Dave Ellifrit/The Center for Whale Research via AP

by Jamie Hale | The Oregonian, OregonLive

There were half a dozen of us standing there, gathered on driftwood on the Washington coast, eyes shielded against the sun and staring out at the mass of creatures in the shallows. The pod of whales spouted and dove, their small dorsal fins breaking the water as they fed just offshore.



Our spontaneous group of whale watchers stood and stared in awe, and before long a debate broke out among us: What kind of whales are these anyway?



An excitable tourist was certain they were orcas (they weren't). A young couple was leaning toward gray whales (not right either) and word got around that a woman at a viewpoint above had confirmed they were humpbacks (no way). My best guess was Dall's porpoises, but since I didn't really know much about Dall's porpoises, I kept my mouth shut.



Whale sightings are common off the coast of Oregon and Washington, but unless you're accustomed to identifying dorsal fins and spouts, it can be hard to make out what kind of whale you're looking at.



This month marks the winter migration of gray whales – the most common here in Oregon – which will be celebrated by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department during Winter Whale Watch Week from Dec. 27 to 31. As you're out there watching for spouts of the grays, watch out for signs of less common cetaceans as well, though bear in mind that many stay far, far offshore.



If I had known a little more on that day up in Washington, I could have turned to the crowd and announced with pride that what swam before us was, most likely, a rare pod of Minke whales. And with a smattering of "hmm"s and "interesting"s all around, we would have gone back to simply watching with awe.

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Whales vs. Porpoises vs. Dolphins

Before we get into this, I should note that there are some stark biological differences between whales, porpoises and dolphins, despite some common confusion – the killer whale, for example, is actually a large dolphin. I know the headline here lumps them all together as whales, but technically speaking, they’re all called cetaceans.

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

Gray whale

Size: 35 to 45 feet

Defining trait: Visible tail fluke and spout

If you see a whale off the Oregon coast, odds are good that it’s a gray whale. You’ll see the spout first – a tall spray of mist from its blowhole – then the dark curve of its back, and if you’re lucky, the fluke of its tail rising out of the water. Gray whales tend to stick to small groups called pods. You can see pods migrating, or the resident pod feeding in kelp beds close to shore around Depoe Bay.

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Phuong Le/AP Photo

Orca

Size: 20 to 32 feet

Defining trait: Tall dorsal fin, black and white coloring

Orcas, also known as killer whales, are a common sight in northern Washington and British Columbia, where the southern resident pods feed on Chinook salmon year-round. But transient orcas, which always travel, occasionally pop up along the coastline to hunt sea lions and harbor seals.

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Joshua Bessex/Daily Astorian via AP

Humpback whale

Size: 40 to 50 feet

Defining trait: Long pectoral fins, acrobatic breaches

Humpback whales have been a rare sight in Oregon and Washington, but in recent years the large cetaceans have been straying closer to Pacific Northwest shores. In 2015, a pod of humpbacks ventured into the mouth of the Columbia River, drawn in by food. If one crosses your path, consider yourself lucky: Humpbacks are known for their acrobatic aerial displays.

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Oregonian File Photo

Blue whale

Size: 75 to 100 feet

Defining trait: Massive size

Blue whales are the largest animals on Earth, growing up to 100 feet long and weighing as much as 200 tons. It's rare to see one close to shore in Oregon or Washington, but if you head farther out, or up to Vancouver Island, you have a decent chance of seeing a pod swim by. In 2015, a 78-foot blue whale washed up dead on the Oregon coast, astonishing visitors and marine biologists alike.

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Oregon State University/Ari Friedlaender/Flickr

Minke whale

Size: 23 to 33 feet

Defining trait: Quick movement, snout-first surfacing

A rare sight close to shore, Minke whales are close in size to gray whales and spout like their cetacean cousins, too. But upon closer inspection, you’ll notice a small dorsal fin on the Minkes backs, which distinguishes them from similar species. They tend to move swiftly as they feed, and often surface snout first.

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Gabriel Barathieu/Wikimedia Commons

Sperm whale

Size: 49 to 59 feet

Defining trait: Bulbous head

Oregon's history with sperm whales is… well, explosive. And while the occasional dead sperm whale still washes up on northwest beaches, the deep-diving whales are relatively uncommon to spot from shore. Like blue whales, they are a more regular presence farther offshore, and can be seen off the Oregon coast from March to November.

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Susan E. Adams/Flickr

Dall's porpoise

Size: 6 to 7 feet

Defining trait: Active swimmers, black and white coloring

Dall’s porpoises look sort of like miniature orcas, with identifiable black-and-white markings but with small, triangular dorsal fins. Unlike a lot of porpoises, Dall’s are exceedingly friendly and energetic, often found swimming fast beside boats and leaping out of the water. They tend to prefer deeper water, and are found farther offshore.

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Ecomare/Salko de Wolf Den Hoorn Texel/Wikimedia Commons

Harbor porpoise

Size: 4 to 6 feet

Defining trait: Round heads, frequent surfacing

Unlike the Dall’s porpoise, the harbor porpoise is shy and elusive, often found swimming alone in shallower waters of harbors and bays. The small creatures are differentiated from dolphins by their blunt, round heads and distinctive breathing noise, which sounds like a sneeze. They’re capable of diving deep, but instead tend to surface frequently

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A.Davey/Flickr

Pacific white-sided dolphin

Size: 5 to 8 feet

Defining trait: Friendly behavior, silver markings on their sides

Pacific white-sided dolphins are more common in California, but come summer they’re known to migrate up to the coasts of Oregon and Washington. They tend to stay farther offshore, but they’re extremely friendly when they do encounter humans or other cetaceans, approaching in large groups of up to 90 and “super groups” of up to 300.

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NASA/Wikimedia Commons

Bottlenose dolphin

Size: 6 to 13 feet

Defining trait: Long beak, friendly behavior

Bottlenose dolphins are the most common dolphin species, but Oregon is as far north as they go on the Pacific coast. Like other dolphins, they like to travel in pods of 10 to 30, though they’ve also been known to travel solo, as well as in massive groups of more than 1,000. Their numbers in the northwest can vary widely depending on the season and water temperature.

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NOAA/Flickr

Short-finned pilot whale

Size: 12 to 18 feet

Defining trait: Black body, round head

The pilot whales of the Pacific Ocean are rarely seen, especially in the Pacific Northwest. They prefer the warmer waters of tropical climates near the equator, but do migrate as far north as southeast Alaska. The whales tend to stay offshore unless their prey of choice, squids, are spawning closer to the coast.

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John Durban/NOAA/Wikimedia Commons

North Pacific Right Whale

Size: 43 to 54 feet

Defining trait: Robust body, acrobatic breaches

Once extensively hunted due to their slow speed and tendency to feed near the surface, the North Pacific Right Whale has slowly been making a comeback, though they’re still rare in the northwest. They have a wide range throughout the Pacific Ocean, but are a more common sight off the coast of Alaska.

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Aqqa Rosing-Asvid/Flickr

Fin whale

Size: 75 to 85 feet

Defining trait: Long slender body, tall spout

Second in size only to the Blue Whale, the fin whale is easily identified by its long, slender body. They’re known to inhabit the Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea down to Baja California, but tend to stay far offshore. They don’t usually breach, instead making deep dives to hunt for fish, squid and krill.

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--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB