September 11th brought another full day with the A34s, but this time their movements were somewhat… unpredictable. We first picked them up on Strider Rubbing Beach around 4am, with the A62s particularly busy with their fancy buzzes. From there calls bounced between Strider, Main Rubbing Beach, and Critical Point as the family moved through the Strait.
Daylight eventually gave us a look at what exactly they were up to. Around 8am, orcas appeared on the Strider camera heading west. Four were seen bunched closely together, rolling to show their bellies, while others spyhopped and slowly worked their way into the Robson Bight Estuary. As they continued west, they stretched right across Johnstone Strait, with the A62s becoming very vocal and social amongst the wider group. A91, A34, A80, and A55 followed by the 67s were closer to Hanson Island while the rest of the 62s were on the Vancouver Island side – quite a spread! These activities took up most of the morning.
Around 1:15pm, excited calls erupted on Strider and soon spread across the rest of the hydrophones. For a brief moment, we were hearing them on five stations at one: Strider, Critical Point, Kaizumi, Cracroft Point and Parson Island. This, obviously, left us with more questions than answers when it came to tracking down their exact movements. Luckily, we had Suzie at CP! She reported that the whales were quite busy – spreading through the rip around Kaikash and Blinkhorn, foraging and repeatedly switching directions.
A34, A55 and A80 were among those hanging around the Cracroft Point area, while the A62s appeared to push farther east down the strait. During this, Guardian and her calf were also spotted close in the rip, adding a bit of humpback magic to an already busy time. There were Bigg’s to keep track of as well. The T049As were reported off Swaine Point during the afternoon and later westing through Johnstone Strait.
The residents continued to criss-cross the Strait throughout the afternoon, with some still foraging around the rip while others moved towards the Hanson Island side. Then, in the early evening around 5:15pm, the mood changed a bit. Perhaps a bit exhausted from the day’s adventures, the A62s gathered tightly together while the rest of the A34s formed a resting line. Soon everyone came together. After hours of buzzes, excited calls and echolocation, the water went silent. All that remained was just a long, quiet line of orcas travelling west through Johnstone Strait.
Except, travelling west didn’t last.
Before 6pm they had turned around and were heading east again, still together and still quiet. They carried on along the Vancouver Island side into the evening, eventually milling around Izumi Rock before continuing east around 7:30pm.
A couple of humpback calls on Flower Island later that evening were the final contribution to a very busy September day.
