From Cormorants and Common Murres to CETACEANS???

I realize this isn't going to win any National Geographic
photography contests, but this picture clearly shows
the whale spout (red circle) of one of the whales
 I watched today (via binoculars of course...)

I’ve seen lots of Cormorants and Common Murres on my trip thus far (both extraordinary birds I should say), but today was the first day I’ve seen members of the cetacean order of marine mammals! Yep, that’s right, in the middle of August, I witnessed Gray Whales feeding right off the southern coast of Oregon! I guess I had to wait until the last week of my trip for these stunning creatures to make an appearance. As luck would have it, seeing whales in the area this time of the year is not very common at all according to local whale specialists and COASSTers Jan and Steve (Lone Ranch Beach). Gray whales complete an annual migration along the Pacific Coast from their winter breeding grounds in the warm waters off Baja Mexico to cooler and nutrient-rich northern waters in the Okhotsk Sea of eastern Russia. In fact, the Gray Whale migration path is the longest annual migration of any mammal. As such, they pass through the area I was today (Brookings, OR) from March-May (spring) and then again from mid-December to mid-January (winter) on their way back to warmer seas. But August 16^th - well that is not at all normal…

Lone Ranch Beach

I was lucky enough to see these massive creatures because I stopped off in Brookings on my way to Eureka (CA) to speak with Jan and Steve, who, along with Sue (Steve’s wife), survey Lone Ranch beach in the southern most portion of Oregon. Instead of moving from Cormorants to cetaceans as I did, these two volunteers came about COASST the other way around. It was a love for whales and engagement in whale watching and public education that ignited an interest in the birds you often see while observing cetacean escapades. Jan joined COASST first, several years ago, and Steve and Sue have been a recent and welcome addition to the Long Ranch survey crew. Among other volunteer projects, COASST provides these citizen scientists with yet another avenue to expand their knowledge and connection to the coastal environments where they have chosen to live. Jan, Steve, and Sue can’t get enough when it comes to the rugged south Oregon coast. How fitting for my own first encounter with a pod of Gray Whales to be with these talented aficionados!