Video: Whales Cavorting Around Cove at N. Oregon Coast's Seaside

Published 10/31/23 at 5:53 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Seaside, Oregon) – It turns out it happens fairly regularly, but it's rare that someone captures the moment. (All video and images Tiffany Boothe / Seaside Aquarium)

Lucky is the operative word when it comes to Tiffany Boothe of Seaside Aquarium, who caught some stellar whale action on the north Oregon coast this morning. The cove at Seaside is a spot where gray whales apparently come into with some regularity, but not everyone there has the right equipment access at the moment.

Boothe did. Not only did she grab some excellent photos of what appear to be two or three gray whales in the cove, but she had access to the Seaside Chamber's webcam and was able to point it into the cove and zoom in, snagging some sweet video.

“Some great tail action at the Cove this morning,” Boothe proclaimed today.

The video catches a few whale spouts as they come up for air after dives for food. This job of zooming in is especially impressive considering the camera – mounted on the Seaside Aquarium – is about a mile away.

It helped that weather and the ocean were so cooperative today on the Oregon coast.

“Gray whales have started their fall migration,” Boothe said. “Calm ocean conditions are ideal for spotting whales. From now through January if the surf is as small keep your eyes turned towards the sea. You never know what you'll spot.”

Oregon Coast Beach Connection talked with aquarium manager Keith Chandler, and he said whales are in the cove “all the time. It happens a lot.”

The difference today was that someone was paying attention and had access to the right equipment.

It also doubles down on what Boothe said above: if you're at the cove in Seaside, start looking for whales.

There are some 200 whales out of this region's 18,000 that make the Oregon coast their home waters. That means they linger here more often, not necessarily that they're here all the time.

The peak migration of grays happens in December, so their numbers will be picking up steadily.

Meanwhile, the central Oregon coast had seen a handful of orcas earlier last week, in areas around Depoe Bay and Newport. Those sightings will likely remain rare until February.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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