Orca – Humpback Confrontation

Resident Orca still doing long runs up and down Johnstone Strait. A few Humpback Whales have decided to head down the Strait as well running head on into Transient Orca (see photo). For Transient (Bigg’s) Killer Whales there has been the T02C’s reported but the others are somewhere. Lots of Pacific White Sided Dolphins, most down closer to Campbell River and the inlets, and some Dall’s Porpoise showing up down as far as Savary Island finally. Minke Whales are around, but with the need for patience to watch them and so much other activity, they fall a bit above the little Harbour Porpoise for sightings reports.

8:15 am Around 5-6 Orca very slowly Easting by Naka Creek, but last night around midnight there had to be over 20 Orca through here. Sounded more like 30!! Constant blows and quite a few slaps. We stood at the beach to listen. 🙂

10:20 am 5 – 6 Orca were spotted Westbound by Port Harvey. From a friend.

11:20 am Orca, still unknown who, Westing by Port Harvey, Broken Islands area.

12 pm Orca on the Vancouver Island side between Naka Creek and Eve River Westbound. At the same time, another group, originally thought to be Transients were on the other side of Johnstone Strait, by Forward Bayalso Westbound.

By around 1 pm it was determined, even with the drifting fog, that these were all Resident Orca including the A30’s on the Vancouver Island side, and the A23’s and A25’s on the Cracroft Island side. By 1:45 pm they were running around 3 knots still Westbound just below Boat Bay chasing fish. And 3 pm at Boat Bay, they picked up the pace to run at 9 knots, still West, but foraging.

7:10 pm The Orca never really left the area but worked back and forth completely spread out across the Strait from Cracroft Point to Kaikash Creek. They have turned to head East towards the Bight.

9 am Some of the Residents were reported in Robson Bight Ecological Reserve while some of the A30’s were found in the fog, Eastbound by Blinkhorn.

10:30 am A30’s were still very slowly Eastbound by Izumi rock and spread across the Strait, not quite in the Reserve.

1:12 pm Orca are working their way out of the Bight headed East.

6:20 pm Orca at Naka Creek

8:45 am NRKW’s past Kaikash Creekand made it West to Blinkhorn and across the Strait to Turn Point, where they turned back East at 9:15 am.

12:30 pm A23’s/25’s and 30’swere spread out back and forth by Boat Bay to the Reserve and slowly Eastbound.

1:40 pm the A30’s were the trailing group slowly Easting, but the others were reported as far East as Cedarstead Creek, below Naka Creek.

3 pm the A30’s were foraging by Cedarstead and turned West again.

11:20 4 Orca – the T02C’s were found Eastbound by Kelsey Bay.

2 pm We just left the T02CsEastbound in Chancellor Channel heading towards Wellbore. There was some commotion by Helmken around 1 pm when two Eastbound Humpback Whales met these Orca. The Orca appeared to try to take on one of the Humpbacks, but were slapped by the huge Humpback pectoral flippers. An actual confrontation! Then they tried for a Sea Lion on Helmken Island, but that Sea Lion managed to get away. They had passed some Dall’s Porpoise running on the other side of Chancellor Channel as well. Quite a mixture in the day.

6:55 pm Transients at mouth of Loughborough Inlet Easting.

9:30 am Transients were reported by Kelsey Bay after chasing approximately 500 PWS Dolphins out of Sunderland Channel.

2:48 pm Just leaving T002C’s Easting into Sunderland on the Hardwicke shore.

Nick Templeman, Eagle Eye Adventures

12:40 pm Transients T02C’s 1 mile East of Gunner Point Westbound in Sunderland Channel.

3:13 pm Just leaving Transients now Eastbound in Sunderland Ch. Along the Hardwicke shore. They gave the PWS Dolphins a good scare by Fanny Island.

Late in day: 4 Orca came out of Booker Lagoon and past by us at anchor in Cullen Harbour. The previous week or so we saw lots of Orca up around Namu and Fury Island.

11:32 am 2 Humpback Whales, Earl’s Ledge by Kelsey Bay.

There was some commotion by Helmken around 1 pm when two Eastbound Humpback Whales met these Orca. The Orca appeared to try to take on one of the Humpbacks, but were slapped by the huge Humpback pectoral flippers. An actual confrontation!

3:09 pm On our way back, we found and left the Humpbacks at Ripple Point now still Easting.

4 pm Two Humpbacks by Chatham Point – Mom and Calf.

Throughout the day: 2 Humpbacks, Mom ‘Chunky’ and her calf in Weynton Pass, 1 Humpback Eastbound by Blinkhorn, 2 HB’s by Cracroft Point lunge feeding, 1 HB by Parsons Bay, 1 HB went into Robson Bight Reserve by Izumi Rock and 1 HB between Stephenson Islets and Pearse Island.

The total in the upper Johnstone Strait for the day that can be accounted for as not being duplicated are: 6 animals.

Morning: 2 Humpbacks in Blackney Pass

8:21 am 2 Humpbacks went East by Naka Creek – what a treat!!! The boys were out kayaking when the Humpbacks came by. Pretty special moment for them, especially for Darren, first time kayaking at sea and first time seeing whales in their natural habitat!

1 pm 2 Humpback Whales. I actually had to take the boat out of gear to allow one Humpback to wake up enough to move across my bow. He/she had been sleeping in Cormorant Channel right in my path. Once awake it went to join another Humpback and do a few lazy lunge feeds through some bait balls on the Malcolm Island side of Pearse Pass.

9 am 2 Minke Whales were feeding just off Pearse Pass.

1 pm 2 Minke Whales lunge feeding by Leonard Rock, Haddington Island till a few fast boats travelled close – and they were gone.

11:30 am 200 PWS Dolphins by Kelsey Bay

Approx: 1:30 pm 150 PWS Dolphins by Rock Bay, Walkem Islands, just above Chatham Point.

5 pm 150 PWS Dolphins at Chatham Point milling about – great evening.

8 pm Some PWS Dolphins were around Whitebeach Passage, Blackfish Sound.

11:35 am PWS Dolphins at St Vincent Bight, just above Kelsey Bay

8:30 to 10:30 am 8 – 10 PWS Dolphins were foraging back and forth in my anchorage in the Pearse Islands.

11:02 am 200 Dolphins eating at Eve River zig zagging

2 pm We left the PWS Dolphins Westing hard after an Orca scare by Fanny Island, across from Kelsey Bay.

9 am Around 20 Dall’s Porpoiseforaging by Pearse Pass.

11:15 am Dall’s Porpoise bow ridingby the Blow Hole, Plumper Islands.

2 pm 4 Dall’s Porpoise in Chancellor Channel and another 2 that we’d seen earlier at Camp Point, close to Helmken Island.

6 pm 4 Dall’s Porpoise foraging in the tide rips at the bottom of Weynton Pass.

Partial report: Some Dall’s Porpoise in Blackney Pass

11:23 am 3 or 4 Dall’s Porpoisesplashing about (maybe feeding?) just West of Naka Creek.

12:50 pm 30 or so Dall’s Porpoisewere foraging in the tide rips at the bottom of Pearse Passage, between Cormorant and Pearse Islands.

4:30 pm Bill and I and Eric and Anna Bircher saw 3 Dalls porpoises on our way back to Indian Point, Savary Island from Lund today. We were happy to see something!