Whales go by Oregon on their way south from Alaska waters

PORTLAND, Ore. - Thousands of gray whales are passing by Oregon on their annual migration from their Alaska feeding grounds to Baja, Calif., and about 200 trained volunteers will be stationed along the coast to help people spot them.

• Photos

Volunteers from the Whale Watch Spoken Here program will be at 30 coastal sites through Jan. 2, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Factors such as the weather and migration-timing influence the number of whale sightings during the week. Last year, 594 whales were spotted, the lowest tally in 16 years of record-keeping.

"We had eight straight days of rain and miserable weather," said Mike Rivers of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, who serves as the volunteer coordinator. "I was amazed that they spotted that many whales, considering how lousy the weather was."

Although whale sightings were down last winter, the weeklong event drew more than 13,000 visitors from 30 countries and 47 states.

The record for whale sightings during the winter event was 3,152 in 1994-95, and the highest number of visitors was 19,314 in 2000-01.

The whales eat little while migrating south and throughout the winter, relying on stored fat. Their round-trip migration is one of the longest known of any mammal, covering 8,500 to 11,000 miles.

The baleen whales were severely depleted by 19th-century whalers. Their numbers rebounded after receiving government protection, and they were taken off the federal endangered species list in 1994.

More information about the Whale Watch Spoken Here program, including tips for spotting whales, may be found on the Web at www.whalespoken.org.