Basically, the groups that were off the western end of Blackfish Sound the previous evening made their way into and through Weynton Passage to Johnstone Strait where they spent the rest of the night from just before midnight to 7:30am travelling eastward. Dolphins abounded in Blackney Pass for a long time.
Some of the orca milestones along the way were as follows: The A30s and the A5s were probably abreast Cracroft Point by 1am; by then the dolphins had ventured closer to Blackfish Sound; by 2am the orcas had shifted closer to Izumi Rock, I15s, perhaps the trailing group were not heard until 2:23am; by 4am the lead whales had passed Robson Bight and were closer to Strider beach; a rub occurred at 4:35am involving both A5 and I15s; it was only a brief rub as these whales continued east; a coincidental rub, lasting only seconds happened at Main beach; the whales were not stopping; at 4:53am dolphins were in Johnstone Strait as well; from 5am to 7:30am calls remained distant; one impression was that the whales continued east with at least some travelling closer to the Cracroft Island side.
Northern Residents were absent for the entire day. At 1:51pm a whale watching report described a large group of Northern Resident orcas westing in Race Passage on the southside of Helmken Island not far from Kelsey Bay. We were not aware of any further reports nor the IDs of those in Race Passage.
At 9:29pm A30 calls were heard east of the Ecological Reserve. At least some of the whales were on their way back. The calls lasted until 10:06pm. Dolphin calls lasted a while longer.
A humpback, at 11:51pm made a few “whups” in Blackney Pass. This closed off this part of the night, more was to follow.
