September 6th remained quiet throughout the day; the A23s and A25s were reported in Lund heading north. Since the Lab stayed calm, everyone used the time to reorganize camp, do some yoga, read, or wander through the forest. In the evening, we welcomed back Karien and Thomas from Belgium. Karien, who first came here in 2017, has now returned for her fifth time. It’s wonderful to have her back!
The day ended with a beautiful moonrise, bathing Blackney Pass in warm orange light. The sounds of humpbacks, a large group of dolphins, and a few sea lions created a magical scene – until tugboats and cruise ships passed through later that evening, interrupting the peacefulness with their loud engines.
For large vessels like barges pulled by tugboats or cruise ships, navigating the narrows here is a real challenge. They often travel at night as well, announcing their presence with loud honks that cut through the darkness. These honks have become a familiar sound of summer nights – a constant reminder of the human presence and its influence on the ocean and the natural world in general around the clock.
September 7th also began quietly. At 11:39am, the remote system at Main Rubbing Beach picked up faint echolocation. Just after noon, the A23s appeared on the Strider Rubbing Beach camera, stopping briefly for a short rub, barely a minute on Main Rubbing Beach before moving on westward. At 12:04pm, they settled into a 16-minute rubbing session at Strider Rubbing Beach. While A60 remained offshore the rest of the group came in without any rush, creating beautiful footage both above and below the water. There was no real evidence that the A25s were with them even though they had been paired together before and during time spent in the Salish Se.
Afterwards, at least the A23s again continued westward. The remote camera at Critical Point picked them up soon after, accompanied by a lively group of Pacific White-sided Dolphins. A few more calls came through at Main Rubbing Beach around the same time. Again, It’s unclear whether these were from the A25s lagging behind, or if the A23s had simply spread widely across the Strait.
By 2:50pm, the whales were within range of the remote Cracroft Point system, spread between mid-Strait and the Vancouver Island shoreline. They travelled quietly for the most part, using echolocation only occasionally. We followed them on camera as far as Blinkhorn, where their last faint calls of the afternoon were heard around 3:10pm.
In the evening, distant calls returned. At 8:15pm, the Strider Rubbing Beach system picked them up again, continuing until about 9:30pm. A beautiful chorus unfolded across the Strait, heard clearly at both Cracroft Point and Kaizumi Rubbing Beach, marking their eastbound movement.
At 10:11pm, the calls faded once more. But just over an hour later, they were heard again at Strider and Main Rubbing Beach. This time, there was frequent echolocation, suggesting the group may have been feeding or hunting as they stayed in this area for the rest of the day.
Words by Freddy
