Where we left off yesterday, the A54s and A62s had returned to the western end of Blackfish Sound, the I15s were still in Johnstone Strait and the dolphins were chatting away on the Flower Island system.
At 12:45 am we learned that the A62s had taken Weynton Pass. We could hear two separate I15 groups on different stations so they had to be some distance from each other. Nothing changed much for the next hour but at 1:51am there were loud A54 and I15 calls off the entrance to Blackney Pass. Likely the A54s took Blackney as a shortcut to the others who seemed stalled somewhere just east of Cracroft Point. Once the A54s were into Johnstone Strait the A62s and their I15 companions shifted a bit further east. Their calls on Critical Point and Strider were continuous to 4:10am.
The A54s were not very committed to staying in the Strait. They and some of the I15s came into Blackney Pass at 5:53am and went north followed by their calls in Blackfish Sound. They headed west.
A series of reports later in the morning described first, nine orcas off Donegal Head at 11:52am, then eleven in Weynton Pass at 12:38pm, and finally a recount of fifteen heading into Johnstone Strait. The number counting didn’t stop there. By 1:30pm, the count of Northern Residents rose to 33 with the arrival of the I16s from Weynton after 12:43pm.
So what happened? We suspect that the A62s and their I15 group went west in the Strait soon after the A54s and their companions went north in Blackney. Perhaps it was the I16s who went with the A54s? Perhaps they then went into Queen Charlotte Strait and picked up the missing I27s. This could account for the 9 orcas off Donegal. The A54s perhaps waited closer to Blackfish Sound and they could have been the 11 seen in Weynton Pass. When the A54s neared Johnstone Strait they may have encountered either the I4s or I65s, most likely the I4s. This conveniently made up the 15 who entered the Strait. With the A62s and one of the other I15 groups waiting in the Strait along with the late arriving I16s and I27s the numbers now matched the 33 orcas making their way toward Blinkhorn. Love it!
All guesswork, of course, but it does kinda make sense of all the available scrappy pieces of information.
By 2pm the orcas were in the rip to the west of Cracroft Point where they began to forage intently. There is mounting evidence that there may be a good Chum salmon run this year. This is so important. The orcas really only target two species of salmon, Chum being one and Springs or Chinook the other. Chum salmon are usually the last of the migrating salmon to come through and for the orcas this can be essential to their preparation for winter. The other morning, after hearing that Chums had been seen jumping elsewhere we noticed, at dawn, movement in the water just below the surface off of the Lab. Fish were moving through! Such a hopeful sign as in recent years the Chum run has been very limited and perhaps the reason why the orcas have departed so early. Perhaps a healthy run will bring other Northern Residents.
Like the other day, the groups desiring to come into Blackney after their feeding bout had to buck the current. The first came at 3:13pm, the second at 3:22pm, the third at 3:58pm, the fourth at 3:45pm. Exceptional I15 calls were heard at 3:40pm. With the whales so spaced out we kept an eye on the Cracroft Island remote camera. Whales were still alternatively, foraging or trying to move into Blackney. A lot of dolphins were charging around and seemingly attracted to the last group in particular.
As they came into Blackney we had scopes and cameras ready. This is how the groups filed past us: the A54s mid channel mixed in with the I4s, A83 and A107 (of the A62s) closer to the Lab with I107 and I77 (both of the I27s), the rest of the A62s mid channel, possibly I98 (of the I16s) off on his own on the far side, the I65s and finally the rest of the I16s with dolphins. 33 orcas!
They were all gone after I77 disappeared to Blackfish Sound by 4:45pm.
No sooner had they gone then the Bigg’s orcas – the T055s – rushed northward past the Lab between 5:26 and 5:35pm.
Whew! It had been quite the eventful few hours.
In contrast the evening up to midnight was pretty quiet, broken only by the humpback sounds on Flower Island and Parson Island hydrophones at 10:10pm.
