Oregon Coast Whale Numbers for August, Early September

Published 09/20/2012

(Depoe Bay, Oregon) – The long bouts of calm weather have resulted in not just a flood of tourists on the coast but lots of whales too. It's the warmest time of the year on the Oregon coast right now – known as the “Second Summer” - and most of this September has lived up to that moniker with plenty of high temps and sun. This can bring in all kinds of wonders and not just whales – but some interesting jellyfish strandings and high sand levels that create unbelievable access to landmarks normally covered by the tide from Cannon Beach down to Yachats.

August 24 had one whale sighting, while August 25 had two. August 26 jumped up to seven whales and August 27 spiked for the month at a whopping 13. Nine whales were spotted on August 28, three on August 29, six on August 30 and four on August 31.

September 1 started off with a decent six whales. Ten were spotted on September 2, with the Whale Center saying: “ Sunny, no wind – awesome whale day.” That continued on September 3 with seven whales being spotted.

On September 4 and 5, no whales were seen because of “foggy, rough seas.” That continued somewhat on September 6 with three whales seen, with the center noting it was still foggy and about “a half mile to one mile visibility.”

September 7, two whales were seen and on September 8 there were seven whales spotted, with the Center saying “one or two whales in bay most of the day.”

On September 9, the center noted some “sharking” going on, meaning when “Gray Whales feed on their side and half of their (tail) fluke shows above water, so it looks like a shark,” the Whale Watch Center said. That day, nine whales were spotted, and one of them was also going around in a circle.

The following two days the Whale Watch Center was closed.

When it reopened, seven whales were spotted on September 12 and six were seen on September 13, even with a lot of fog that day.

On September 14, seven gray whales were spotted, many of which were seen traveling north towards Rocky Creek – sightings that were also noted by local tour guide and biologist Carrie Newell.

In other natural world sightings, the campground management company Pampering Campers noted a lot of sea nettles – a form of jellyfish – washing up around the Waldport area.

“I've seen maybe a dozen of these sea nettles this week amongst the sea grass and kelp,” said Jo Leach. “Haven't seen this much for over a year.”

On the north coast, sand levels remain consistently and unusually high. This has resulted in nearly unprecedented access at spots like Arcadia Beach near Cannon Beach, the arch at Arch Cape, Rockaway Beach and Oceanside. (Above: unusual sand levels near Cannon Beach this week)

For lodging listings on the Oregon coast see below.

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

LATEST OREGON COAST NEWS STORIES

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted