‘The world belongs to those who get up early!’ It was just bright enough in Blackney Pass this morning for Jianna to spot orcas near the Sea Lion Rocks at 7:04am. We soon identified them as Bigg’s orcas. The presence of the T023s in Johnstone Strait yesterday was a good clue as to who these whales could be and we were able to note the distinct dorsal fin of T023. We counted at least 7 whales in her group as they moved to mid channel and spent some time milling, slowly pointed South. As they cleared our view half an hour later, we heard them vocalize in the southern entrance of Blackney Pass. Their calls had an interesting tone and we enjoyed this great opportunity to match these calls with the T023s matriline. Other Bigg’s orcas were calling further down in the Strait until 7:56am, were they answering to the ones closer to Blackney Pass? Just before midday, Alex and Jared reported the T023s westbound between Malcolm Island and Haddington Island.
This day turned out to be a very calm and sunny one and Jeremie took the opportunity to go to the Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve to install the Critical Point camera which had been under repair for the past few weeks. Hopefully, Northern Resident families will visit again soon! This trip was also the opportunity for our assistants Georgia, Nora and Laura to see the Reserve and where the whales had been rubbing during this busy September month while they had been watching remotely from the lab with excitement.
At 5:37pm, AJ reported a group of orcas in Weynton Bay and followed them to Double Bay where they continued east towards Blackney Pass. According to Scotty, they looked like the T109A2s. They were not in sight yet when we started hearing a humpback in the same area in Blackfish Sound at 6:47pm. AJ, who was now posted off Dong Chong, identified the singing whale as Inukshuk! Meanwhile, everyone at the lab was watching a sea otter cracking up a seashell close to the deck, what a lovely sight! The sea otter moved away towards Burnt Point just as the T109A2s showed up, close to Hanson Island shore, pointed South. The light was fading as the dusk whales traveled in a tight group close to the Lab. They investigated the sea lion rocks and all the hauled out sea lions jumped in the water in big splashes. We lost track of the whales as they traveled further away from the Hanson side towards Parson Bay.
This wasn’t the end of our day just yet. As we were gathered around a bonfire for Laura’s last night on Hanson Island, we heard A1 calls in Johnstone Strait at 8:32pm! The calls were distinctive of the A62s and we knew they were coming back from the East. For about an hour, their calls were close and frequent on the Strider Rubbing Beach hydrophone but they chose not to come for a rub. We could hear them slowly moving west as their calls became more sporadic and distant, last heard in the Strait just before midnight.
