By Oregon Coast TODAY
You can see them on the license plates of cars or spouting offshore from the window of your own — whales are as integral to the central Oregon coast as crabs and conifers.
The twice-yearly Whale Watch Weeks are times to catch the peak southern migration times of gray whales along the Oregon coast. Multiple viewing locations are staffed by graduates of the Whale Watching Spoken Here program and special events are often held.
This year, Winter Whale Watch Week takes place from Thursday, Dec. 26, through Tuesday, Dec. 31.
And this year, the Hatfield Marine Science Center will be hosting whale-related activities and educational programs at its visitor center.
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, the center will offer hands-on activities and crafts, films and games. Guest lectures will be given in the center’s auditorium at 11 a.m. daily.
Gray whales will take center stage, but whales of all species will be celebrated, highlighting their unique adaptations and offering the best whale-watching tips.
Researchers estimate that 19,000 gray whales now live in the Eastern North Pacific area. About 30 whales per hour migrate past the Oregon coast during the peak southbound migration. By comparison, six per hour pass by on the northbound trip, but that return trip is spread over four months. Roughly 200 of these whales drop off the migration route and feed along the Oregon coast all summer.
Although volunteers will be at 15 whale-watching locations from Astoria to Brookings, 10 of those locations are on the central coast between Manzanita and Yachats, with the Depoe Bay Whale Watching Center being the most popular place to gather. The center has high-powered cameras trained on the ocean, ready to zoom in when a spout has been spotted. It is also a pleasant place to be if the weather is raging outside.
For a map of locations, go to www.orwhalewatch.org/best-places.
The Hatfield Marine Science Center Visitor Center is located at 2030 S.E. Marine Science Drive, Newport. Whale Watch Week activities are included with the $5 entry fee for those aged five and older.
