Depoe Bay Whale Watching
Whale Watching Report:
06/20/2020
The Gray Whales have been giving us great shows her in Depoe Bay for several days now. We have been seeing a number of our annual resident Gray Whales. Don\'t miss your opportunity to view these exciting animals while getting a scenic tour of the coastal waters near Depoe Bay. The excursions are great opportunities to see the beautiful Oregon Coast from a perspective you can get no other way than from the deck of one of our tour boats as well as great opportunities for marine wildlife viewing. Due to the pandemic we have reduced our passenger loads to aid social distancing and are requiring masks be worn on all trips. If you have no masks we can provide them for a dollar each. Reservations can be made on-line at www.docksidedepoebay.com or by calling 541-765-2545
06/18/2020
Our whale watching excursions have been seeing whales on a daily basis now. We have been seeing a number of our annual resident Gray Whales. We are happy to have good sightings of these thrilling mammals. The excursions are great opportunities to see the beautiful Oregon Coast from a perspective you can get no other way than from the deck of one of our tour boats as well as great opportunities for marine wildlife viewing. Due to the pandemic we have reduced our passenger loads to aid social distancing and are requiring masks be worn on all trips. If you have no masks we can provide them for a dollar each. Reservations can be made on-line at www.docksidedepoebay.com or by calling 541-765-2545\r\n
06/14/2020
We have had excellent whale watching/ sight seeing trips today with very good sightings of Gray Whales. We are happy to have good sightings of these thrilling mammals. The excursions are great opportunities to see the beautiful Oregon Coast from a perspective you can get no other way than from the deck of one of our tour boats as well as great opportunities for marine wildlife viewing. Due to the pandemic we have reduced our passenger loads to aid social distancing and are requiring masks be worn on all trips. If you have no masks we can provide them for a dollar each. Reservations can be made on-line at www.docksidedepoebay.com or by calling 541-765-2545
06/13/2020
Our whale watching-sightseeing trips have not had good whale sightings for a few days. We have no explanation as to why. Usually our whale watching sightings are off the charts by this time of year. The excursions are great opportunities to see the beautiful Oregon Coast from a perspective you can get no other way than from the deck of one of our tour boats. Due to the pandemic we have reduced our passenger loads to aid social distancing and are requiring masks be worn on all trips. If you have no masks we can provide them for a dollar each. Reservations can be made at docksidedepoebay.com or by calling 541-765-2545
06/06/2020
We had whale watching-sightseeing trips out today but have had no whale sightings. We have seen other marine line and it was a good day to be on the water. The sight seeing is always great however. Our tours are a way to take in the beautiful Oregon Coast from a perspective you can get no other way. It is still early for the resident whales to arrive in large numbers but we are starting to see a few. Dockside offers whale watching/sightseeing tours every day that the weather allows. We are getting back up and running with our whale watching cruises, having adjusted to the new normal. We have reduce the passenger loads of our boats to enable social distancing. It is important to remember that whales are indeed wild animals and as such we can make no guarantee that whales will be seen on every excursion. To make your reservation call 5641-765-2545. We have re-enabled our online reservation capability for whale watching/sightseeing excursions at www.docksidedepoebay.com We look forward to serving you.
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
