Following the report from Troy at Bere Point on the “backside of Malcolm Island” in Queen Charlotte Strait where Troy observed the I15s in the lead, heard distant A5s and close A1s around 5:15pm. They were going west and off Malcolm Point just before 6pm where they looked to be coming back east silently. It wasn’t to be and our night was quiet.
There was some justified worry that the Residents might be taking off. In the past the beginning of September has seen departures before. So the quiet night was also uneasy. None of the volunteers were ready for the whales to leave.
There was relief, therefore, in the morning when at 9:29am we heard the whale watch report that six Northern Residents were north of Donegal Head, coming in the “right” direction. Alex saw them too and observed at 10:17am that the orcas had picked up speed and were porpoising!
It was not long before we heard calls on the Flower Island remote hydrophone located in Blackfish Sound. Of course, the calls were still very faint but gradually getting stronger. We could hear both the A30s and the A34s – later identified as the A54s and A62s respectively.
Astonishingly we listened to, but did not see, the Residents calling for the rest of the morning, afternoon and part of the evening too. The ones we could hear pretty much seemed to stay off the western end of Blackfish Sound where it meets Weynton Pass and Queen Charlotte Strait. The calls vacillated from distant, to somewhat closer, excited, quieter, loud, frequent, sporadic. Occasionally, there was echolocation as the whales changed positions and moved about. Staying so long in one locale could have meant that they were finding fish or waiting. Troy mentioned that a large group was inbound off Black Bluff at 6:56pm. He was not sure yet of the IDs. Our impression was that there was a lot going on but just not where we were!
In Blackney, meanwhile there were humpbacks, Squiggle for example was lunge feeding at 4:53pm and a lone minke whale was in Blackney from 10:36am to 10:47am. A beautiful rainbow arched over Blackney at 5:30pm. These events helped the seemingly endless waiting for the orcas to finally shift our way.
At 7:56pm we snuck a look using the zoom on the sea lion remote camera and found them still foraging along the Swanson shore. But then 7 minutes later the first orcas were in sight – well sort of – the evening light was fading fast. The remote camera actually aided our efforts to follow them in the gloom. The calls all belonged to the A54s. The A62s were not a part of this pass. Then at 8:42pm, a humpback, not far from the advancing orcas, let out a growl after close and frequent echolocation on the Parson Island hydrophone. By now, those on deck had given up trying to look through the dark and the blows far away and they came inside to listen to what they could no longer see.
The humpback who seemingly responded to the proximity of the orcas could be heard moving around and making grunts and growls. The orcas carried on foraging nearby and we could actually hear crunching after a successful effort. The orcas, though in no hurry, still preoccupied with foraging, did finally push ahead into Johnstone Strait. The first calls in the Strait were at 8:48pm and these became closer to Cracroft Point by 9pm. There was a pause after 8:07pm during which the orcas crossed closer to the Vancouver Island side where they began a rub at 9:39pm. It was a good six minute rub in the dark! We have noticed fewer night rubs this year. From here the A54s continued east.
We only became aware at 11:22pm that the I15s were also in Johnstone Strait. Not only were they there but were gaining on Strider ahead of the A54s. There was still no evidence of the A62s who we now concluded must have retreated back into Queen Charlotte Strait. You may have noticed that it has been a while since we have mentioned the A23s or A25s. We cannot say for certain but it is likely they went off to the west yesterday afternoon.
Our night was only beginning but after the long day of waiting everyone was happy to get to work once again.
