As these days go, passing through Blackney Pass and past OrcaLab seems part of the daily routine of the A42s and A94. At 2:10am, this family of eight (if you include A94), left Johnstone Strait and headed to Blackfish Sound. They made good time but did not totally leave Blackfish Sound for Queen Charlotte Strait until 5am.
They would spend the entire day in Queen Charlotte Strait undetected until just before 6pm when they were found heading east right in the centre nearly opposite Lizard Point.
By 7:15pm they were off Donegal Head. Taking a straight route they headed to Blackfish Sound just before 8pm. As they got nearer, the Flower Island station picked up their calls at 8:34pm. By 8:52pm they were visible from the Lab. They filed in mid channel with the A79s closer to the Hanson Island side. The reason for their slow progress became evident as they stalled more than once to forage. A successful hunt was witnessed. Pretty sure our onshore fishers wondered how come they had not had such luck!
The orcas cleared at 9:12pm. The Humpback Merge, at first heading north, followed. As they went east they made a few whistles and bouts of echolocation. The remote hydrophone in the Bight at Critical Point registered their calls just before 11pm. Forty minutes later they were in at Strider Beach for a late evening rub. From there they continued east.
For the orcas, it was a pretty straightforward return to Johnstone Strait but acoustically they made it interesting with a couple of “G” clan like calls. Company coming?
At the Lab, Mark finished doing the roof at the Guest House. He seemed pretty satisfied with his work. We all think he has done a fantastic job, complimented by Justus’ repair of the deck and shower area.
Work on the hydrophone systems continued with Joel Mellish, Quin Mcintire and Jérémie Collado trying to isolate the problems we have been experiencing. Hervé Glotin’s localising hydrophone array, specialising in capturing both high and low frequencies, was readied for its deployment off of the Lab.
The skies were beautifully blue throughout the day but without any promise of rain which is critically needed once more. We will hope for that and a speedy return of the A42s and A94.
