For weeks now, the A34s have been around, and the early hours of September 14th looked to be following that trend. They were chatty through much of the wee hours, with calls and echolocation moving between Strider and Main Rubbing Beach. When daylight arrived, A83 was amongst the first whales spotted, travelling with a crowd of Pacific White-sided dolphins, before the A34’s A67s had a lovely morning rub at Strider.
But, at 9:13am, a very different call was heard in Queen Charlotte Strait…could it be? Yes! G Clan had arrived!
There was no mistaking how exciting it was that they were somewhere nearby. It was suspected that it was members of the G12 pod, though exactly which members remained in question.
While waiting to have those questions answered, the A34s carried on in and around the Strait, keeping us occupied. Just before 1pm, heavy echolocation was heard on Strider – typically a good sign that someone is heading in for a rub – and sure enough the A62s soon revealed themselves as the approaching group, making two stops: first at Main Rubbing Beach and then over to Strider, where several of the A62s rubbed together. A83 stayed farther offshore, while A91, A62, A130 and A107 doubled back for one last quick rub before heading west. There was plenty of echolocation, chuffs, along with some rolling at the surface, and even a spyhop thrown in too.
Meanwhile, Jared had found the Gs foraging between Penfold and Bold Head at 2:10pm, before they suddenly picked up speed towards the Plumpers. Jared was able to confirm the G34s, G62s, and G64s – all part of the G12 pod. Their calls finally reached Flower Island at 2:43pm, and in short order by 3:44pm they were on the Strider hydrophone. Based on Jared’s reports, it seems they had made their way south between Stephenson Islets and the Pearse Islands before emerging into Johnstone Strait.
Now, would they travel east down the Strait to meet the A34s?
At 4:22pm, they did. The Gs and A34s (-A62s) met in Johnstone Strait, with A55 joining the A34s shortly afterwards. By 5:25pm, the G34s, G62s, and G64s were together with the A34s (-A62s) around Izumi Rock, close to the Vancouver Island shore.
The A62s were still a bit further east “down” the Strait, but by 6:27pm, they were in the mix as well. G12 and A34 calls, buzzes, and echolocation came through on the Kaizumi hydrophone system west of Izumi Rock while whales filled the Cracroft Point camera – at least nine at one stage, with plenty of surface activity. Eventually, they split again, with the A34s 9-A62s) and G34s heading west towards Cracroft Point, while the A62s moved east with the G62s and G64s, changing direction as they moved along.
G12 and A34 calls continued to bounce between stations into the evening, lending a few more hours with this new mix of voices across the Strait. Around 9pm, the G12s fell silent, and it was now just the A34s on the Strider system- just the same as how the day had started. September 14th was certainly one for the books.
