In the early hours of the day, shortly after midnight, the sharp blows of the A23 matriline were heard in Blackney Pass, traveling southbound from close to mid channel. The group passed relatively quickly, remaining within range on our hydrophone array in Johnstone Strait between 2:33am and 5:47am. While present in the Strait, the A23s were joined by the A34 matriline, which entered the area through Weynton Passage and was acoustically active from 2:02am to 6:41am. Simultaneously, calls from the A54s were detected on the Flower Island hydrophone in Blackfish Sound between 2:16am and 5:46am, completing a rich and dynamic acoustic soundscape during the night.
No further information on the A23s was available until the afternoon. The A34s, however, reversed direction shortly after their presence near Strider Rubbing Beach, where they were observed rubbing between 7:04am and 7:09am. They then continued westward, crossing Johnstone Strait at approximately 8:14am and entering Blackney Pass by 9:19am. Travelling with the fast moving ebbing current, they passed mid-channel in front of the Lab in beautiful morning light. Upon exiting the range of the Flower Island hydrophone at 9:36am observer Alexandra Morton reported visually sighting the group near the Archipelago coastline just north of Swanson Island. From there, they spread out and continued westward beyond the White Cliff Islets.
After a long pause whale activity resumed at 1:51pm when the A23s returned from the east in Johnstone Strait in complete silence, unexpectedly initiating a rubbing session at Strider Rubbing Beach. Remaining mostly quiet, they rubbed until 2:17pm before proceeding into Robson Bight, where they engaged in foraging. Interestingly, they followed the same route previously taken by the A34s, crossing Johnstone Strait toward Cracroft Point from Kaikash Creek on Vancouver Island, continuing into the entranceway of Blackney Pass. Due to opposing tidal currents, their passage through the Blackney entrance was slow and they re-tried closer to the Hanson Island shore. One individual regrouped with the family after heading west along the Hanson shore to Big Bay in Johnstone Strait. Once in Blackney proper the A23s took approximately 50 minutes between 5:50pm and 6:40pm. They exited our acoustic range in Blackfish Sound at roughly 6:50pm and continued north.
Around the same time, Scotty reported social activity involving the A54s, A34s, and A52s who had come from Queen Charlotte Strait and into Weynton Passage. For the next hour some of these whales continued to interact and eventually return to Blackfish Sound. According to Scotty’s report, the A54s split from the large mixed group around 7:24pm in Weynton Pass and most likely traveled into Johnstone Strait and were possibly the group seen passing Telegraph Cove and into Beaver Cove.
The A34s and A52s eventually reunited with the A23s in Blackfish. This resulted in a vibrant chorus of A1, A4, and A5 acoustic calls respectively on the Flower Island hydrophone, continuing until 9:11pm. After a period of calm, A34 calls were again heard in Blackfish, apparently not following the others further west. The A34 calls began approximately 20 minutes before midnight and continued into the early hours of the next day – promising continued activity.
