July 17 began at 3:10am with the combined faint calls of the A50s and A34s. The A62s had not been heard from since the previous evening. We understood that the A50s and A34s (-the A62s) had moved into Queen Charlotte Strait. These early morning calls therefore announced their return into the range of the Flower Island hydrophone. Sure enough at 4:14am these Northern Residents moved south through Blackney Pass, moving quickly and clearing Blackney at 4:24am. It was pretty certain they moved east once in Johnstone Strait. Just after 5am they were heard on the Critical Point system located in Robson Bight. While one group was still closer to Robson Bight, the lead group, caught on the Strider Beach remote video camera, carried on toward Main Beach by 6:18am where they rubbed. The rub ended at 6:21am A second rub ensued at 6:30am and ended at 6:35am. At 6:44am, the A50s, altogether, approached Strider caught on the underwater remote video camera as well as the surface one. They were accompanied by ever energetic Pacific White-sided dolphins and perhaps some of the A34s. This rub ended at 6:53am. At 6:50am there was yet another rub at Main which ended just two minutes later.
By then some of the whales were leaving the beaches and travelling west. The movement back to the west brought three males, including A80, into Strider Beach for a turn at 6:58am. Their rub lasted until 7:06am. Everyone was then on their way to the west.
Telltale echolocation at 7:17am indicated an arrival back to Robson Bight where the orcas paused to forage. That done, they shoved off in the direction of Kaizumi along with the inevitable dolphins. Stretching out their westward trek they passed the Cracroft Point area and the entrance to Blackney Pass. By 9:22am five were seen passing Blinkhorn. There were others not far away and it was suggested that a third group, further east of the others, was pointing toward the Blackney Pass area. No one was offering any identifications so it was difficult to understand completely how the orcas had arranged themselves. What followed after 9:30am was that the orcas began to approach Weynton Passage, first one group of five, followed by a group of six. No mention again of the third group.
These orcas managed Weynton Pass and began to come out into Blackfish Sound just before 10am. Once in Blackfish they moved across to the Swanson shore. Bend or A72 from the A50s was easily identified but we know from the calls that members of the A34s were also present. Between 10:32 and 11:16am they passed in front of Olivia’s prospect on Donegal Head and carried on west deeper into Queen Charlotte Strait. Marike on the Naiad Explorer identified the A50s when over by the Penfold Islands. The A62s had shifted over in that direction as well. They were all foraging heavily among the many jumping pink salmon.
Now we knew at least the identity of two groups involved in the day’s events. The day was about to get more complicated.
First a side note. The T060s were sighted at 1pm in Knight Inlet between Crease and Midsummer Islands. Later they made an appearance in Blackney Pass having come out from West Pass.
There were also Bigg’s orcas in Johnstone Strait going from Blinkhorn to Bauza around 3:40pm. They were later seen hunting at 4:29pm, having been heard at 4:26pm.
The A50s soon found their way back to the Donegal Head area starting from 3:40pm onwards. From there, at 4:30pm, they moved toward Blackfish Sound. Olivia had watched the A62s as they too came past Donegal Head at 4:26pm but they soon disappeared. Very sleepy now they would turn up again off Stubbs Island at 4:30pm. The A50s, meanwhile, were spread out along the Swanson shore. Scotty noticed the dolphins surrounding A99.
Bigg’s calls in Johnstone Strait temporarily shifted attention away from the Residents who were vocal as well.
There was still no actual mention of the A34(-A62s) except a group appeared to be now heading west near Double Bay at 4:52pm at the same time others (the A50s perhaps) were spread out along Swanson Island. Some confusion followed in the milieu of whales going in several directions. It looked as if one group were Blackney Pass bound. But they never made it, turned and then oriented toward Weynton instead. A group preceded them into Weynton Pass with a trailing male in tow at 5:34pm.
Importantly, at 5:40pm there were now A34 calls in Johnstone Strait while some were still heard in Blackfish Sound. At 5:43pm, a group was seen entering Weynton Pass. This was the clearest suggestion of two A34 groups. Thankfully, the A62s were identified and it may be that they never made it to Johnstone Strait but remained in Weynton Pass, leaving us to suppose that the A34s now heard in Johnstone Strait were the rest of their family.
Olivia witnessed one group weaving their way through the Plumper Islands in Weynton Pass after 6pm.
As this confusion continued, the T060s (earlier seen in Knight Inlet around 3pm) popped out of West Pass. They wasted no time in moving north into Blackfish Sound. They moved west closer to the Hanson shore and by 7:47pm Scotty was watching them off the Plumper Islands at the western end of Blackfish Sound.
More confusion was introduced when Scotty reported that the A62s turned toward the T060s while another group was westbound mid Blackfish Sound. Alex mentioned that they possibly saw this group (but not the T060s) and wondered if there was a third group which included a young male, two females, two juveniles and an infant. This led to more head scratching but possibly this might have been another fraction of the A34s, just maybe the A67s.
Meanwhile the A50s and A34s were now quite vocal in Johnstone Strait and all indications were that they were heading east but their calls ended at 8:24pm leaving us with no further clues as to their present location or intent.
To make matters more interesting, A30 calls were heard again some twenty minutes later at 8:43pm. The picture was a bit clearer for the A62s who now, at 8:50pm, were travelling into Queen Charlotte Strait parallel to the T060s with both groups, Resident and Bigg’s, headed for Malcolm Island’s northshore.
At 9:03pm, almost as a postscript, A30s were heard from the Flower Island hydrophone. Had the A50s backtracked out of Weynton Pass as this might indicate? At the same time, there were still A34 calls moderately loud in Johnstone Strait suggesting that this group may have remained while making way further east toward Robson Bight.
As darkness was descending, blows were heard in the direction of Double Bay and a final small group was seen travelling toward Queen Charlotte Strait at 9:16pm.
It is good to remember that fishers have long called the area from the lower Queen Charlotte Strait and the top end of Blackfish the “Roundabout” which seems particularly fitting seeing how the orcas used the area throughout this day!
