The defining moment of our day was the beautiful rub at Strider Beach in the afternoon. All the groups, the A24s, the I4s and the I65s enjoyed each other as they rolled over and along the beach from 4:21pm to 5:20pm. The whales were very relaxed, resting on the surface between rubs. They have been together for so many days now that their rhythms are well in sync. The underwater camera captured their efforts beautifully. Despite some technical glitches the surface camera found some moments as well. This rub left everyone in awe. It is really something to view these intimate unguarded moments and is testament to the power of using remote cameras that do not interfere with the natural behaviours of the whales.
This is how the whales set up their day before the rub. They had spent the entire night in Queen Charlotte Strait. It was only by 6:43am that we heard the beginnings of their return to Blackfish Sound. The I65s were the first into Blackney Pass by 7:02am. They were perhaps travel weary or waiting for the others to catch up as they moved slowly. At 7:17am we heard A4 calls in Blackfish Sound and began to suspect that all the familiar whales of recent days were still travelling together but on this occasion quite spread out. The I4s were next to arrive at 7:26am. They had I145 (his group is the I65s) with them and managed a breach as they passed.
As the the I65s cleared to the south the A24s entered from the north. The I65s male, I122, lingered a while longer before resuming his journey and going towards Johnstone Strait after the I4s cleared our view. This left the A24s who took until 8:31am to complete passage through Blackney Pass. Obviously, it was not going to be a furiously fast paced day!
On entering Johnstone Strait the orcas headed east resting as they went. It was still low tide and they probably used the opposing current to steady their resting efforts. Just how far had they gone during the night? Had they had a busy time foraging? They certainly seemed determined to now take it easy.
Around 1:21pm they were seen turning around back toward Cracroft Point where they positioned themselves in the rip for a bout of foraging. They were now vocal. Two hours later they were ready to head east again. They would soon approach Strider Beach for that wonderful afternoon rub.
After the rub they made a deliberate and sudden turn to the west. CP – the Cracroft Point camp was ready! This was the first official start to the camp. CP has been a part of the OrcaLab network since 1993 when it was first established as an observational outpost. Starting with tents the camp built a crude shelter soon after. In 1994, the first underwater cameras were deployed late in the season. A31 was the first orca to be videoed underwater from that location. But the four deployed underwater cameras documented regularly the rich life of the vast kelp forest just offshore of the camp. The decades of observers monitored and tracked the movements of the whales as they passed to and fro and kept an eye on the boat traffic around the whales too. In 2001, with the chance to broadcast video to the fledgling Internet, CP came of age. A new shelter was built to house the more complex equipment and to provide better shelter for those manning the camp. The camp ran typically from July to even as late as December one year. In recent years, due to other considerations (COVID being one), the camp has operated as mainly a remote station, the hub of the OrcaLab remote systems and more sparingly as an observation platform. Thankfully, Megan Hockin-Bennett managed the camp for several summers using her considerable camera skills to capture incredible footage while taking advantage of the stable platform. She was regularly aided by Shari Manning, who on this day opened the camp once again after days of necessary deck renovation. Many helped with getting CP ready, Sullivan, Justus, Kelly, Jérémie and, of course, Shari.
And, just before 7pm, Kelly and Shari saw the whales approaching from the east in the midst of the whale watch boats. By 7:48pm they watched as some of the groups turned into Blackney Pass. It turned out that the A24s did not follow this time but stayed in Johnstone Strait, took their own route to the west. They would eventually go out Weynton Pass. Meanwhile, the I4s and I65s made a nice pass by the Lab mid channel. After heading west in Blackfish Sound they would go back into Queen Charlotte Strait for the night. The A24s did likewise after going through Weynton Pass.
The A42s with A94 remained in the Salish Sea near Sutil Channel.
Quite the convincing summer day. One does wonder if the orcas’ forays into Queen Charlotte Strait might be about listening for new company? They must certainly be ready as we are too!
