The A34s, now the only Northern Resident group in the Johnstone Strait area, continued to move eastward after midnight. Their progress was fairly easy to track from their calls which were frequent. From midnight to 1am, they covered the area west of Cracroft Point to Kaizumi beach (west of Robson Bight). By 1:44am they were closer to Robson Bight and on their way to Strider beach an hour later. Between 2:49am and 4am they approached Strider slowly. Some of the group went for a 4 minute rub between 4:05 and 4:09am. Main beach then heard these whales pass by. From then on, their calls grew fainter. As the whales went out of range there was a bit of a break. By 5:47am they were heard again when they turned back to the west. They were not in a hurry.
By morning heavy thick fog blanketed everything, softening and blurring land and sea. Impossible to see any of the humpbacks in Blackney Pass but there were lots of blows. The A34s were, by 6:45am off the east end of the Reserve and an hour after that, Boat Bay saw 5 individuals mid strait off of their camp. The whales were now definitely heading west. And just like in the early hours of the morning when they were moving east the pace was unhurried but deliberate.
Echolocation on the Kaizumi system indicated that they were past Robson Bight and a little further on their way “up” the Strait toward Cracroft Point. Between 9 and 9:30am, the A34s swam past Cracroft Point, pushed across the entrance to Blackney Pass and found their way along to Big Bay. They favoured the Hanson Island shore. It was now 9:35am. The 9 orcas were spread out. One individual was seen definitely closer to Vancouver Island and by 12:22pm the group had arrived at Beaver Cove. They would eventually cross over as their intention to turn into Weynton Pass by 2pm became clearer. Following the Hanson side of Weynton brought them past the Plumper Islands to Blackfish Sound. By 3:14pm, they were mid Blackfish Sound heading northwest.
We assumed, as there were no other convenient reports or calls, that the A34s carried on through the fog into Queen Charlotte Strait for the rest of the day.
Megan had kayaked to “CP” to join Shari for a night. Justus and Hervé got on their way while Tomoko Mitsuya, after a long absence from Hanson Island, arrived. She actually crossed paths with Hervé at the Port Hardy airport. With the thick fog making travel difficult it was a convenient day for the Sonic to go in for an annual service. So when the fog clears sufficiently, as it seemed to do just before dark, Tomoko will be able to complete her return to the Lab.
