Tag Archives: mammals

Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)

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Mother and calf surfacing for air. www.unsplash.com

Approximately 18,000 Gray Whales migrate twice each year just off the Oregon coast. Approximately 200 Gray Whales hang out year around near the central coast area. This makes them relatively easy to see.

Gray Whales are the most common of the 10 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises that reside on the Oregon Coast. The Whale Watch Center in Depoe Bay reports seeing as many as 50 whales per day during December – January and again in the spring.

Where are they going?

The whales migrate south to breeding grounds in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico and north to Alaska shortly thereafter. Gray Whales make the longest annual migration of any mammal on earth of over 12,000 miles round trip.

How to spot a Gray Whale

One might think that spotting something so common and the size of a city bus should be easy. Gray Whales can weigh up to 80,000 pounds and reach 50 feet in length. That doesn’t mean that they are easy to see all of the time. The mottled gray color, along with barnacles and whale lice, can make even the large adults swimming just a few miles from shore a challenge.

The easiest way to find them is to grab binoculars and find a high view point on a calm morning. Look for a bushy puff of white on the water. This spout or blow, which should be visible for about five seconds on a calm day. The blow can rise up to 15-feet and occurs as the whale exhales warm, moist air when surfacing.

Finding spouts

Gray Whales typically blow three to five spouts in a row, about 30 to 50 seconds apart as they swim. You may need to move the lens slightly to account for them swimming. Move left (or south) in the winter, and right (or north) in the spring.

Keep watching and you may see the whale use its tail to dive to the sea bottom for three to six seconds. It will then return to the surface to repeat the spouting breathing rhythm.

What is the whale diving for?

Grays fill their mouths with mud from the sea bottom. The mud is strained through a filter-feeding system, called baleen, on the upper jaw of their mouths. Baleen is keratin which is the same substance as human fingernails and hair.

Water and mud is pushed out through the baleen trapping krill and small fish. Many whales have baleen, but not all use it in the same manner. Grays only use only one side of the baleen which is unique in the whale community.

There are several places to learn more about the Gray Whale. Here are a few ideas:
—Visit a Visitors’ Guide to Whale Watching on the Oregon Coast (https://www.coastexplorermagazine.com/display.php?url=a-guide-to-whale-watching-on-the-oregon-coast)
–Visit the Whale Watching Spoken Here program (https://orwhalewatch.org/) that has information on best places to see whales, volunteer training, and more.
–Visit Oregon State Parks, Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay, (https://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=183 ) which has videos of spouting whales, and more.

REFERENCE:
–Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (https://myodfw.com/wildlife-viewing/species/whales-dolphins-and-porpoises)
–Shoreline Education for Awareness, Inc. Friends of the Southern Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuges (https://sea-edu.org/2019/11/25/whale-migration-is-upon-us/)
–Wikipedia, Baleen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baleen)

Whale Watching in Depoe Bay, OR

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Depoe Bay, OR does not just have the reputation of being the world’s smallest harbor; it is the “Whale Watching Capital of Oregon’s Coast.”

In this six-acre harbor (also called Depoe Bay) you can come see whales almost year round. During the winter migration, gray whales make the journey south, leaving the waters of Alaska in favor of the warmer water in northern Mexico.

Migrations

This migration usually occurs in late December to February. During the spring migration that begins in March, whales head back up north to Alaska.

While these two migrations are the ideal times in which to see whales, it is almost certain you can see a whale in Depoe Bay any time of the year. This certainty is largely due to the group of gray whales that comprise the Pacific Coast Feeding Group.

Summer Feeding

Instead of making the journey all the way back to Alaska, this group of gray whales spend their summer feeding around the reefs in Depoe Bay. Around 18,000 gray whales pass through Depoe Bay over the course of the winter and spring migrations.

Grey Whale spout – photo taken by Rowland Willis

The most common whale seen off Oregon’s coast is the gray whale. Around 18,000 gray whales pass through Depoe Bay over the course of the winter and spring migrations.

Blue whales and humpback whales can also be spotted but in much deeper waters (usually no closer than 10 miles off the coast). If you’re really lucky, you might even be able to spot a pod of orca whales (also called killer whales). These beautiful predators are most likely spotted during mid-April when they come to intercept baby gray whales.

Charters

Charters like Tradewind Charters, Dockside Charters, Whale’s Tail Charters LLC, and Whale Research EcoExcursions LLC will accommodate any experienced or novice whaler’s needs with an up to two hour long tour, depending on the season.

Information for this post was sourced here.