PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A spike has been reported in the number of whales spotted on the Oregon coast, officials in Newport told KOIN 6 News.
Videos from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department show a number of gray whales spotted from the Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay.
Officials said they’ve seen 5 to 10 whales a day. The sightings are earlier than normal due to nice weather.
18,000 gray whales migrate north during the spring months.
Elyse Biscottini and Jason Nelson took Tuesday to travel to the coast for the views.
“We were here for when they were going down south and the males were going to breed and now we are here for them to come home,” Elyse told KOIN 6 News.
Luke Parsons with Oregon Parks and Recreation spends his time at the Depoe Bay Whale Watching Center — and he said now is the time to get out for whale watching.
“Just this week alone we’ve seen gray, humpbacks, orcas, porpoise,” Parsons said. “Part of the fun is you really never know who is going to swim by.”
He offers one tip to find them:
“Gray whales are often traveling within a mile of shore, so make sure to watch close to the shore. You’ll see that very tall spout. When a whale comes up to breathe it is about 10 to 15 feet tall, very easy to see.”
While the whale watching tour boats hit the water, Elyse and Jason continue to soak in the extraordinary whale migration from up top.
“You see the spout and your get really excited because you know there are more to come, and then you see the 3rd spout and then you know you are going to see the rest of the body and the fluke coming up,” Jason said. “That part is really majestic to see the sun shining off of it and to know the whole animal is out there and you can really see that it’s actually about the size of a bus.”
