Organizers of the Whale Watching Spoken Here program will sponsor a summer whale watch week at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse outside Newport, beginning Monday and continuing through Labor Day, Sept. 6.

At the lighthouse, where the state whale watching program started in 1978, visitors will be able to view gray whales that spend the summer off the Central Coast. Volunteers will be available between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day to help guests spot the animals.

Gray whales do not migrate up or down the Pacific coast during the summer, according to Mike Rivers, a whale watch coordinator. However, a number of whales feed off the Oregon Coast in the summer rather than farther north as most of their counterparts do; it is that "resident" population that will be on display during the summer whale watch week.

Parking is available at the Yaquina Head visitors' center, a quarter-mile east of the lighthouse. Yaquina Head is a day-use area with a $5 fee for a three-day pass or $10 for a one-year pass. The visitors' center and lighthouse are 3 miles north of Newport.

For more information about the summer whale watching week, those interested can call the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department at (541) 563-2002. Information also is available online at http://whalespoken.org.