Depoe Bay Whale Watching
Whale Watching Report:
03/30/2021
After a couple days of very rough seas we are getting a break in the weather. The next week looks quite favorable for whale watching excursions. Dockside Charters offers whale watching/sight seeing tours daily, weather permitting. Our cruises are on the largest, cleanest, best maintained fleet of Delta charter boats on the coast. At this time of the year we are offer 1 hour tours. Masks are required in the office and on the boats as mandated by the US Coast Guard. Call 541-765-2545 or make a reservation online.
03/28/2021
The Dockside fleet went whale watching with vigor Saturday the 27th. There were good sightings of whales about four miles offshore. As a bonus the marine conditions were fantastic all day long and we were able to cruise late into the day. No wind, no swells and sunshine. It was great to be out on the water. Sunday the weather took a turn for the worse (right back into winter), consequently we will not be whale watching for a couple of days. To make a reservation to cruise on the cleanest, biggest most comfortable boats call 541-765-2545 or reserve online.
03/19/2021
We have not been out whale watching for a couple of days due to marine conditions. The swells have been too large and there has been a lot of wind as well making the seas far too uncomfortable to be on. Sunday the 21st looks like the next opportunity to get out whale watching. To make your reservation to cruise with the Dockside fleet call 541-765-2545 or reserve on line.
03/16/2021
We had good sightings on our whale watching excursions again today. They are in their northern migration which should continue through May when our resident whales will begin to arrive. Make a reservation to take an excursion aboard the largest, cleanest most comfortable cruise boats. Call 541-765-2545 or reserve online.
03/11/2021
We have been seeing whales on our whale watching excursions. They are still in their northern migration. Our resident whales won't start showing up until mid-May. Make a reservation to take an excursion aboard the largest, cleanest most comfortable cruse boats. Call 541-765-2545 or reserve online.
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
