August 6 began just where August 5 ended, rather like what young nephew MatMat exclaimed one morning “the end of my sleep was the start of my sleep! ” On this day the A34s were moving away from Blackfish Sound into Queen Charlotte Strait where they would spend the rest of the night.
But they were not ready to totally leave and in the morning, at 8:27am, Alex reported them coming back. Their calls were soon heard from the Flower Island system in Blackfish Sound. As they were foraging it took them a while longer to reach Blackney Pass and come into the Lab’s view. At 9:37am they were “in” travelling south still spread out basically mid channel. A55 was perhaps the furthest over and the A67s definitely the closest. They were all through by 10:02am. A55 lingered a bit before departing while he foraged between Parson and Hanson Islands. In short order the group began to appear on the Cracroft Island remote video camera where they continued to forage. After an hour and a half they collectively decided to head off to the west. By 11:52am they were crossing in front of the entrance to Blackney Pass. The whale watchers kept us appraised as to their progress. By 1:09pm, the group was off Turn Point, one of the last headlands on Hanson Island before Weynton Pass. They turned into Weynton and at 1:55pm Olivia from her Donegal Head location watched as they emerged and crossed Blackfish Sound. The Lab listened to their calls in Blackfish Sound until 4:50pm. By then they had changed directions back to the west. Eventually and by 5:25pm, the A34s headed to Weynton Pass once again. This brought them into Johnstone Strait where they went east mid strait to Blinkhorn by 7:27pm and opposite Big Bay by 8:40pm. Not a great distance for that length of time! They were perhaps pausing for at 7:31pm there were A5 calls. The calls were distant and short lived, not repeated until 8:46pm. The A23s and A25s, both A5 groups, went east in Johnstone Strait on August 5th and this was them making it back.
At 10:11pm, there were more definite and sustained A5 calls, perhaps the A23s, in Johnstone Strait! The calls were lovely as one of the groups came close to Strider Rubbing Beach and indulged in a quick rub at 10:18pm before moving on to the west. Just before the rub, there was fairly strong echo location on the Flower Island hydrophone in Blackfish Sound so either the A34s had backtracked once more through Weynton Pass to Blackfish Sound (sounds energetic for this previously relaxed group) or they had slipped through via Blackney Pass. Given the closeness of the echo location this seems the most plausible. No calls. They had dolphins with them too.
The second A5 group, perhaps the A25s, came along from the east at 10:26pm. The impression that the A5s continued on their western trek. Around 11:10pm they were off Robson Bight. At 11:13pm they suddenly became excited and shortly after it seemed as if they were crossing the Strait. The last clear calls, before boat noise confounded the recording, was at 11:30pm so from that point on it was difficult to determine their movements properly.
Their story, however, was not yet done and like most days the hours meld together. By the early hours of August 7th the A5s managed to get to Blackfish Sound, most likely via Weynton Pass and follow the A34 group out to Queen Charlotte Strait. The first indication we had of this movement were a series of resting calls on Flower Island. Never close, but louder briefly they came and went from 12:59am until drowned out by a tug at 1:06am. That was the first group who we imagined to be the A23s. They were followed by possibly the A25s at 1:46am whose calls lasted until when they faded fast at 1:55am.
In the afternoon of the 7th, at 2:19pm, Marieke reported the A34s and the A25s “way out” in Queen Charlotte Strait 5 miles from the Mainland shore and 4 miles past Numas Island. It was clear that they would not return anytime soon so the Lab concentrated on getting Tomoko into town and helping Katie’s Dad get to Cracroft Point to do the finishing touches on the shelter.
Surprisingly, the A25s were reported headed east from Lizard Point in Queen Charlotte Strait before 10pm by Prince of Whales Whale Watching
We are ever grateful for Tomoko coming all the way from Japan. She has been coming for 30 years, only missing during Covid travel restrictions. It is always reassuring knowing she is in the Lab listening, making notes and lending her expertise to understanding wish orcas are out there and what they are doing.
