Depoe Bay Whale Watching
Whale Watching Report:
01/13/2020
Due to extremely rough marine conditions we have been unable to get whale watching cruises underway since New Years Day. It will moderate and when it does we will get one and a half hour whale watching excursions out. The migration is well underway and will continue through May when we will start seeing our resident whales arriving from their migration. Whale watching season last year was the best any of us can remember and we look forward to a great season in 2020.
01/09/2020
High seas and wind are creating marine conditions that have made it impossible to get underway for whale watching excursions. This weather system will be with us for a few more days according to the forecasters. When we have been able to get out we were blessed with good sightings of migrating whale. There will be plenty of opportunity to make whale watching excursions as the migration will continue until late May (going south and north). May also marks the arrival of our resident whales which give us our very best whale watching experiences. The weather for most of whale watching week, which is during Christmas break was not good enough to get but a few cruises underway. Fortunately the whales haven\'t heard of whale watching week and we will have many opportunities for whale watching cruises in the coming months.
01/01/2020
High seas and wind are creating conditions that make it impossible to get underway for whale watching excursions. This weather system will be with us for a few days according to the forecasters. When we were able to get out we were blessed with good sightings of migrating whale. There will be plenty of opportunity to make whale watching excursions as the migration will late until late May (going south and north). May also marks the arrival of our \"resident\" whales which give us our very best whale watching experiences.
12/29/2019
We were able to get out for whale watching yesterday, the seas settled down and we had some cruises out. Unfortunately we had no sightings on Saturday. Sunday was a different matter with excellent whale sightings on all cruises. During the winter migration of Gray Whales we are offering 1 1/2 hour cruises. Dockside will have whale watching cruises out on every day the conditions allow. Make your reservation by calling 541-765-2545 or use our convenient online reservation service.
12/29/2019
We were able to get out for whale watching yesterday, the seas settled down and we had some cruises out. Unfortunately we had no sightings on Saturday. Sunday was a different matter with excellent whale sightings on all cruises. Dockside will have whale watching cruises out one every day the conditions allow. Make your reservation by calling 541-765-2545 or use our convenient online reservation service.
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
