Gray Whale Migration

Each October, as the northern ice pushes southward, small groups of gray whales in the eastern Pacific start a two to three month 5,000 – 6,800 mile trip south. Beginning in the Bering and Chukchi seas and ending in the warm water lagoons of Mexico’s Baja peninsula and the southern Gulf of California, they travel along the west coast of Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Traveling night and day, the gray whale averages approximately 75 miles per day at an average speed of 5 mph. This round trip of 10,000 – 13,600 miles is believed to be the longest annual migration of any mammal. By late December to early January, they begin to arrive in the calving lagoons of Baja. The three most popular lagoons are Laguna Ojo de Liebre, San Ignacio and Magdalena.

These first whales to arrive are usually pregnant mothers that look for the protection of the lagoons to bear their calves, along with single females seeking mates. By mid February to mid March, the bulk of the population has arrived in the lagoons, filling them with nursing, calving and mating gray whales.

Throughout February and March, the first to leave the lagoons are males and females without new calves. Pregnant females and nursing mothers with their newborns are the last to depart, leaving only when their calves are ready for the journey, which is usually from late March to mid April. Often a few mothers linger with their young calves well into May.

Populations of about 200 gray whales stay along the eastern Pacific coast from Canada to California throughout the summer, not making the farther trip to Alaska waters, many of these whales stay here in Depoe Bay to feed on the abundance of mysid shrimp. During migration gray whales feed very little or not at all.There are approximately 18,000 gray whales in the winter and spring migrations and a group of 200-400 whales that feed along the Oregon and Washington coast during fall and summer.

In the spring, March through June most of these gray whales make the journey from their breeding lagoons in Baja California to the Arctic feeding grounds. On this northbound migration, small numbers of gray whales fall out of the migration group and stop at various locations along the Oregon coast, one of these places is Depoe Bay; these whales are called resident whales.

For whales to be known as residents, they must stay around a certain area for at least two days, exhibit feeding behavior, and return year after year. This distinguishes them from migrating whales which stop on their migration to feed and then move on their way. Along the coast of Depoe Bay, our resident gray whales begin showing up in June. On any one day throughout the summer, numbers range from 1 to 20. Some arrive in early summer, leave, and then return in late summer or early fall.

Resident gray whales remain around Depoe Bay for a period of days to months, there is one whale Scarback (Pictured Above) who has been around for at least 20 years. The last of the resident whales leave in October or November and return to the breeding lagoons of Baja California to rejoin the remainder of the population. Juveniles pass first followed by adults, last are the mothers and babies. Many of them come close to shore feeding on Oregon’s great food supply. In April and May you may be able to see mothers and calves resting in protected coves close to shore.

What is the best time of the year to see whales? Folks seem to think that the best time is during the annual migrations. Contrary to that popular belief, the best time to see whales here in Depoe Bay is March through October. This is when our resident whales have returned and take up residence. As summer approaches we see more of our resident whales returning for the season.

During the spring migration is when the whales move closer to shore and will stop to feed. The best time of day are mornings before the wind starts to blow, during the afternoon it can get windy, which has a tendency to blow the spouts down making it hard for people to see them. Our most popular trips are 1 ½ hours at 8:00am and 10:00am. This is when the ocean is usually calmer and a more enjoyable ride.

If you would like to book a trip March through October be sure and request us by name “Whales Tail” or you can make online Reservations. I will get back with you as soon as possible. Keep in mind that I am usually running tours during the day so I may not be able to respond until that evening or the next business day.

Check out these links to learn more about Comfort and Safety and Tips and Ideas for you Cruise.

Visit our website at: www.whalestaildepoebay.com

Whales Tail @ (Dockside Charters)
270 Coast Guard Dr.
Depoe Bay, Oregon 97341

Phone:541-765-2545
Toll Free:1-800-733-8915

Gray Whales Breaching Behavior

One of the most awesome sights for whale watchers is that of a whale soaring up out of the water where 1/2 to 3/4 of the body length comes up out of the water and falls on its side or back causing a huge splash as it comes back down and hits the water, this is known as breaching. Humpback whales seem to breach more often than gray whales but gray whale calves seem to breach more often which might suggest that these calves are playing. When a whale is going to breach they will swim very rapidly under water and then suddenly raise its head and body up and out of the water. It will usually land on its side or back with a tremendous splash, often a gray whale will breach several times in a row.

There have been some studies that suggest that calves breach more often than adults which suggest that it may be more for play than anything. Some other theories range from a way to knock off external parasites, such as barnacles, to a form of communication or just for the fun of it. Some other reason for whales breaching could be a form of courtship or a way to emphasize a visual or auditory signal among whales, but the truth is no one knows why they do this. In the photo above is “Scarback”, Depoe Bay’s most famous resident gray whale, she has been coming back to Depoe Bay for the last 20 years.

Spy-Hopping
Another whale behavior that gets people excited is spy-hopping, where the whales head sticks straight up out of the water. One theory on spy-hopping goes against the conventional wisdom that it’s to see what is happening, some suggests that it’s to help the whales hear better; it has been observed that during spy hop behavior the eyes do not always come above the surface of the water. During migration, it may be to hear the surf since their route usually follows the coastline.

When spy-hopping, the whale rises and holds position partially out of the water, often exposing its entire rostrum and head. Spy-hopping is controlled and slow, and can last for minutes at a time if the whale is sufficiently inquisitive about whatever (or whomever) it is viewing. Generally, the whale does not appear to swim to maintain its elevated position while spy-hopping, instead relying on buoyancy control and positioning with pectoral fins. Typically the whale’s eyes will be slightly above or below the surface of the water, enabling it to see whatever is nearby on the surface.

Lob-tailing
Lob-tailing is the act of a whale lifting its flukes out of the water and then bringing them down onto the surface of the water hard and fast in order to make a loud slap. Like breaching, lob-tailing is common among active cetacean species such as humpback, and gray whales. It is less common, but still occasionally occurs, among other large whales. Lob-tailing is more common within species that have a complex social order than those where animals are more likely to be solitary such as gray whales

Visit our website at: www.whalestaildepoebay.com

Whales Tail @ (Dockside Charters)
270 Coast Guard Dr.
Depoe Bay, Oregon 97341

Phone:541-765-2545
Toll Free:1-800-733-8915

Whales Spouting and Diving

Gray whales swim by moving their large powerful tail flukes in an up and down motion and may span up to10 feet across, the tail flukes often have scars, scratches or bite marks from orca whale attacks. The normal cruising speed for a gray whale is between 2 to 6 mph but they can show burst of speed up to 10 to 12 mph if threatened by predators. Gray whales will surface and breathe two or three times at 10-20 second intervals before submerging for three to five minutes. When a gray whale goes on a deep dive the whale will usually show its tail flukes or arch its back where you would see its knuckles. Gray whales have no dorsal (back) fins. Instead, they have a low hump and a series of six to twelve knuckles or bumps. The gray whale can stay under water for at about 30 minutes and reappear 1/2 mile or more away unless they are feeding in the area. When whales go below the surface of the water it will leave an oval patch of calm water called a fluke print, this is caused from upwelling from the whale’s tail fluke.

When a gray whale goes on a dive it is usually less than 100 feet mainly because the food that the whale eats is in shallower waters. The gray whale has two blowholes that are oval shaped and during a dive, the valves around the whale’s blowhole close to keep water out. Upon surfacing the gray whales spout is about 10 feet high and, if there is no wind can be seen as a heart shape when observed directly in front or from behind. In a single blow about 100 gallons of air can be expelled, if they exhale slowly the blow is hardly visible.

Visit our website at: www.whalestaildepoebay.com

Whales Tail @ (Dockside Charters)
270 Coast Guard Dr.
Depoe Bay, Oregon 97341

Phone:541-765-2545
Toll Free:1-800-733-8915

About Humpback Whales

Humpback whales migrate up to 16,000 miles each year and feed mainly in the summer in polar waters and migrate to tropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves; their diet consists of krill and small fish. Humpback whales like all baleen whales are seasonal feeders that feed on crustaceans, plankton, and small fish. A humpback whale will eat about 5,000 pounds of plankton, krill and small fish every day during the feeding season, one feeding technique they use is called bubble net fishing. This is where a group of humpback whales swim rapidly in circles around a school of fish and blow air through their blowholes. The bubbles form a barrier that helps to confine the school of fish within an area, and then one or more whales will swim upwards and through the bubble net with their mouth’s wide open and gulp thousands of fish.

Humpback whales breathe air at the surface of the water through two blowholes located near the top of the head. Their blow is a double stream of spray that rises 10-13 feet above the surface of the water. The tail flukes of a humpback whale, which are lifted high in the dive sequence, have wavy rear edges. The deeply-notched flukes (tail) are between 10- 12 feet wide, an adult usually ranges between 39-52 feet long and weighs approximately 36 tons, and these whales can live between 50-70 years.

The pectoral fins are up to one-third of a humpback whales body length and have rough edges; these are the largest flippers of any whale. They also have about 15-35 throat grooves, these grooves allow the throat to expand when they are filter feeding. Female whales breed every 2-3 years and their gestation period is eleven months, the calves are about 14 feet long when born and are nursed by their mothers for their first six months and then go through another period of nursing and independent feeding for another six months. Both males and females reach sexual maturity around the age of five, full maturity is around 15 years, females are slightly larger than males.

Both male and female humpback whales vocalize, however only males produce the long, loud, complex songs for which this whale is famous for. Each song consists of sounds in a low register that vary in amplitude and frequency, and typically lasts from 10 to 20 minutes. Humpbacks may sing continuously for more than 24 hours. Cetaceans have no vocal cords, so whales generate their song by forcing air through their massive nasal cavities.

Scientists are unsure of the purpose of the whale song. Only males sing, suggesting that one purpose is to attract females. However, many of the whales observed to approach a singer are other males, and results in conflict. Singing may therefore be a challenge to other males. Some scientists say that the song may serve an echo locative function. During the feeding season, humpbacks make altogether different vocalizations for herding fish into their bubble nets.

Humpback whales have also been found to make a range of other social sounds to communicate such as “grunts”, “groans”, “snorts” and “barks”.

Sleeping Whale's

Gray whale observations by scientists searching for clues on gray whale sleep studied a rescued gray whale. For nine days they made continuous video-recordings and observations. They collected data on the whale’s behaviors, here’s what they found:

The gray whale rested in two ways:

(1) by hanging just below the surface with its blowhole above water and

(2) by lying on the bottom of the pool.
In both cases, the whale’s breathing slowed, its fins and tail moved slowly until it was fully resting, then the whale only moved to take breaths of air.

When the whale rested on the bottom of the pool, it rose to the surface every few minutes and breathed.

At different times, the whale slept with both eyes open, both eyes shut, and just one eye open (indicating that only half its brain was active).

The whale was more likely to be active during the day and resting or sleeping at night.
During sleep, the whale’s body sometimes jerked and twitched, in humans and other mammals, these movements indicate a deeper state of sleep and dreaming.

Young gray whale calfs actually rest, eat and sleep while their mother swims, towing them along in her slipstream, this is called echelon swimming. At these times, the mother will sleep on the move, in fact, she cannot stop swimming for the first several weeks of a newborn’s life. If she does for any length of time the calf will begin to sink, this is because the calf is not born with enough body fat or blubber to float easily.

Whales Tail @ (Dockside Charters)
270 Coast Guard Dr.
Depoe Bay, Oregon 97341

Phone: 541-765-2545
Toll Free: 1-800-733-8915

Oregon Whale Watching Tours

The Whales Tail operates out of Dockside Charters which is located on the east side of the bay in the center of the harbor next to the Coast Guard Station. We have put our thoughts and ideas together, forming the premise, that ocean charters should be a more personal experience. Be honest and caring, making safety, comfort and satisfaction of our customer’s our first priority. We offer whale watching, scenic tours, to personal charters to fit all your needs. We have built our business on satisfied, repeat customers, give us a try and you’ll see why.

Experience the excitement of seeing gray whales “up close and personal” and other wildlife on one of our whale watching trips aboard the Whales Tail. We depart from picturesque Depoe Bay, Oregon which is only minutes from the beautiful Pacific Ocean. This is a thrilling and exciting ride for people who enjoy being out on the ocean or first timers who just want to experience being out on the ocean and have an enjoyable ride, additionally our whale watching trips are fun and informative.

The Whales Tail is a 26′ zodiac style boat that carries up to 6 people. It was the first and original zodiac style whale watching boat on the Oregon coast, the Whales Tail was designed specifically to give passengers the utmost in sightseeing and whale watching experiences. The Whales Tail has a smaller seating capacity and is a quieter ride than the larger boats, and they ride just a few feet above the ocean’s surface. If there are whales in the vicinity, the Whales Tail can get you near them. Here you can enjoy the simplicity and intimacy of the Whale’s Tail. It’s quiet, roomy and faster than the larger boats so you get to spend more time around the whales. We have all the latest safety features and have been inspected by the State of Oregon.

One of the features the Whales Tail offers is a unique vantage point that gives you 360° viewing for observing Oregon’s resident gray whales as they feed along the coast of Depoe Bay. Don’t be surprised if you notice the whales watching you as intently as you watch them. We try to provide you with a once in a lifetime experience that is not to be missed along with some great memories. This trip is a little more personal where we can take the time to talk and get to know our customers, find out what they like or would like to see, you can’t beat a ride on the Whales Tail.

About Us
I have been involved in the maritime industry for 40 years and recently retired from Oregon State University Research Ship “Wecoma” which included scientific research of whales to sampling the bottom of the ocean to name a few. We were the first and original zodiac style whale watching boat on the Oregon Coast. We have been inspected and have all the latest safety equipment. I hope you will join us on a exciting whale watching excursion aboard the “Whales Tail”.

The Whales Tail is a 26′ zodiac style boat that carries up to 6 people. It was designed specifically to give passengers the utmost in sightseeing and whale watching experiences. This is a very unique experience that puts you “up close and personal” for observing Oregon’s resident gray whales. Here you can enjoy the incredible scenery of the Oregon Coast, transit the worlds smallest navigable channel, and enjoy watching gray whales, humpback whales, orca whales, seals, sea lions, and other marine life. Don’t be surprised if you notice the whales watching you as intently as you watch them. We try to provide you and your family a once in a lifetime experience that is not to be missed along with some great memories.

The Whales Tail operates out of Dockside Charters which is located on the east side of the Bay in the center of the harbor next to the Coast Guard Station. We have put our thoughts and ideas together, forming the premise, that ocean charters should be a more personal experience. Be honest and caring, making safety, comfort and satisfaction of our customer’s our first priority. Whether you’re heading out on one of our whale watching trips or just got back from a trip, you are always welcome to stop by to relax and say hi, the coffee is always on, and free. We have built our business on satisfied, repeat customers, give us a try and you’ll see why.

For more information on whales and our whale watching trips visit: http://www.whalestaildepoebay.com

Whales Tail @ (Dockside Charters)
270 Coast Guard Dr.
Depoe Bay, Oregon 97341

GPS Coordinates: Lat. 44°48.552 N, Long. 124°03.564 W

Phone: 541-765-2545
Toll Free: 1-800-733-8915

Oregon Coast Excursions

Experience the excitement of seeing gray whales “up close and personal” and other wildlife on one of our whale watching trips aboard the Whales Tail. We depart from picturesque Depoe Bay, Oregon which is only minutes from the beautiful Pacific Ocean. This is a thrilling and exciting ride for people who enjoy being out on the ocean or first timers who just want to experience being out on the ocean and have an enjoyable ride, additionally our whale watching trips are fun and informative.

The Whales Tail is a 26′ zodiac style boat that carries up to 6 people. It was the first and original zodiac style whale watching boat on the Oregon coast, the Whales Tail was designed specifically to give passengers the utmost in sightseeing and whale watching experiences. The Whales Tail has a smaller seating capacity and is a quieter ride than the larger boats, and they ride just a few feet above the ocean’s surface. If there are whales in the vicinity, the Whales Tail can get you near them. Here you can enjoy the simplicity and intimacy of the Whale’s Tail. It’s quiet, roomy and faster than the larger boats so you get to spend more time around the whales. We have all the latest safety features and have been inspected.

Visit our website at: http://www.whalestaildepoebay.com

Whales Tail (Dockside Charters)
270 Coast Guard Pl.
Depoe Bay, Oregon 97341

Phone: 541-765-2545
Toll Free: 1-800-733-8915