The day was quiet until there was a morning report from PWWA of the A25s at Plumper Pass off Read Island in the Strait of Georgia (the Salish Sea). In the afternoon, distant calls of the A23s were picked up by the Strider Rubbing Beach hydrophone at 3:15pm as they returned from the east, only to slip away again into silence.
At 5pm, echolocation was heard once more. Moments later, the clicks grew stronger, pointing toward the rubbing beach. The remote camera soon confirmed the approach, and at 5:23pm a beautiful rubbing session unfolded in the golden evening light, lasting 16 minutes. With the fog of recent days finally lifting, the scene felt especially radiant. By 6 pm, the whales had moved into Robson Bight, continuing their westward journey.
From 7 pm, the Cracroft Point camera followed their progress close along the Vancouver Island shoreline, reaching Kaikash Creek by 7:15 pm. Around this time, a boat approached the whales uncomfortably close. As a reminder, vessels in British Columbia are required to keep a minimum distance of 400m from all killer whales. This space helps the whales travel, rest, and forage undisturbed. When boats approach too closely, it can cause stress and interrupt important behaviours. If unsafe or illegal approaches are observed, they can be reported to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) through the incident reporting line at 1-800-465-4336.
The evening closed with faint vocalisations of Bigg’s orcas, first at Cracroft Point at 8:14 pm, then again at 9:12 pm.
On a lighter note, Paul and Helena finally made it back to the island after two days of waiting for the fog to clear – bringing fresh laundry and delicious muffins. A very welcome return.
Words by Freddy
