Sun gives hundreds a vision of whales.Byline: Jim Feehan The Register-Guard YACHATS - There she blows. That cry was heard about 120 times Sunday by hundreds of sightseers lining the Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a geographical term that is used to describe the coast of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean. Stretching 362 miles from Astoria to the California border, the Oregon Coast is unique in that the whole coastline is public land. to catch a glimpse Verb 1. catch a glimpse - see something for a brief time catch sight, get a look see - perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight; "You have to be a good observer to see all the details"; "Can you see the bird in that tree?"; "He is blind--he of migrating gray whales. About 800 people, some with binoculars and high-powered telescopes, scoped out the massive migratory mammals at 28 sites from Ilwaco, Wash., to Crescent City Crescent City is the name of the following places:
prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Oregon State Parks Department. Ninety percent of the whales are within 5 miles of the shoreline, but storm activity can drive them farther away, whale watch coordinator Mike Rivers said. That wasn't the case Sunday as an idyllic sunny and calm day made for ideal whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and other cetaceans in their natural habitat. Whales are watched most commonly for recreation (cf. bird watching) but the activity can also be for scientific or educational reasons. . Beth Anne Whalen of Eugene spotted two whales near the Sea Lion Caves Sea Lion Caves is a tourist attraction on the Oregon Coast 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon, United States. It is home to the only year-round colony of Steller's Sea Lions in North America. , north of Florence. "We're originally from Florida and this is pretty exciting," said Whalen, who moved from Tampa in August. Whalen's in-laws, Steve and Deborah Whalen of Placitas, N.M., were also impressed. "We hardly ever do any whale watching where we're from," Steve Whalen said. Rain or shine, Dave and Linda Hall of Eugene planned to see some marine mammals marine mammals mammals inhabiting the sea; generally taken to include the cetaceans (whales, porpoise, dolphin), the sirenians (sea-cows, including manatees and dugong) and the pinnipeds (the carnivores of the group, seals, sealions, walruses). . "If it was cloudy, we were going to see the sea lions. If it was sunny, we were going to try to see the whales. So we really lucked out with the nice weather," Dave Hall said. After feeding during the summer and fall, the gray whale population heads south from the Bering Sea. Their migration along the Oregon Coast peaks during the last week of December and the first week of January, Rivers said. The whales travel south to breeding and calving calving act of parturition in a bovine female, and presumably in any animal that bears a calf as its newborn. See also block calving, ease of calving. calving-to-conception interval lagoons on the west coast of Baja California, Mexico. State Parks Department volunteers will be on hand at the sites from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day through Jan. 2 to explain how the whales make the arduous journey to Mexico. And if the weather isn't as cooperative as Sunday's, there are some places to learn about migration indoors, including at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. On Sunday, 122 gray whales were spotted, according to the Oregon State Parks Department. Camp Meares State Scenic Viewpoint near Tillamook topped the list with 34 sightings, followed by 19 at Cape Blanco Lighthouse, near Port Orford, and 18 at Depoe Bay. Last year, 13,000 sightseers took advantage of the 26th annual event. WHALE'S TALE The gray whale is the most common large whale seen from shore along the West Coast. Length: 45 feet Weight: 35 tons Migration: Bering Sea to Baja California, Mexico, and back, up to 10,000 miles. Time of round-trip: About three months |
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