Depoe Bay Whale Watching
Whale Watching Report:
06/08/2022
We have killer whales out there today! Our first trips just came back in reporting awesome sightings of a pod of orcas in our area. We\'ve had lots more orca sightings this Spring than usual, we normally tend to see them more in April/May but they seem to be sticking around a little bit later this year. You never know what you\'ll find out there!
06/07/2022
Beautiful ocean conditions out there today! We had good sightings of our resident gray whales all day yesterday and it sounds like they are back around today feeding in the area! Ocean conditions look great these next couple of days, we have our one hour trips going out periodically through out the day!
06/06/2022
Wet and windy weekend for whale watching these last couple of days but the whales didn\'t mind! There were sporadic orca sightings this last weekend near Depoe Bay, as well as our resident Gray Whales! Seems like the residents are showing up in more numbers and closer to home these last couple of days. Ocean forecast looks fantastic this week, we\'ve got one hour trips scheduled every day!
06/03/2022
We had killer whale sightings today! Both of our boats found a couple of good sized orcas just South of town and they put on a great show. Although we are primarily looking for Gray Whales, we do get rogue pods of killer whales that come through our area periodically in the Spring and Summer. We never know when they\'ll be here or how long they\'ll be around for. Be sure to check out our Facebook page to check out the videos we got of them today!
06/02/2022
We were able to find a couple of our resident Gray Whales yesterday just South of town, it definitely seems like those residents are starting to make their appearance around here. We should be seeing more and more of them as we get into the Summer season! Ocean conditions look great these next couple of days, a bit windy on Sunday, and then really nice again for all of next week. Starting to look like Summer around here!
Depoe Bay Whale Watching Report Archive...
Depoe Bay is the Whale Watching Capital and Dockside Charters offers Premier Whale Watching Excursions.
Dockside Charters runs whale watching excursions on a daily basis during our whale watching season. The season typically goes from mid-December through October. Our whale watching season actually is two part: migration and residential. The migratory season begins in December and usually extends until mid May. Mid to late May is when our “resident” whales begin to arrive. Our resident whales are a group of roughly 20 whales that, though they do migrate don’t go all the way to the Bering Sea but rather feed during the summer season within just a few miles of Depoe Bay and stay in the area until late October. The same whales return year after year and we are able to identify returning whales by their individual markings and the skippers even have them named.
Pacific Gray Whales have the longest migration of any animal on earth going from the Bering Sea to the Baja Peninsula and even into the Sea of Cortez. Their migration allows calves to be born in the warm waters of the Baja lagoons, that is vital to the survival of the newborns because they have no insulating blubber layer at birth. As the new calves and their mothers slowly migrate North the calves gain about nine to ten pounds per day. What makes that even more remarkable is the fact that the cows (mother gray whales) feed very little if at all during the migration. This is often quite evident by the physical appearance of the cows when they reach Depoe Bay, they are literally racks of skin and bones, having used their fat reserves to support the calves during migration.
After they arrive here feeding is the priority. Pacific Gray Whales are baleen feeders, they filter food they need from the water by straining it through their baleen plates. Organisms they feed on are quite small, one of the whales most important food sources are Mysid Shrimp. Mysid Shrimp live in and around kelp forests and never get more than about a half inch in length. They resemble mosquito larva more than shrimp and the whales will consume up to 2000 pounds of them a day. At other times they will feed on copepods they filter by taking mouthfuls of muck from the bottom or even skim feed on schools of very small fish.
Humpback and Blues whales are also seen occasionally though not as frequently as Gray Whales. We are fortunate here in Depoe Bay to have whales nearby for us to see for most of the year.
At Dockside Charters we run our Whale Watching excursions from safe comfortable 50 foot Delta Charter boats. They are Coast Guard Certified and have everything required for your safety and piece of mind. They have all the amenities: comfortable heated cabins, rest rooms, indoor seating, seating out on deck. You are able to walk all the way around the boats and are elevated above the water for excellent whale sightings. Our captains have decades of experience and a wealth of knowledge they share during the excursions making them interpretive tours. Our boats have access doors to walk on and off with ease or provide wheel chair access. We can accommodate large groups.
Reservations are recommended for our whale watching tours, to make yours call 541-765-2545
Whale watching excursions seven days a week, subject to marine conditions.
Whale watching report archive...
(541) 765-2545
