Our day began around 4am when A5 calls were heard on the speakers. Shari was first to respond. The calls turned out to be in Blackfish Sound mainly and briefly in Blackney Pass. This posed a conundrum. Was this the A42s making a very unusual circuit (they were last seen headed west past Alert Bay the previous evening at 11pm) or had someone else ventured in? Opinions were split. The calls faded away in Blackfish Sound before any conclusions could be made.
But it was nice to think that the Northern Residents were not far away. Orcas were seen in Gordon Channel heading west. The guess was that it was the A35s and A73s.
The rest of the day went ahead as usual. The same individual humpbacks continued in Blackney Pass. There was a report of the T060s northbound near Wedge Island at 4:09pm.
Just before 5:30pm two sources told us that the A42s had returned via Port McNeill. They seemingly retraced their steps and by 6:41pm they were reported off Alert Bay continuing east. We did not immediately have any calls that might indicate that they had progressed into Johnstone Strait.
While this tracking was happening there were additional notes about another group in Johnstone Strait but the reports were somewhat contradictory describing several locations and opposite directions. Suffice to say a group of undescribed orcas were in the vicinity of Naka Creek at 5:40pm and past the Ecological Reserve at 6:34pm. Again there were not convenient calls.
Final note for the day: The A42s did get to Johnstone Strait and went in for a quick rub at 11:25pm. They gave an excited burst of calls (perhaps caused by the proximity of the dolphins nearby) before continuing east.
