Visitor       Log In         Who We Are       Donate, Membership       Contact Us         Topics:          Beach Nourishment          Coast Conferences          Early Warnings          Goal 20 Proposal         Tour of the Miles       CoastWatch Stories       Sightings       Watchful Eyes       CoastWatcher's Bookshelf       Coastwatcher's Knapsack       Filing a Mile Report:          Getting Started Online          Online Mile Report          Online Mile Dispatch          Paper Report form          Observation Checklist          Mile Reports Browser          Summaries by County       OPRD Planning Maps       Stranded Marine Mammal       CoastWatch counties:          Clatsop          Tillamook          Lincoln          Lane          Douglas             Quarterlies          Coos             Quarterlies          Curry       Topics:          Coast Conferences          SOLV Cleanups         Gravel Mining Guide         The Wide, Wide Sea       Marine Reserves       OS Position on MR's       OS Position on Ocean Energy

CoastWatch Mile 216 County Lincoln Description Newport, Nye Beach south Boundaries N 44° 38.534', W 124° 3.72' to N 44° 37.646', W 124° 3.954' Google Maps Nearby Roads, Directions to/from, Google photos, Satellite image, Terrain overlay OPRD Map Otter Rock to Schooner Point (2), to Yaquina River Vehicles • Motor vehicle travel is prohibited from the Tillamook County-Lincoln County line (45° 02.6706', Mile 247), southerly to Yaquina Bay (44° 37.0374', Mile 215), except for the following locations within the corporate limits of Lincoln City: (A) A distance of 150 feet on each side of the westerly extension of North 35th Court; (B) A distance of 150 feet on each side of the westerly extension of North 15th Street. Weather Current Weather Conditions at nearby stations (may take a minute or two on a dialup connection) Tides NOAA Tide Tables for 2010200920082007200620052004   at Columbia River entrance (N. Jetty)Seaside, 12th Avenue bridge, Necanicum RiverNehalemNehalem River, BrightonTillamook, Hoquarten SloughBay CityMiami CoveGaribaldiTillamook, BarviewNetarts, Netarts BayNestucca Bay entranceKernville, Siletz RiverTaft, Siletz BayDepoe BayToledoWinantYaquinaSouthbeachNewportYaquina BarDrift Creek, Alsea RiverWaldport, Alsea BayFlorenceSiuslaw EntranceReedsport, docksGardinerCoos Bay EntranceCoos Bay, docksEmpireCharlestonBandon, Coquille RiverPort OrfordWedderburn, Rogue RiverBrookings, Chetco CoveCrescent City   GO  Photo Gulls on Nye Beach w/ Moderate Surf   5/30/10 Not many birds on the beach this morning. Here are two of them. Ranger Bug -- Copyright: ©2010 Terry L. Morse

31 REPORTS FOR MILE 216: Aug 15, 2010 jennifoam    EMAIL  lots of dead baby mures? in Nye Beach. A couple streams north of joj are really funky. and also, below best western. probably at least 100 people in the water this weekend here.   MORE  May 30, 2010 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  An uneventful survey. Few birds (a few gulls and a whimbrel). 94 people, and 6 dogs off leash. Someone left a fire burning in driftwood, but it was remote from any flammables it might have spread to.   MORE    Gulls on Nye Beach w/ Moderate Surf    Description: Not many birds on the beach this morning. Here are two of them. Location: N 44.64090 W 124.06365 Copyright: ©2010 Terry L. Morse Mar 7, 2010 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Overcast Sunday with moderate west wind. Ca. 80 people on beach during my 45 minute monitoring walk. There appears to have been significant mass slumping of the cliff below a house just south of the Nye Beach turnaround since my last report in December 2009. [Correction: someone who lives in the neighborhood told me it happened in December 2008.] See accompanying photo.   MORE    Living on the Edge    Description: Mass slumping of the cliff below a house just south of the Nye Beach turnaround. I didn't remember seeing it before, but someone who lives in the neighborhood told me it happened in December 2008. Location: N 44.63879 W 124.063393 Copyright: ©2010 Terry L. Morse Dec 18, 2009 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Tide fairly high; overcast but no rain and little wind on the beach. Relatively few people. Little marine/terrestrial debris. Few dead organisms washed up. A father and son had constructed a large sand castle; you don't see much of that on Nye Beach even in the summer. Sewage contamination alert issued by City of Newport in effect from 5-19 November. According to the Newport News-Times, 5 gallon buckets full of dog feces dumped on a property adjacent to Nye Creek contributed to the problem. The state issued an alert on 4 November. There is no press release on the beach monitoring website terminating the alert, but Nye Beach is currently listed as open to swimming and bathing on the beach status page.   MORE    Condominiums Under Construction    Description: Construction continues on the condominiums that are replacing the rustic Vikings Motel cottages near the north end of Nye Beach Location: N 44.642015 W 124.0625 Date: Dec 18, 2009 10:35 AM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Feather Scatter on Driftline    Description: Feathers were numerous on the driftline. Don't know whether they are from molting or dead birds. This photo shows a particularly heavy concentration of the feathers. Location: N 44.63902 W 124.0632 Date: Dec 18, 2009 10:51 AM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Castles in the Sand    Description: A father and son built a rather large sand castle on the beach, about to be overrun by the incoming tide. Location: N 44.62797 W 124.0659 Date: Dec 18, 2009 11:24 AM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Aug 27, 2009 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Mass stranding of jellyfish, Aequorea sp. (possibly A. forskalea) on Nye Beach. Many appeared as little more than smears on the sand, but some were in good condition (aside from probably being dead). In places, they formed dense concentrations. See associated photos. Thanks to David Wrobel, author (with Claudia Mills) of Pacific Coast Pelagic Invertebrates: A Guide to the Common Gelatinous Animals for assistance with the identification. The book is out of print, so buy it used or visit his website, http://jellieszone.com/.   MORE    Stranded jelly (Aequorea sp.) on Nye Beach    Description: Stranded jelly (possibly Aequorea forskalea) on Nye Beach Location: N44.626086 W124.067088 Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Stranded jelly (Aequorea sp.) on Nye Beach    Description: Stranded jelly (possibly Aequorea forskalea) on Nye Beach Location: N44.62660 W124.0668 Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Concentration of Strand Jellyfish (Aequorea sp.) on Nye Beach    Description: Stranded jelly (possibly Aequorea forskalea) on Nye Beach Location: N 44.6265 W 124.0668 Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Aug 11, 2009 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  The F/V Little Linda is stranded on Nye Beach in Newport, just north of the turnaround. According to conversations I overheard on location, the stranding was first reported around 6 am. I became aware of it around 10:30 when I went down to the beach at Yaquina Bay State Park (about 1 mile south of the turnaround) and noticed the Coast Guard helicopter circling the area. The boat appeared undamaged, and I saw no indication of a fuel spill or other contamination. The Coast Guard, State Parks beach ranger, and NWFF Environmental responded to the incident.   MORE    F/V Little Linda Stranded on Nye Beach    Description: F/V Little Linda Stranded on Nye Beach Location: N 44.64213 W 124.06288 Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Aug 8, 2009 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  A typical summer day on Nye Beach, with heavy visitation, but relatively little trash on the beach, marine or terrestrial in origin. The rustic cottages at the Viking's Motel are being replaced by condominiums. I twice stayed in these cottages as tourist in the early 1980s, before moving to Newport in 1987. A fishing boat, the F/V Lori Ann, ran aground north of the Nye Beach turnaround on August 11, 2009. See my mile dispatch for that date for details. Refloating it involved several pieces of heavy construction equipment, a tanker to remove fuel from the boat, and a helicopter to lift the boat up as a tugboat pulled it off the beach. This probably impacted the beach more than the stranding did.   MORE    Refloating the F/V Lori Ann 1    Description: Some of the equipment used to refloat the Lori Ann, which stranded on Nye Beach on August 11, 2009. Location: N44.63637 W124.06337 Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Refloating the F/V Lori Ann 2    Description: A large tracked excavator had to pull the tanker truck off the sand due to the poor traction. Location: N44.638865 W124.063318 Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Refloating the F/V Lori Ann 3    Description: This helicopter was to lift the Lori Ann up as a tugboat pulled it off the beach. Note the cable beneath the helicopter. There was some problem and it had to land on the beach. Location: N44.64553 W124.06145 Date: Aug 8, 2009 11:04 AM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Refloating the F/V Lori Ann 4    Description: This tugboat was to pull the Lori Ann offshore. It finally succeeded around 4pm on August 13. Unfortunately, I had to work and was unable to photograph the actual refloating. Location: N44.6451 W124.06111 Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Aug 7, 2009 Diane H    EMAIL  50? people enjoying a cool day on the beach and many playing in the sand. Dead birds and lots of seaweed and kelp in area in the Hallmark Hotel and Elizabeth Inn.   MORE  May 30, 2009 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  A moderately foggy day with a modest number of beachgoers. Most interesting sightings were a gull eating a shriveled up gumboot chiton and a test apparatus being used by a Marylhurst College student to help design a "beach proof" bench.   MORE    Western x Glaucous-winged Gull Eating Gumboot Chiton    Description: Right at the boundary between miles 216 and 217, I (and the mile 217 CoastWatcher) saw this gull feeding on a shriveled-up gumboot chiton (Cryptochiton stelleri). Live, these chitons are impressive, looking like a slab of meat that can be over 1 foot long. In their natural tide pool habit, they can be hard to see on the rocks unless you know what to look for. Location: N 44.6421 W 124.0627 Date: May 30, 2009 10:30 AM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Cellophane Worm Tubes Washed Up on Beach    Description: Cellophane worms (Sciochaetopterus costarum)live in papery tubes they build in the sand near shore. The tubes frequently wash up in large numbers on the beach following heavy surf. Location: N 124.0653 W 44.6338 Date: May 30, 2009 11:20 AM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Science Goes to the Beach    Description: Doing my mile walk, I noticed the strange apparatus pictured here. Wasn't sure whether it was beach art or an experiment, so I photographed it. Turns out it was a model for a permanent "beach proof" bench for a design class at Marylhurst College. The student was observing the effect of surf, salinity, and tide height on the test bench. Location: N 44.6374 W 124.0641 Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Coronate Jelly Strands on Nye Beach    Description: On 7 May 2009, we had a mass stranding of a type of jellyfish I hadn't seen on Nye Beach before: Paraphyllina sp. (no common name). They were 3-4" in diameter, with the outside of the bell divided into inner and outer rings by a coronal groove. They are "true jellyfish" in the order Coronatae of the class Scyphozoa. David Wrobel and Claudia Mills, in Pacific Coast Pelagic Invertebrates, describe them as, "A vigorous swimmer that holds its tentacles radiating out from the bell much of the time . . . In deep waters of most oceans." (p. 52) Location: N 44.6322 W 124.0658 Date: May 7, 2009 10:56 AM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse May 15, 2009 Diane H    EMAIL  A very sunny hour turn very foggy quickly; lots of people and dogs out walking on the beach, and people (adults and kids) tidepooling; not much sealife either birds, fish, or washed up on shore   MORE  Mar 19, 2009 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  A cool, overcast Thursday morning. Few visitors; nothing exceptional. No unusual drift-line contents, but an interesting assortment of seaweeds.   MORE    Unidentified Seaweed    Description: Possibly purple laver (Porphyra sp.). Please e-mail me if you can positively ID it. Thank you Location: N 44.6332 W 124.0658 Date: Mar 19, 2009 1:17 PM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Unidentified Green Seaweed    Description: Relative small (a few inches long). Please e-mail me if you can positively ID it. Thank you. Location: N 44.6329 W 124.0657 Date: Mar 19, 2009 11:18 AM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Unidentified Seaweed    Description: Relatively small (only a few inches long). Please e-mail me if you can positively ID it. Thank you Location: N 44.6329 W 124.0657 Date: Mar 19, 2009 12:18 PM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Seagrass Laver on Eelgrass    Description: Seagrass laver (Smithora naiadum) is an epiphytic red alga, an alga that grows on other plants. Location: N 44.6314 W 124.0659 Date: Mar 19, 2009 12:24 PM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Mass Stranding of Sea Nettle Jellies    Description: On 30 January 2009, sea nettle jellies (Chrysaora fuscescens) washed up en masse on Nye Beach. They are attractive red jellies that can be up to about a foot (30 cm) diameter. These were about half that Location: N 44.6324 W 124.0653 Date: Jan 30, 2009 10:56 AM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Three Sea Nettle Jellies    Description: Three sea nettles in a row, showing their beautiful color. The middle jelly is unusual in stranding with its mouth-side up, so you can see the oral arms. Location: N 44.6313 @ 124.0659 Date: Jan 30, 2009 12:07 PM Copyright: ©2009 Terry L. Morse Feb 25, 2009 barefoot    EMAIL  I want to call atention to effluent,11,000,000 gallons daily, from the mill 1/3 mile off nye beach. now is the opportunity to refuse this heavy pollution(1 ton of lead a year to start with). City hall does not have to sign the contract on the table. there is a task force now, but no public awareness or attention. once it is signed, it will be impossible for us to get that power back.   MORE  Dec 30, 2008 Diane H    EMAIL  Beach clear of driftwood and any tide residue; large kelp wad; bluffs appear sharper   MORE  Dec 6, 2008 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  An uneventful day on Nye Beach. No dogs off leash was the biggest surprise.   MORE    Snow on Nye Beach    Description: Snow on Nye Beach, December 15, 2008 Location: N 44.63646 W 124.06389 Date: Dec 15, 2008 10:59 AM Copyright: ©2008 Terry L. Morse Steller Sea Lion Dead on Nye Beach    Description: Dead Steller sea lion stranded on Nye Beach. No obvious external injuries. Location: N 44.63389 W 124.06442 Date: Oct 26, 2008 10:40 AM Copyright: ©2008 Terry L. Morse Brown Pelicans Late Autumn on Nye Beach    Description: Brown pelicans have been numerous along the Oregon coast this fall; no one seems to know why. Here is a flock hunkered down on the beach in rough weather. Location: N 44.62442 W 124.06679 Copyright: ©2008 Terry L. Morse "Squid" on Nye Beach    Description: I was quite jealous of other CoastWatchers who were finding Humboldt squid stranded on their miles. Then I had my own sighting, and all was well again. :-) Actually this "squid" is a fishing lure, probably from a commercial troller. It looked real when I first saw it tangled in the surfgrass. As Fox Mulder would say, "I want to believe." :-) Location: N 44.63302 W 124.06488 Date: Nov 21, 2008 11:05 AM Copyright: ©2008 Terry L. Morse Kelp Crab on Ice (_not_ a show by Disney!)    Description: Shield-backed (or northern) kelp crab (Pugettia producta) frozen in snow on Nye Beach. The crab felt solid and very heavy and did not appear to be a molted exoskeleton, so I surmise that it either washed up, froze, and died, or died, washed up, and froze (or some other permutation of these three states). Location: N 44.63607 W 124.06417 Date: Dec 15, 2008 11:03 AM Copyright: ©2008 Terry L. Morse Sep 1, 2008 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  An unexceptional day on Nye Beach, except for the large number of people due to the holiday (Labor Day) and pleasant weather.   MORE    Moon Jelly and Surfgrass on Nye Beach    Description: Moon jelly and surfgrass on Nye Beach Location: N 44.63193 W 124.06605 Copyright: © 2008 Terry L. Morse May 31, 2008 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Aside from a 10-day pollution alert in late April following heavy rains, and a longnose lancetfish stranding on 14 May, this has been an uneventful quarter. Most striking has been the absence of mass strandings of jellyfish and by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella) this winter and spring. Additionally, I have only seen one gray whale feeding along the Yaquina Reef so far this year.   MORE    Lancetfish Stranded on Nye Beach    Description: This 4' long longnose lancetfish (_Alepisaurus ferox_) stranded, alive but weak, on Nye Beach just to the north of the riprap covering the sewage outfall pipe. A well-meaning passerby dragged it out into the water and tried to revive it, without success. Location: N 44.6367 W 124.0631 Copyright: © 2008 Terry Morse "Bring Me the Head of Alepisaurus ferox"    Description: Closeup of the head of the longnose lancetfish that stranded on Nye Beach on 14 May 2008, showing its formidable teeth and gorgeous blue eyes. Location: N 44.6367 W 124.0631 Date: May 14, 2008 11:40 AM Copyright: © 2008 Terry L. Morse Dec 17, 2007 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Considering the recent heavy weather, there is surprisingly little washed up on the beach: a few lengths of nylon rope or netting, a few picnic items (e.g., paper cups), four dead birds, and some seaweed. The most interesting discovery was a large (ca. 35" long) fish that I believe was a chinook salmon. No significant new erosion that I could discern.   MORE    Sea Gooseberry    Description: Sea gooseberry ctenophore (comb jelly) washed up on Nye Beach (mile 216). They are often seen on the beach between fall and spring. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Date: Nov 12, 2007 9:36 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Yellow Underwing Moths on Beach    Description: The swash line was littered with dead yellow underwing moths (Noctua pronuba), mostly as disarticulated wings. Though atypical, I chose this photo to show the whole moth. It is possible that the moths were either migrating over water and drowned, or were blown out over the ocean while migrating and drowned. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Surfgrass with Epiphytic Seaweed    Description: Blade of surfgrass (Phyllospadix sp.) or eelgrass (Zostera sp.)--I'm not sure which--with an epiphytic red seaweed, seagrass laver (Smothora naiadum) growing on it. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Date: Oct 12, 2007 11:16 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Adult Heermann's Gull    Description: Adult Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni)at water's edge. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Date: Oct 12, 2007 11:19 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Immature Heermann's Gull    Description: Immature Heermann's gull (Larus heermanni) at water's edge. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Copyright: Immature Heermann's Gull Dead Northern Fulmar    Description: Photo of the head of a northern fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis) washed up on Nye Beach, showing the tube atop the bill that encloses the nostrils. Numerous dead fulmars have washed up on Oregon beaches this fall. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Date: Oct 12, 2007 11:52 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Orange Tunic Stranding    Description: Numerous unidentified orange tunicates, as well as a variety of jellyfish, were washed up on the beach today. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Date: Oct 19, 2007 9:36 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Penicillate Jellyfish    Description: Numerous penicillate jellyfish (Polyorchis penicillatus) and sea nettle jellies (Chrysaora fuscescens) were washed up on the beach. They appeared to be dead. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Date: Oct 19, 2007 9:48 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Dead Jelllies Come to Life    Description: On a whim, I decided to collect some of the penicillate jellies from 10/19. When I put them in a petri dish with fresh seawater, several of them revived, so I transferred them to an observation tank to photograph. Here are two of them. Location: Newport, Oregon Date: Oct 20, 2007 7:38 PM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Immature Northern Fulmar    Description: In addition to several dead northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) washed up on the beach, I found this flagging immature fulmar at water's edge. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Date: Nov 13, 2007 9:53 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Hauled Out California Sea Lion    Description: This hauled out California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) on the rip rap at the Nye Beach sewage outfall, originally sunning itself, appeared to me to be driven off the beach by people approaching it too closely. Location: Nye Beach sewage outfall Date: Nov 13, 2007 11:05 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Mass Feather Stranding    Description: The sinuous swash line visible in this photo was composed of marine vegetation and thousands of small feathers. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Date: Nov 30, 2007 12:21 PM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Feather Stranding Detail    Description: Closeup of a small section of the 11/30/2007 swash line, showing the density of the feathers washed up on the beach. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Date: Nov 30, 2007 12:20 PM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Nylon Rope in Bull Kelp Mass    Description: Despite recent stormy weather, there was relatively little of interest washed up on the beach, either debris or organisms. There was a bit of nylon rope and netting, however. This photo shows a large wad of bull kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana) that has trapped some nylon rope. Location: Nye Beach (Mile 216) Date: Dec 17, 2007 11:27 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Chinook (?) Salmon Stranded on Nye Beach    Description: My only really interesting find on the beach today was this 90 cm (ca. 35" long) partially decomposed fish, which I think was a chinook salmon (Onchorhynchus tshawytscha), based on its black gums and tongue. The scale in the photo is a purple 6" (15 cm) ruler. Location: N 44.63811 W 124.06189, south of Nye Beach turnaround Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Dead Salmon on Beach (Detail)    Description: A closeup of the head of the dead salmon washed up on Nye Beach on 12/17/2007. Note the black gums and what might be a black tongue (though it's hard to be certain because the angle of the photo doesn't show the tongue very well). Location: N 44.63811 W 124.06189, south of Nye Beach turnaround Date: Dec 17, 2007 11:09 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse Sep 8, 2007 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Business pretty much as usual along this stretch of Nye Beach, though people seem to be doing more sitting, sunning and swimming this year, perhaps due to the frequent failure of the customary strong north winds of summer. Sewage contamination continues to be a problem, particularly considering that this is summer, not winter. Beach advisories were issued for 6/12-6/13, 9/6-9/7, and 9/12-9/14. A raw sewage spill estimated to be between 80,000 and 100,000 gallons occurred on 9/3, but the contamination notice wasn't issued until 9/6, perhaps related to the schedule of water sampling. This is troubling.   MORE    Osprey Catches Surfperch    Description: Osprey are fairly common along Nye Beach. Occasionally, you get to see one catch a fish. Location: Mile 216 Date: Jun 26, 2007 10:38 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse. All rights reserved. Pelagic Goose Barnacles    Description: Occasionally, pelagic goose barnacles (Lepas anatifera) wash up attached to flotsam. This can be natural, like drift logs or seaweed, or artificial. (At Yaquina Head, we once had a construction hardhat wash up with goose barnacles attached.) These are _not_ the same as the gooseneck barnacles (Pollicipes polymerus) that you see attached to rocks in tide pools. Location: Mile 216 Date: Jul 4, 2007 10:43 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse. All rights reserved. Seastar, Phone Home    Description: Boy collecting seastars on Nye Beach. There isn't much rocky intertidal habitat along Nye Beach, but enough to attract visitors who don't necessarily know about tide pool etiquette. Location: Mile 216, just south of the Nye Beach turnaround. Date: Sep 2, 2007 11:09 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse. All rights reserved. Noise Pollution on Nye Beach    Description: Overflights by tourist helicopters can be an annoyance along Nye Beach. Thankfully, they have been less common this summer than last, when one would buzz the beach every 20 minutes or so at peak hours. Location: Mile 216, Nye Beach Date: Aug 19, 2007 12:54 PM Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse. All rights reserved. Light Pollution on Nye Beach    Description: The bluff above Mile 216 is heavily developed with large hotels. Unfortunately, some of them opt to flood the beach with light at night. Besides destroying your night vision, this creates shadows where ne'er-do-wells may lurk. It also makes it impossible to detect the luminescent microorganisms that occasionally wash up on the beach in summer. Seeing your glowing footprints in the moist sand is quite special. To experience it, you have to be lucky and must find an isolated, poorly lit section of beach. That's not easy on Mile 216. On the plus side, if you like bats, the flood lights attract moths. When the air is warm enough, you might also see bats chasing after the moths. Location: Shilo Inn, 536 SW Elizabeth St., Newport Copyright: © 2007 Terry L. Morse. All rights reserved. Jun 22, 2007 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Weather was nice, wind was calm, and there were quite a few people walking or playing on the beach. Little marine debris washed up. There were numerous gulls on the beach near the tide line when I first went down. It didn't take long for a couple with a dog off leash to drive many of them down the beach. Saw two turkey vultures patrolling the beach, and at least one osprey fishing offshore. Numerous gulls and a few brown pelicans just offshore may indicate a school of fish. Saw one gray whale feeding just offshore in the 45 minutes I was on the beach.   MORE    Mass of Gulls on Mile 216    Description: This photo reflects one small section of a large mass of gulls resting on the beach near the tide line. The mass extended as far down the beach as I could see. One couple with a dog off-leash soon drove them further down the beach Location: Lower beach at Yaquina Bay State Park Date: Jun 22, 2007 10:36 AM Copyright: All Rights Reserved© 2007 Terry Morse Jun 13, 2007 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Numerous sea palms washed up along current tide line, as well as swash line from a previous high tide. At least 5 turkey vultures patrolling/feeding along the mile. Relatively little trash. Dried up sea foam mixed with sand or mud forms strange, reticulate patterns on the beach.   MORE    Turkey Vulture Tugging on Immature Gull    Description: Turkey vulture feeds on a bedraggled immature large gull carcass. Shortly after the photo was taken, a beach walker and well-behaved off-leash dog passed too close and the vulture flew away. Location: N44°37.670' W124°03.895' Copyright: (c) 2007 Terry L. Morse. All Rights Reserved. Strange Mud on Nye Beach    Description: Large swathes of dark mud formed patterns on the beach at various scales. I suspect it is the remains of sea foam (skeletons of dead phytoplankton) mixed with mud from ocean upwelling and possibly with beach sand. Location: N 44.625 W 124.065 (approximate) Date: Jun 13, 2007 9:30 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry Morse. All rights reserved. Strange Mud on Nye Beach (closeup)    Description: This is a closer view of the dark mud that I believe was caused by sea foam (masses of phytoplankton skeletons) that washed up on the beach and dried up. Location: N 44.625 W 124.065 (approximately) Date: Jun 13, 2007 9:30 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry Morse. All rights reserved. Sea Foam Washed Up on Nye Beach    Description: I photographed this still moist sea foam washed up on Nye Beach two days before I saw the dark brown dried mud on the beach. That is why I think the sea foam caused the mud. Location: Somewhere along mile 216 Date: Jun 11, 2007 9:30 AM Copyright: © Terry Morse. All rights reserved. May 6, 2007 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Mass stranding of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella). This event may be continuous with the 5/4/2007 stranding. The corpses appear fresh and recently stranded. They aren't just the remains of earlier wash-ups.   MORE    Stranded By-the-Wind Sailors    Description: A closeup of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella) stranded on Nye Beach, showing the range of sizes. The largest are about 1" across. Location: Somewhere along mile 216 Date: May 6, 2007 9:24 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry Morse. All rights reserved. Stranded By-the-Wind Sailors on Nye Beach    Description: This is a more distant view of a mass of the stranded by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella), to give you an idea of how dense they were in their bands. Location: somewhere along mile 216 Date: May 6, 2007 9:24 AM Copyright: © 2007 Terry Morse. All rights reserved. May 4, 2007 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Mass stranding of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella)   MORE    A Small Section of Stranded By-the-Wind Sailors    Description: This small section of stranded by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella) shows the range of sizes involved. Most are under 10 mm across. The large one is about 30 mm, more than an inch, across. Location: Somewhere along mile 216 Date: May 4, 2007 3:30 PM Copyright: © 2007 Terry Morse. All rights reserved. Sea Gooseberry Stranded on Nye Beach    Description: This 10 mm diameter sea gooseberry (Pleurobrachia bachei)was one of many washed up on Nye Beach, along with huge masses of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella). Sea gooseberries are comb jellies (ctenophores), not true jelly fish (cnidarians) Location: Somewhere along mile 216 Date: May 4, 2007 3:30 PM Copyright: © 2007 Terry Morse. All rights reserved. Apr 28, 2007 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Mass stranding of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella).   MORE  Apr 15, 2007 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Mass stranding of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella).   MORE  Apr 9, 2007 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Mass stranding of ladybugs.   MORE    Ladybugs Stranded on Nye Beach    Description: This is a small sampling of the lady beetles (aka lady bugs) stranded along the swash line on mile 216. Location: Somewhere along mile 216 Date: Apr 9, 2007 1:20 PM Copyright: © 2007 Terry Morse. All rights reserved. Mar 11, 2007 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Stranded California sea lion (Zalophus californianus). It appears that someone has tried (but failed) to hack or saw off the head.   MORE  Nov 12, 2006 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Many stranded sea gooseberries (Pleurobrachia bachei), a kind of ctenophore, or comb jelly. One dead immature male California sea lion near Don Davis Park.   MORE  Nov 11, 2006 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Mass stranding of jellyfish, primarily sea nettles (Chrysaora fuscescens).   MORE    Stranded Sea Nettle Jelly on Mile 216    Description: This is one of 358 intact stranded sea nettles (Chrysaora fuscescens) I counted in a .46 mile stretch of mile 216. There was a near-continuous line of whole jellies and jelly bits along the swash line for the mile. Scale is a 6" (15 mm) ruler. Location: Between Yaquina Bay State Park and the Hallmark Resort Date: Nov 11, 2006 9:18 AM Copyright: © 2006 Terry Morse. All rights reserved Oct 29, 2006 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Several stranded jellies and ctenophores, plus a 24" section of the tail end of a robust club-hook squid.   MORE    Piece of a Robust Clubhook Squid Washed Up on Mile 216    Description: Twenty-four inch long piece of a Robust Clubhook Squid Washed Up on Mile 216 just north of Yaquina Bay State Park about 25 meters above the current tide level. The scale in the photo is a 6" (15 mm) ruler. Rough calculations suggest the total length of the live animal could have been over 2 meter (6'). Location: N 44.626 W 124.064 (approximate) Date: Oct 29, 2006 9:30 AM Copyright: © 2006 Terry Morse. All rights reserved. Jun 21, 2006 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  Large numbers of dead mole crabs (not molts) washed up on beach. About 1/3 appeared to be gravid females bearing masses of bright orange eggs.   MORE  Apr 18, 2006 Ranger Bug    EMAIL  (Velella velella) in broad gray swash rows. The jellies (actually hydrozoans, related to jellyfish) are mostly 5-10 mm (.2-.4 inches) across. The largest specimens I encountered were 20 mm (3/4 inch) across. There must have been millions of them. I detected them by smell as I approached the beach, long before I saw them.   MORE