June 29 gave pause to any renewed orca activity. The A42s and A94 had managed to move south into Georgia Strait while the A64s plus A78 moved back to the west. Momentarily, everything was moving in opposite directions with no Northern Residents left in the immediate vicinity.
After a somewhat uneventful night, June 30th became more promising when Alex reported whales passing below her house at around 7am. It turned out to be the T060s. T060C or Yelnats has a very distinctive notch quite similar to the Northern Resident A60 (Fife) and with our heads still full of thoughts of the early arrival of the Northern Residents just the day before we immediately thought we were about to encounter Fife’s A23 family soon. The next picture Alex sent put an immediate halt to that idea, definitely the T060s and not the A23s. Yelnats’ group made passage into Blackney Pass by 9:32am. At 9:34am they rounded Burnt Point just north of the Lab. But soon thereafter they gave up, deciding not to spend energy fighting the opposing current and at 9:42am turned back. Afterwards, the whale watch boats reported they were now going west close to shore at 9:53am.
Life at the Lab resumed and routines took over.
Then at 12:37pm A4 calls were detected on the Flower Island hydrophone in Blackfish Sound. The A64s had returned! Even though the current was now in flood they did not oblige by coming into Blackney Pass but chose instead to go Weynton Passage in order to make their way to Johnstone Strait before 1:30pm. Just after 2pm they were fully in the Strait and travelling eastward.
At 3:09pm they were off Kaikash and by 3:51pm they were well past Cracroft Point favouring the Vancouver Island side of the Strait. Half an hour later they were opposite the Boat Bay Camp which had just recently been reestablished by the Cetus group. Each summer, from July to September, Cetus is in charge of monitoring the Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve and making sure no boats intrude this space reserved for orcas.
In the next half hour the remote Strider Rubbing Beach camera found the A64s approaching. Before long they made a cursory pass over the beach at 4:47pm. They did not linger but continued east past Main Rubbing Beach. There were a few calls heard but soon they were out of range after 5:26pm.
Just over two hours later these orcas made a return to the west. Calls were first heard on the Main Rubbing beach system at 8:52pm. As the calls were soon also echoing onto the Kaizumi Rubbing beach system, whose range includes the area offshore of Cracroft Island east of Boat Bay, it is safe to say that the group had now moved away from the Vancouver Island shore.. Indeed, the Cetus camp at Boat Bay became aware of them at 9:02pm when westing mid strait.
By 10pm the Kaizumi system picked up their calls again as they advanced even further west.
Their journey brought them onto the Cracroft Point system by 10:50pm.
They next hour would determine if they carried on to the west as they did the other day or come into Blackney. Within 6 minutes they answered this outstanding question when their lovely calls became clear and loud on the Parson Island system which covers the entrance to Blackney Pass and part of Blackney Pass.
Loud wave noises prevented hearing any real progression of blows in the Pass and when a fish boat entered from Blackfish Sound it compounded everyone’s frustration. Through it all a couple of blows were heard as they neared Blackfish Sound by 11:11pm confirming their choice to use Blackney Pass after all. Telltale echolocation revealed their entry into Blackfish and their progression west along the Swanson Island side. Calls resumed at 11:34pm and continued clearly for the next few minutes after which the whales became increasingly more distant and perhaps even more relaxed after achieving so much distance so quickly.
