Wildlife Viewing

Cape Blanco is a spectacular place to watch whales and other wildlife. During the summer season, there are several whales that stay behind to play and feed off-shore around the reef. Many visitors are distracted by whales while touring the lighthouse,  when they happen to be lucky enough to be there at the same time the whales are!  Other visitors might notice a Peregrine falcon, or just a bunch of seagulls. What will you see?

This page is dedicated to giving our visitors an idea of what wildlife they might spot while visiting the cape, hiking along the trails, or picnicking in the day-use area along the Sixes River.

Whale Watching / Gray Whales / Eschrichtius robustus

Thar she blows! -- Gray whales grow to 46' and weigh 30 to 40 tons and when they spout, it can shoot 12 feet up. It is this spouting, that catches are eye as we look for whales.

Basics on Gray whales:
    To give a proportion size, the whale is often compared to the length of a school bus
    Their home is in the shallow waters of the eastern North Pacific
    Whales eat small crustaceans such as amphipods (kind of like a mini shrimp) and tube worms found in the bottom sediments
    Whale habitat is in the eastern North Pacific in the Bering and Chukchi seas
    They migrate 10 to 14 thousand miles to breed and calve in the warm waters of the Baja California lagoons
    Southern migration begins in mid-December with most whales arriving in Baja by the end of January
    Northern migration begins in February, with most whales arriving in the Bering and Chukchi seas by end of March
    Calves weigh 1,100 to 1,500 pounds at birth, and grow quickly on the mothers milk, which is 53% fat

How to Spot a Gray Whale
Watch for the blow: a whale spouting shoots air (and water) as high as 12 feet into the air, you see this spout 3-5 times once the whale surfaces. Whales can stay submerged up to 30 minutes if they have been frightened, and surface as much as a quarter mile away.

The Breech and the Dive
I don't know which is more exciting... watching a whale breech, where the whale propels most of its body above the water; or when the whale goes into a deep dive. During a deep dive, you can often see the whale arch his back high out of the water, followed by his flukes lifting high out of the water.

Spyhop
No this isn't a dance, or maybe it is: Whales are curious, and often lift their heads out of the water to check out their surroundings. After all, they have the largest brain of any animal on earth.

To learn more about spotting a gray whale, review this brochure from the OPRD Whale Watch Center in Depot Bay: Whale Watch

Infrequent Visitor: Orca / Orcinus orca (Killer Whale)

A very few lucky people spot Orcas. They have been spotted off Cape Blanco and off the dock at the Port of Port Orford.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together - Bird Basics

Most of us are familiar with seagulls, many of us are guilty of feeding them our luncheon leftovers. (Probably not a good idea, but what do you do when they gather around you waiting for you to drop even the smallest morsel?) The truth is, these are likely the first birds spotted on any trip to the beach.

Western Gull / Larus occidentalis

These gulls are the most common and vary in coloring according to the age of the gull. A mature gull will have a gray back, with white head and underbelly. Their yellow bill has a red spot. The Western gull is 24-26 inches long and sports a wingspan of 4.5 feet. These gulls are the only ones who breed along the coast, making them a year round inhabitant. While we may believe they live to eat our lunch, these birds regular diet consists of intertidal invertebrates and fish.  If you scan the ocean and see huge groups of gulls flying over a specific patch of ocean, no doubt there is a "bait ball" and it's good eating for gulls.  (Think schools of anchovies.)

Glaucous Gull / Larus hyperboreus

These gulls have no black in their plumage, and have thick yellow bills. This gull breeds in the Arctic, and normally inhabits the northernmost US states.