travel united states oregon yachats wildlife whales
We get to watch scores of California Gray Whales as they migrate back and forth between Baja California and Alaska each year.
Usually what we see are their spouts and a bit of their backs... sometimes a tale... not much to photograph.
Often they seem to travel in twos... a mother and a calf.
Breaching whales are very unusual for us to see in thie area. However, 2012 we got a real show... at a distance.
More common than breaching, every few years we will have a dead whale wash ashore.
LINK TO WIKIPEDIA'S PAGE ON GRAY WHALES
LINK TO WIKIPEDIA'S PAGE ON YACHATS, OREGON
LINK TO WIKIPEDIA'S PAGE ON OREGON
TRAVEL: 1956 on.... our full time home since 1984.
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unless noted otherwise all images copyright d. holmes chamberlin jr architect llc
In 2012, we were treated to a show unlike any we have seen in our thirty years of full time residence in Yachats.
Migrating gray whales usually let us know they are passing or feeding in the area by a flip of the tail or geyser of water from their blow hole.
This day, for what ever reason, we were treated to more than hour of numerous large whales actually breaching well out of the water.
They usually travel quite close to shore, maybe 100 to 150 yards out.
For this show, they stayed well out toward the horizon in deeper water making photography rather difficult...
Whale breaching, Yachats, Oregon, USA, 2012.
(photo taken at great distance with telephoto lens)
Whale breaching, Yachats, Oregon, USA, 2012.
(photo taken at great distance with telephoto lens)
Long dead and decomposing whale floating just off shore, Yachats, Oregon, USA, 2021.
Beached dead whale, Yachats, Oregon, USA, 2021.
This whale must have died quite a while before floating ashore because it had lost it's color and parts had been eaten by other sealife.
copyright d. holmes chamberlin jr architect llc
page last revised november 2024