Six Orcas Dazzle Oregon Coast - Pacific Northwest Sees 21st Gray Whale Wash Up

Published 05/06/26 at 8:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Newport, Oregon) – To paraphrase an old hair-metal band song: today was about whales, whales, whales. And killer whales, to boot. (Photo Jaklyn Larsen)

Video below courtesy Julie Conrad.

The exciting sights began early in the day at Newport, as reports started coming of a pod of orcas wandering through the bay. Central Oregon coast whale groups lit up online. It was like cetacean Christmas.

Except for one find up north: another dead whale was found near Lincoln City in recent days. That makes the 21st whale to wash up on the Pacific Northwest coast in 2026. More on that at the end of the article.

Local expert Julie Conrad kept close tabs, and she and others literally jumped into action when word began circulating about the orcas. A host of Oregon coast visitors and residents began posting videos. They were apparently first seen around noon or so in Yaquina Bay, then headed out and went south, hitting Lost Creek near Waldport and then Seal Rock.

“Six orcas left Yaquina Bay at 2:19 p.m.,” Conrad told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “At about 3:12 - 3:20 I found them hunting close to shore at Lost Creek State Park. Spotted them again from Seal Rock at 4:02 p.m. There was also a gray whale in the area. Several of us witnessed active hunting, but couldn't tell what exactly they were hunting.”

They hit Yachats about 6:56 p.m. At 7:06, Conrad spotted them a bit south at Yachats Ocean Road. Their itinerary then involved continuing south until Conrad and local photog Jaklyn Larsen ran out of daylight. The last spot was Bray's Point at 8:18, which is several miles south of Cape Perpetua.

It was there that Conrad accidentally snagged footage of them.

Photo Jaklyn Larsen

“I got a distant video, but what's cool is I didn't know I filmed them at this location until I got home,” she said. “I just left the video rolling while I was looking through binoculars. We'd just seen one, but apparently the rest of the pod was trailing a bit behind.”

Conrad isn't positive just yet but she believes it was the pod known as the T050's, which was the same group that has made some marks on the coast in the past. They're the pod that killed that baby gray whale back in 2023, and two of them made an appearance last week near Depoe Bay.

“T050D was definitely in Yaquina Bay today,” Conrad said.

The pod was part of this in 2023: Dozens Watch and Document Orcas Attack, Kill Baby Whale on Oregon Coast: More Videos - Battle between gray whale mother and the pod lasted hours

Meanwhile, the fifth whale in 2026 to wash up on the Oregon coast happened this week, with a gray whale showing up below God's Thumb near Lincoln City.

Jim Rice, with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network on the central coast, said this one is too remote and no one will be able to do a necropsy.

Washington has had 17 whales wash up this year, most of which showed serious signs of emaciation. - See Why It's Happening 

See latest

Scientists Find First Mama Gray Whale and Calf of Migration Season Off Washington Coast - Video, First sign of good news: baby whale is plump, well fed

Orcas from This Week ID'd as Some Show Up on South Oregon Coast - Killer whales sppear around Winchester Bay, Coos Bay

Rare Fin Whale Washes Up on Washington Coast: What Necropsy Revealed - Evidence of starvation and a killer whale attack

 

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