Wow, just wow.

So we really had it all this year and here at the Whale Center we couldn’t be more pleased.

We started this Watch week off with some awful weather, just terrible.  On Thursday the whole coast only counted 28 whales but the visitors still braved the weather. Over 1,100 people visited our dedicated volunteers and learned about these amazing gray whales.

Then….. the weekend came and the sunshine returned!

Saturday the 30th  and Sunday the 31st  will go down be remembered as some of the best winter whale watching days along the Oregon coast ever. Saturday saw over 3,100 visitors connect with the WWSH volunteers state wide. (Remember this count is just over 3 hours) and on Sunday, at last count 615 gray whales were counted in that same amount of time.

It was amazing.

You know what else is amazing? All of our volunteers! I had the pleasure of visiting some of the sites along the Central Oregon Coast this weekend and every single one of them shared their knowledge and passion for whales in a way that truly makes us proud.

I’ll be posting the official numbers later this week as the paperwork makes its way back to us here in Depoe Bay. More videos and photos coming soon too.

Below is the draft whale count from this winter with more to come.