Depoe Bay Whale Watching
Whale Watching Report:
03/01/2020
Although the marine conditions have not been consistently favorable for whale watching we continue to see whales on the few occasions we have been able to get out. The whales are largely headed north, going back to the northern latitudes. Our resident whale will begin showing up in May but we will have good opportunities to see whales during the northern migration as it continues. All we need is some weather windows to get out on whale watching excursions. Call Dockside at 541-765-2545 or make your reservation on line at www.docksidedepoebay.com
02/25/2020
Dockside has whale watching excursions scheduled for today, Tuesday. The departure time is 01:30 for an hour and a half cruise. The forecast is good, the sun is shining. It is a great day to watch whales. Call 541-765-2545 to make a reservation or make one online at fish@docksidedepoebay.com
02/19/2020
We have whale watching trips scheduled for today, Thursday and Friday. The fishing boats headed out this morning and saw whales. We haven\'t heard from the whale watching boat yet but their chances are good to see whales. Call us to make a reservation @541-765-2545 or make your reservation on line at fish@docksidedepoebay.com.
02/17/2020
The marine conditions are looking good this week to get out and do some whale watching. It has been a while since we have been out but the whales are still continuing their migration and that will give us good opportunity to whale watch. We have cruises daily on the biggest cleanest charter boats on the coast, weather permitting of course. Call us at 541-765-2545 or make your reservation on line at fish@docksidedepoebay.com
02/10/2020
We have some opportunities to whale watch this week. One of our fishing boats saw whales this morning. The marine conditions look promising for whale watching through Thursday. For a chance to whale watch from the largest, cleanest most comfortable charter boats call us to make your reservation at 541-765-2545 or make it online at docksidedepoebay.com
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
