls in Blackfish lasted from 10:11pm until past midnight. One last group of four would scurry through Blackney just after midnight. Calls ended at 12:46am.
