On October 12th, after a night filled with humpback presongs, we started to hear the A62s again in Johnstone Strait at 5:48am. They remained present but distant for most of the day.
Meanwhile, at 10:45am, one orca was spotted on the far side of Blackney Pass, never to be seen again. Twenty-five minutes later, four orcas appeared pointed north on the far side as well. The wind was picking up in Blackney Pass and tracking was difficult. They were too far to get a single good picture.
Later around midday, Nicolette and Tjasa, when on their way to pick up a kayaker at Boat Bay reported two orcas at Swaine Point traveling east on the Cracroft Island side. There was no ready identification.
We enjoyed this surprisingly warm day, not atypical for October, and welcomed Robyn and Scott from Pacific Pro Dive to offer a Dry Suit Diver Course to Jérémie, Claire and Jianna as well as Gonzalo from Double Bay. They were all amazed by the diversity of creatures living just a few feet below the Lab such as, flabellina nudibranchs, brooding anemones, giant plumose anemones, sunstars, brittle stars, as well as, a giant Pacific octopus tucked inside his den and a curious sea lion! This dry suit certification will certainly be useful for Claire and Jérémie who, along with Megan and Suzie, are involved in the installation and maintenance of the underwater systems.
When the day ended, the A62s were still distantly vocal in Johnstone Strait. But at 11:53pm, there were suddenly “chuffs” at Strider Rubbing Beach! There were no close calls and the midnight rub only lasted for 2 minutes. But shortly afterwards, the Resident orcas started to call excitedly. Bigg’s orcas were then heard on the Parson Island hydrophone just after midnight.
During the early hours of October 13th the A62s were still vocal in Johnstone Strait until 3:11am. Three hours later they were then heard faintly in Blackfish Sound which suggested they had gone west in Johnstone Strait after their rub and had taken Weynton Passage. They remained vocal into the afternoon.
At 1:24pm more than ten Bigg’s orcas were spotted surfing the white capped waves quite close to the Lab! The group included three males and a baby. We identified the T109A2s and T055s amongst them and with help from the Finwave platform, the other individuals were identified as T090B, T090C, T101A and T101B. As they cleared to the north, we heard them calling in Blackfish Sound with the A62s still vocal in the distance.
By 9:48pm, the Residents had made their way back to Johnstone Strait and were vocal until 10:12pm. By then a humpback had already started to “warm up” at the entrance of Blackney Pass. Another started in Blackfish Sound at 3:23am, making the ocean a vibrant acoustic space throughout the night! It was now October 14th and the A62s came into range again in Johnstone Strait at 4:06am and were soon off the entrance of Blackney Pass before they moved along. It had been a beautiful night shift without boat noise.
The A62s called intermittently all morning in Johnstone Strait. At 11am, Nicolette reported orcas off Cracroft Point. They spent four hours foraging in the rip current before moving on to the west at 3:12pm. By 5:19pm, they were back in Blackfish Sound via Weynton Pass. Their calls got louder after 6pm on the Flower Island hydrophone and we were all hoping they would come through Blackney Pass as we watched the colors of the sky changing from blue to pink to purple. They did not. Their calls faded after 11:37pm.
It’s interesting to note that the A62s have not travelled through Blackney Pass once since they got back to the area on October 9th. They have engaged in only a few short rubs too. Instead it seems they are busy feasting on all the Chum salmon in Blackfish Sound and off Cracroft Point!
Although the A62s have not chosen Blackney Pass lately, humpbacks have been observed frequently feeding on bait balls. The day ended with exceptional humpback vocalizations off the entrance to Blackney Pass, with incredible echoes and eerie sounds. We always wonder who is making these calls at night, surely someone we saw during the day!
