In the early hours of this last day of summer, the I15s and A62s were calling in Johnstone Strait. We could hear echolocation getting closer to the Strider rubbing beach and at 1:55am the A62s engaged in a 20 minute rub! Their calls were loud and clear. Jianna was on shift that night and her words best describe this moment:
“At 1:46am, I15 and A34s calls on Strider Rubbing Beach increased with excitement. There were calls, whistles, buzzes, and echolocation creating chaotic symphony, stirring the night. Then, at 1:51am, the calls paused. Minutes felt like hours, was the excitement over? Then, the silence was abruptly interrupted by the loud ticking of echolocation and the sloshing of water. Then, at 1:55am — Chuff!
The loud buzz at the forefront of the calls was a sign that this was the A34s N9i call. With Tomoko’s sharp ear picking up on finer details, she was able to identify that the calls belonged to the A62s. These vocalizations were rich with enthusiasm and their intensity elicited both laughter and awe. The resonant buzzes were enough to quite literally take one’s breath away.
At 2:07am, a trill sounded, a sign that the I15s were still at Strider as well. By 2:15am, the rub had ended. The calls dissipated but could still be heard distancing in the strait.”
After the rub, the A62s remained close to the beach for the next hour and a half, before moving west around 4:05am. The I15s did not take part in the early rub but we started to hear them again in the Strait at 5:52am, faint at first then mid range, along with the A62s, before they all became silent at 6:02am.
Shortly after, we started hearing echolocation and clear,supposedly A62, N4s at the entrance of Blackney Pass. The following calls on our Local Centre hydrophone at 6:31am were faint which indicated that the whales were traveling on the far side. It was still dark outside and the loud sound of waves stopped Julia, who was on shift, from hearing blows. The ebb currents were strong and the whales surely made a quick pass as we started to hear echolocation at 6:48am at the north end of Blackney Pass where it meets Blackfish Sound. The A62s were not alone though and members of the I15s must have silently been traveling with them as we started to hear their calls in Blackfish Sound at 6:50am. It was just light enough for Laura to see 3 to 4 orcas on our base camera headed in that direction and clearing our view at 6:56am. This group of I15s was vocal until 7:28am, accompanied by Pacific White-sided Dolphin chatter.
Later, a few reports indicated that 10 Northern Residents had headed to Lizard Point on Malcolm Island at 10:49am then turned back towards Blackfish Sound at 11:30am. We heard distant A62 and I15 calls at 12:48pm, as the whales passed Donegal Head. Alex reported 2 groups spread out possibly including the I16s. At 2:05pm a report came of 12 Northern Residents traveling South in Weynton which would account for the I16s (7 whales) and A62s (5 whales) .
We started hearing them in Johnstone Strait at 2:12pm, I15 calls first then A62s. They traveled east down to the rip off Cracroft Point where they started to do a bit of foraging. Meanwhile, one group of I15s was on the Vancouver Island side and rubbed at Kaizumi for 3 minutes at 3:57pm. Only 2 whales could be observed on the camera and we wondered if these were members of the I16s or another matriline of the I15s (I65s, I4s, I27s)? Thanks to our remote camera at Cracroft Point, we were able to identify the silent whales foraging in the rip as the A62s. At 5:17pm, they started to move east, favoring the Cracroft Island side. Other members of the I15s must have been around too as we heard them calling at the entrance of Blackney Pass at 5:23pm!
At 6:09pm, clear I15 calls and echolocation were heard in the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve. A rub started at Strider rubbing beach at 6:46pm and we identified them as the I65s. Were they the ones who rubbed at Kaizumi 3 hours earlier? They moved east after the Strider rub, except for I122 who was still foraging offshore. They all returned for another rub at 7:22pm before heading west at 7:34pm. Their calls were loud on our Critical Point hydrophone at 7:40pm. We also heard A clan N3s at the same time, indicating that the A62s had possibly reached the Reserve as well. Another short rub happened at 8:19pm and that was it for the day.
We had no visual reports of the I4s or I27s today but we hope they were around too.
