A few days have passed since we last wrote. On July 18 there were only the remnants of calls as the whales disappeared to the west. The A50s and the A34s(-A62s) were seen off Lizard Point (Queen Charlotte Strait) and just 500 meters apart. They were going west.
There were no reports of Northern Residents on the 19th.
Today, the A34s (-A62s) returned. At 9:19am the reports started, there were VHF radio reports of 2 orcas ½ mile off Donegal Head going east but the fog had closed in preventing visual observations from Donegal Head. Under that cover of fog the A62s may have also gone by, taking Weynton as their choice to reach Johnstone Strait while the rest of their family took Blackfish. There is no proof of this except later in the day the A62s were seen with their family off of Cracroft Point. The research vessel Achiever, however, was on scene in Blackfish Sound at 9am and identified Echo A55, who belongs to the A34s. Then soon after the Lab heard calls on the Flower Island system.
Before Noon, the VHF radio announced that another group had gone through the Plumper Islands toward Weynton Bay (Weynton Pass). This was later understood to be the T060s who then went north through Weynton Pass and turned east into Blackfish Sound.
Jared Towers mentioned seeing the A52s in that same thick morning fog near Minstrel Island (Knight Inlet). That proved to be an interesting sighting as Tomoko and Momoko later identified A4 calls in the evening mix of calls which is described later.
Time passed and then at 12:48pm the T060s were reported in Blackfish Sound working their way east along the Hanson Island shore; at one point inshore of Spout Island. The Naiad Explorer let the Lab know that these Bigg’s orcas would soon be in their view.
By 12:44pm Resident orcas, closer to the opposite Swanson Island shore, were continuing toward Blackney Pass as well. The Bigg’s orcas made it into Blackney Pass first at 1:0732pm. They slowly went south clearing the labs view at 13:32pm. Shortly afteras the Resident whales came into Blackney at 2:07 PM.
Quin, working on the Cracroft Point shelter, watched as orcas moved opposite him. The Residents went east and at 3:34pm Eagle Eye (on Cracroft Island opposite Robson Bight) commented on the progress of the A34 group as they passed Izumi Rock (Vancouver Island).
Olivia refocused attention to Queen Charlotte Strait when she noticed a group of five orcas near Wedge Island travelling tight to the shore. It was suggested that these were the T069As. Shortly after, they moved to cross over south to the Hanson Island side of Blackfish Sound then curl west from Double Bay (Hanson Island) and turn into the Plumper Islands around 5pm.
Eagle Eye, meanwhile, continued to track and noticed a male off Critical Point in Robson Bight foraging offshore. A rub began at Strider at 5:09pm. At 6:32pm there was a rub at Main beach then again at Strider seven minutes later.
All attention shifted to the Cracroft Point area when Quin reported at 8:48pm that the A67s, A80 and maybe A96 with her little one A132 were milling around there. At 9:15pm, Quin recognised the A62s (this made it certain that they had gotten to Johnstone Strait somehow and as they didn’t come through Blackney Pass this suggested an earlier Weynton Point entry. The A62s sped past Cracroft Point westing toward Blackney Pass (Quin got a good look at A83 and A91) after milling about with the other A34s who Quin had already mentioned east of the shelter. A slow A55 appeared and moved to the Blackney Pass entrance likewise at 9:35pm.
Probably we should now mention that there has been considerable concern over the condition of A55 ever since Jared Towers first saw him. He is unfortunately thin, slow, taking shallow dives and showing signs of poor health. He is 37 years old. The average life span for adult male orcas is around 29 years. We will keep our hopes for him and meanwhile he is receiving special attention from all those watching.
Whales were coming now from opposite directions, from both Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait starting at 9:24pm. At 9:41pm Alex reported that orcas were porpoising east from Queen Charlotte Strait. The mix of calls soon included A30 calls, some A4 calls and, of course, the A34s, recently of Johnstone Strait, who were then drawn into Blackfish Sound by the sounds of the others in Blackfish Sound. All calls henceforth were from Flower Island. This is how things stood by 11pm. As vibrant as the calls were when these groups were converging they suddenly, in contrast, became quiet and shifted west in Blackfish Sound fairly quickly.
