Mile Report Browser

10 people walking with one sitting. One dead bird that appeared Raven size. Sea gulls resting on the sand.Very large muscles with barnacles in the rack line.Large clumps of sea grass in the rack line. I jelly fish.

someone had made steps in the dune beside the rock path chute that is the entryway to Muriel Ponsler beach.

I was not the only person walking this beach in the predawn dark on a calm day that became overcast. Some guy with a flashlight preceeded me in his quest for rocks. Another rock hound appeared later. At 6:15, not much wildlife was in evidence, though gulls and sanderlings appeared later. Surprisingly there was no litter. High-tide line showed small rocks, wood pieces, an occasional log, shell fragments, bull kelp and snatches of smaller kelp.

Most of the people were at the north end of the beach. The creek sported "Brass buttons" (Cotula coronopifolia). Several turkey vultures were feasting on an unidentifiable bird carcass, and what appeared to be a seal pup. They allowed me to get pretty close. There were two great blue herons along the creek. There was also a bird in the trees by the creek which I couldn't identify due to lack of binoculars, but it looked like it might be a common tern. The sea weed content in the wrack was bull kelp, eel grass, surf grass, feather boas, and rockweed. Dunes are still pretty prevalent, temporary "tide pools" forming between them in the high tide zone.

Both halves of this mile were mostly the same: no litter, live gulls, not-so-live kelp, bull kelp, jellies, Dungeness crabs, mussels, shell fragments, stones, gravel beds, wood pieces, some driftwood, a sea palm or two. The main difference on the northern half was absence of  crows and presence of sanderling-type flocks. Both days of viewing were around low tide and 51 degrees with scant wind at about 6:15 a.m. Three vehicles south and two north. Two people south.

This was a nice partly cloudy early fall morning with a strong breeze from the south.  The beach sand is high, and extends far out creating a long gentle slope.  The large logs along the dunes are still mostly covered, with a foredune gradually building behind them.  7 cars were in the parking lot.  5 horseback riders and 3  people walking were on the beach.  There were only 3 shorebirds seen, and one vulture.  The Pelicans are migrating south, some stopping to fish in this area. 4 carcasses were identified, 2 Murres and 2 crows.  One of the Murres was quite small and could have been a Murrelet.  There was no indication of any vehicle traffic or man-made changes. 

A calm pleasant day.  There were THOUSANDS of squid egg cases in the tide line ... both along the ocean and on the Siletz Bay side of the Salishan Spit.  People on the Taft side of the river were yelling at us because they thought we were getting too close to the seal colony.  I appreciate their concern for the seal population but didn't appreciate the names they were calling us.  I couldn't really get into a conversation explaining who we were across the river mouth so I just had to wave.  No seals jumped in the water as a result of feeling disturbed.  Regarding trying to view and count the seals, I realize we are supposed to stay 50 yards away.  I find if I walk very slowly in their direction and don't look at them, kind of turning sideways so they don't think I'm getting too close, they do not get spooked.  Once too many heads pop up, I back off.  Also saw a skate egg case and a shark skeleton.

Nothing much to report except for the driving in dis-allowed areas.

Found two fires left unattended, called the fire station.

Another stunning day on Schooner South! Quite windy but beautiful sunshine. 23 folks out enjoying the beach along with 4 dogs and a bike had gone by as well. The cliff/bluff continues to erode and further exposes the drainage pipes all along this mile. In doing large debris surveys for COASST I also am much more aware of the large debris on our beach, we have 22 pieces that are over 50cm. There were 5 deceased Common Murres (no COASST zip ties yet) and 2 other dead birds. No mammals today which was a relief after seeing the sea lion on the beach 2 days ago (alive). On a side note, one of my photos today is of just the cigarette butts that I collected as I returned from my beach up 68th to 1/2 way up Avery...pretty depressing....we all know where these would have ended up! 

Overall a surprisingly quiet day at the beach. There were far less people than I anticipated giving that it was Labor Day weekend and the past few days had been abuzz with tourists. The quiet did allow me to get a good look at a heron though who was exploring some shallow water. The tide was higher than it usually is when I visit so I wasn't able to cover as much ground as usual, but it was really interesting to see how different the beach looks with the tide higher. 

Notice in photo that beach grasses are populating the foredune area.  This is a summer phenomenon and does not occur in winter due to higher tides and storms.

Strong  chilly N wind, clear skies- with distant haze over whitecaps at sea.  People, dogs enjoying holiday weekend. Beachside campground full.  Notable was one cormorant carcass, and 1 first year gull carcass- decomposed and partially buried in sand, so specific ID not possible.  Broken shells, sand dollar pieces, pebbles, and mole crab parts. along driftline.  Sea rocket blooming along bluff.  Clean beach!   

Human Activities - Observed a multitude of tourists and locals alike along the bayfront taking photographs, walking, and whale watching. Humans walking along the rock face and humans fishing along the coast were also observed. There was a multitude of trash observed along the coast (cigarettes, plastic wrappers, plastic bags, etc...), close to the sidewalks. 

Shoreline Wildlife - Bull kelp and algae were observed on the coastline. I observed a plethora of Acorn Barnacles and Clams, as well as harbor seals, Western Gulls, Cormorants, and Gray Whales along the coast. 

Physical Changes - I observed no new man-made changes to the landscape. 

Since it is the Friday before Labor Day weekend 6 people and 4 dogs were out. A couple of wood "forts" are built on the upper sand. Since there have been no big tides vegetation and grass is growing back on upper sand in some places. Very little debris has washed in. Previously reported salmon shark body is still there although decomposing. A couple vultures were around too. 

Foggy, still day at the beach, at high tide.   Other people on the beach were mostly surfers.  There was one loose dog that seemed to be one of the dogs that surfers bring and then just leave to do whatever while the person surfs.   However, that dog seemed relatively quiet, did not, for instance, charge my dog while she was retrieving a ball.    Its primary activity seemed to be staring off over the ocean, waiting for its person to reappear.   However, I did not look behind me to see if the dog migrated to other parts of the beach, i.e., towards groups of people, etc.   Looked as though some of the stairway treads or planks were replaced since I last took the long stair way down to the beach.

10 Eugene Hikers walked Mile 154 with Fawn Custer, Volunteer Coordinator.  Took Tahkenitch Dunes Trail, entered beach at Emerg. Sign #115, then back on 3 MIle Lake trail (Emerg. Sign #115A).  Many areas roped off for snowy plover protection both near north access and along sand bluff on beach.  Good snowy plover protection signage on beach (e.g. no dogs or vehicles), but these signs also should have been posted at trailhead.  Generally, some evidence of older erosion of vegetated foredune, and little debris on beach.  Observed one person walking, and tire and dog tracks in sand outside roped off area.  We found a dead mola mola sunfish and whole sea nettle jelly fish about 100 yards north of Emerg. Sign #115A.  There were gulls, sanderlings, and a vulture on the beach.  The driftline had shells, crab molt, snail egg casings, seaweed dead mole crabs, kelp, algae, wood pieces with barnacles.   

5 dead Common Murres found on the beach below the high tide line. No evidence of oiling or bites. They all appeared to be adults based on size, but plumage doesn't vary much with age.

A beautiful, foggy morning. Most of human activity was at Strawberry Hill. Somewhat less at Bob's, and no one at Neptune. Notable summer sand accumulation at Neptune and Strawberry Hill. No unusual wildlife sitings, though from various visits, sea stars are making a good recovery!

Reported the 4’ long dead seal to the local Beach Park Ranger

Observed young Black Oystercatcher and parent on the rocks near the whale watching platform. We took part in a Black Oystercatcher study this past spring to see if a nesting spot could be located. While we were not able identify where two pair of oystercatchers were nesting in our area, we were glad to see a young and what we presumed was the parent on the rock near the whale watching platform. Photo by Dennis White. 

This is my first mile report with coast watch! I enjoyed becoming acquainted with my mile and walking it! Attached you will find pictures of what I saw. 

Hiking group from around the states and some of our awesome locals including the new adopter for the mile.  Observations:  sea stars are all healthy, many anemones, aggregating and solitary, mussels and barnacles healthy, seals waiting for the tide to come in and newly molted Pacific Rock Crab

The winds of July have subsided; lots of beach activity, and not enough debris to warrant carrying a sack

Much sand covering beach, both tide driven and wind driven up to the base of hte dunes and covering 3-5' of base.

Found a small dead shark while walking the beach this morning. It is about 3-3.5 feet in length.

Survey done on August 20, 2018 starting at 1500 hours.

• It was a foggy day with smoke from wildland fires intermixed.
• 58 degrees F.
• Winds moderate to strong on beach but light on Hwy 101.

• 9 humans and 4 dogs seen on beach just walking.
• 3 cars in parking lot on south side of Tenmile Creek.
• Driftwood stacked into a pile on the north side of Tenmile Creek where the creek reaches the beach. (see pic 54)
• Small windbreak made with driftwood stuck into the sand in the middle of the mile near Sea Perch RV Resort. (see pic 33 & 34)

• Driftline was clear of debris which is different from survey's in the last year.
• 12-18 dead crabs found. Noticed seagull eating crab (pic 28). Talked with residents in the area and they stated that there have been a lot of crabs on the beach recently and that seagulls have been eating them.
• Two flights of 10-12 California Brown Pelicans were observed flying north above the beach. (see pic 10 & 11)

Many pelicans again, mature as well as immatures.

Staircase handrails deteriorating. Driftwood bridge across creek. Gravel on beach has flattened out since last visit. More dirt coming down cliff at north end. No litter. 

Busy summer day with over 100 people on a very clean beach, little garbage.  Warned some kids about climbing and carving on the bluff at Roads End State Park, pointed out the posted danger signs.  They moved on but when I came back around, they were right back at it.  Couldn't determine who their parents were.  Saw a couple young men climbing the loose scree portion of The Point at the north end.  Tried to warn them but only got flipped off.  And so it goes.......

It was a pleasure to walk the mile as the sand has filled in the cobble near NW 68th Street and rock sections near Yaquina head.

I have a new hiking Garmin -- there are several changes in positioning. First, the landslide at Yaquina Head has caused me to move to another spot. Second, since there are now two concrete sections on the beach, I have moved the co-ordinates to the concrete on the beach (formerly was with second pipe at equivalent of NW 62 Street)

Despite the high level smoky haze in the sky, it was a pleasant summer day to be on the beach. There was remarkably little trash visible on mile 287, maybe because much of the usual debris had been covered by the large amounts of sand accumulating on the beach over the course of the summer. While this is an entirely subjective observation with no measurements to confirm it, it appears that the foredune on the northern half of the mile has retreated to the east somewhat and is now closer to the hills immediately behind it than it was in past years. There were several areas where driftwood had been moved further inland onto and behind the foredune than had been previously observed. While there was evidence of folks having camped on the beach recently, I was pleased to note that there was no garbage or debris left behind. All in all, things looked well on mile 287!

Nothing unusual to report.

Appeared to be very low tide, wet beach area larger than we have seen in the past. Some large areas of crab molt. Beach was clean, almost no man-made debris. There was a dead sea lion at the southern end of the mile with turkey vultures eating the carcass. 

Unusual "carving out" of the shoreline by wave action.

In all a fine foggy morning to be on the Pacific coast, with nothing unusual to report.

Even though foggy, there was only a slight breeze this am. Lot's of folks out walking the beach, possibly because of Circles in the Sand below Face Rock viewpoint. Concentrated on picking up small pieces of plastic close to the dunes. It's rare to find trash on this mile of beach, however small bits of plastic heavily litter the area along the dunes.

Dead crabs in large numbers near north end of Tunnel Beach. 

Warm, calm morning with a few people out enjoying the super low tides.  A number of ancient trees are currently exposed that I have not seen in the past 25 years.  Lots of sand has bee moving around over the past month.  Lots of dead crabs on the beach.  They appear large and mostly intact.  Both males and females.  Also, a large number of clear organisms that appear to be Pyrosomes but seem smoother than the pictures I've seen.  Could be something else?   

Marine mammal survey training with Dr. Dawn Golay. Stranding report for juvenile Stellar sea lion, female. Had been dead for a bit before washing in. Apparent trauma to muzzle and back end. Apparent signs of predation by Cookie Cutter sharks.

A cool, windy day at the coast being enjoyed by a very large number of visitors.  Low tide was 2.7 ft at 4pm approximately so high on beach and rocks at Cape Cove.  Parking lots full in the afternoon.   Most visitors walking on the rocks between Cooks Chasm and Cape Cove.

5 adult Ochre sea stars found at Cape Cove beach

One dead adult Ochre Sea Star was found, with no evidence of wasting. Otherwise the mile was enjoyable but thoroughly uneventful.

Beach was completely deserted in mile 238. More people in mile 239.

Also, no dogs or other pets. Few birds and a few seals playing in the ocean.

Natural berm throughout most of the mile which has been there awhile. Looks like waves aren't washing over it at this time of year.

Noted a few natural topographic changes to mile 99 since last month, with moving sand dunes and rerouting creeks. Otherwise no concerns with the people, dogs, or wildlife.

Illegal camping in dunes. No bathrooms, so waste management is a concern. Reported to Tillamook County Parks. 

It was a cloudy/foggy morning with a misty drizzle that later cleared. Few people were out that early, although the previous afternoon there were 4 surfers, many cars in the parking areas and many people and dogs on the beach. Most of the erosion remains on Oceanview Drive, north of the Yachats river beginning at the overlook at the State Park. Yachats Ocean Road seems to have been paved since last report. I did not appreciate any significant change in the amount of erosion north or south of the river. 4 young people were climbing down the riprap from the parking turnout at the north end of mile 193 at 7th street to reach the beach, rather than using the designated 804 path further north. 

Human activities  - 2 walkers observed

Wildlife - Observed 1 live Pigeon Guillemot (flying from bluff to water); small groups of Western Gulls; a few American Crows. One dead Rhinoceros Auklet.

Physical Changes - Eroding bluffs. Will monitor over time.

All was quiet - nothing to report.

Ona beach is now buried in sand - come winter this will be pulled off again.  People impact of defacing cliff and driving on the beach is disheartening.  Would that we could afford signage to encourage respect and inform about people impact.  This seems to only be a concern with the summer visitors. Considerable cliff erosion noted.

Several western gulls standing on beach. Flocks of brown pelicans flying over.

Very foggy day.  Many more people on the beach than usual probably because it is Sunday in July and Portland is very hot today.  A number of groups camping in the dunes (but no sanitary facilities are available) and evidence of horses on the beach and footprints coming from the spit to the beach. Very little trash on the beach. 

Calm foggy morning. 1 person clamming in surf. Notable was 1 black winged carcass, probable cormorant sp. 30 sandpiper sp. flew N overhead. Some Dungeness crab molt (4-5" carapace), many mole crab parts along drift line. Footprints along beach indicate heavy summer usage. Clean beach. Beachside campground full.

Unusual dead sea life spotted. Dead manta ray at about the junction of miles 253 and mile 254. Dead sea lion or seal (not sure which) at about the junction of mile 254 and mile 255. See attached photos.

Path through old forest south of Winston property is being maintained; recent bramble clipping evident. Some human footprints in the sand around the bottom of the Geisel Monument beach access (that was the only sign of humans using the area on our whole walk). New stairway to the beach here. This access is private and not open to the public.  No other human prints on the sand all the way to Hubbard. Some river otter tracks, some cormorants & oyster catchers, 2 seals in the cove below Hubbard. Masses of snails, lots of different anemones, lots of small China hat (conical) snails in Hubbard cove (we used to see these years ago all along these beaches, then stopped seeing them, so this was exciting). Good number of starfish, both purple and orange.

A gloriously sunny albeit windy day on mile 197, with many people and families enjoying the beach. I saw nothing outstandingly unusual or concerning. I was filling in for a friend (Mudslide) who usually watches this mile. I will continue to monitor until she's able to get back to enjoy it herself!

Stellar Sea Lion deceased.

Lovely day at the beach with many others enjoying recreation.

I walked at low tide and this was a very low tide. The beach was quite large. Not much activity except for close to Tolovana and the tidepools. I took many photos to upload. There were two artlike sculptures at the end of the mile. (Photo attached.)

Pictures of barnacle covered pallet and suspected crab molt- exuvia 

While there was plenty of activity by visiting tourists sightseeing at the viewpoints, there was little else to report. One house in the neighborhood is being remodeled/rennovated, which may or may not have an impact on the birds utilizing the nearby seastacks. No new errosion of any cliffside was noticed. All cars were using pull-outs. Didn't see much bird activity and no marine mammal activity on the rocks below, even though it was low tide. 

"A murder on the beach and a mystery solved" ...

Observed several dozen Whimbrels with their long down-curved bills feeding in the wave out-wash all along Mile 171, along with large groups of impossible-to-ID juvenile gulls.  The seasonal transverse sand dunes are beginning to form near the Driftwood Shores Resort complex.  Scattered bits and pieces of Moon and Sea Nettle jellies along the high water line.

For some time, I've wondered about the large numbers of dead Mole crabs recently littering the high water line along Mile 171.  On closer examination of both dead ones and a live example, I found that most of the dead remains are missing the forward section of the underside soft tissues (head and thorax).  The mystery has been solved!  Tonight I observed a gaggle of crows walking the wet sand, clearly eyeing the surface carefully.  On occasion, a crow would thrust its bill deep into the sand, and after a bit of tugging, pull out a live mole crab.  Holding the crab upside down with a foot, the crow then stabbed the underside repeatedly, pulling off and consuming the crab's head and upper body, leaving the rear section with its legs on the beach.  If you toss the now-headless crab into moving water, it will quickly re-bury itself back into the sand.  Interesting nervous system!

The "murder" part?  A group of crows is called a "murder" ...

Approximately 50 people were on the beach with 10 dogs, most on leashes,  Perhaps 5 dogs running loose but all within close proximity to their owners.  No dogs were chasing any wildlife.   Several people were observing marine life on the Ghost forest stumps incuding many healthy looking Sea Stars.

One Bald Eagle flew south and several crows were in the trees.   The driftline was normal  with the minimal  human caused trash.  

Nice sunny day. Ive never seen so much of the beach. The tide was so low we could walk out for 1/2 a mile or so where it is usually under water. Small plane flying over head, a few driftwood forts nothing that looked new. The outfall from the drainages are very discolored and appear to have growth in them. Pics attached we were impressed there was not very much trash on the beaches. There didn't appear to be any new erosion.

Sunny, breezy July day.  More people than usual on the beach, but of course it's the middle of summer.  Harbor seal population at the end of the spit seemed larger than usual, with several juveniles.  There were many more seagulls than usual on this stretch of beach.  The wrack line - instead of consisting of kelp and invertebrate shells as is common - was mainly sea grass, peppered with sticks and twigs.  There were quite a few squid egg cases along the tide line as well as a few squid pens (thanks to Dr. Stewart Shultz for explaining what these were in his recent talk).  We encountered several dead squid on the sand at the edge of Siletz Bay while walking back to the parking lot.  Minimal amount of trash, which was surprising since this was soon after the 4th of July.

Very foggy start to the walk, by the time we left the beach it was clear at 10:49am.   We could see much more of the ocean floor than ever before with large wave formed pot holes along about 100 feet in middle of mile.  Only one flock of Sanderlings at the south end of our mile with about 5 seagulls.  Several live animals - long worm, a bug that we did not recognize one about ever 2 feet along our mile, sand fleas, large jellyfish, many unknown young, in the tidepools of the potholes.  Very active and burrowing constantly.

Very nice summer morning ... typical mid-summer beach

I covered the middle and southern portions of the of the mile, starting about 6:15 am. The morning tide was quite low, -2.0', but the surf was 7'-9' so beach access was out of the question along the southern rocky portion. I didn't see any other people on the southern rocks but by the time I returned to the beach between Cummins Creel and Gwynn Creek around 9 am, there were a few people on the beach.

I encountered river otter tracks on the beach. They were exploring, apparently, the isolated rocks jutting out of the sand between Cummins and Gwynn Creeks. I also thought it was interesting to find a little right-eyed flounder, only about an inch long, cast up on the beach, and I also came across a lone dead Pacific sardine. I don't see those too often in the drift line. 

We decided to explore this stretch of beach due to the significant minus tide on July 14th.  Many others apparently had the same idea.  Most people were taking advantage of the conditions to check out the tide-pools and hunt for rocks/agates but there was one sizeable group from OSU which was conducting "hundreds of studies" including monitoring the algae and oxygen level of the ocean as well as "relocating sea stars."  The usual harbor seals were not seen until the tide was coming in (around noon) but what was perhaps strangest about this trip were the hundreds of small green crabs noted on the north end of Strawberry Hill Beach.  Otherwise, there were, as usual, scores of anemones, mussels, birds (including one osprey), and sea stars (I'd heard that the condition of the sea stars was "not good" but I have no experience as to evaluating the health of these creatures).

The primary reason for this inspection is to see and record with photos of the completed beach bank armoring project first observed and chronicled in my report and dispatch filed in January of this year.

Most people were on the north side of the dune, not in my mile. Two hang gliders and 3 vehicles with helpers/onlookers with them. A few people walking the beach, two with dogs. A couple kids playing in the waves. Very wide beach on this minus tide with a wrack line very high, way up the dune. High tide had been just after midnight at 9', low tide just before 9 a.m. at -1 so a 10 ft difference that really leveled out the beach. Some fog early that cleared.

I covered the northern portion of the mile, departing the north parking lot at Gwynn Creek at 6 am. Except for a small bit of beach access just south of Gwynn Creek this portion is up on Captain Cook's Reef. I didn't see any people along this stretch but upon my return at 10 am there were nine cars in the parking lot and I could hear people enjoying the beach below.

I got an earIy morning treat when I saw two river otters exploring crevices in the rocky bench just south of Gwynn Creek. They were playing with a small silvery fish. There were treefrog polliwogs in most all of the pools formed by seeps at the base of the cliff on the upper fringes of Cook's reef. It seemed so odd to see them swimming around the mussel shells and crab molts. A pair of kildeer appeared to have a nest in the sea shell litter at the base of the cliff near the north end of the mile. 

Though overcast many people were enjoying their beach time including a lady from TX.  I will keep an eye on the wooden pallet covered with barnacles and mussels—it's too heavy for me to lug off the beach alone.

A couple new signs at the 73rd St beach access.  One regards public restrooms and the other fireworks.  Despite increased proactive measures taken by the LCPD and North Lincoln Fire and Rescue, there were a lot of fireworks set off on Roads End beach July 4th, overwhelming law enforcement once again.

The only unusual siting today was a bird carcass on the dunes. I assume it's a raven. I also removed a large beer bottle that was left alongside the trail, but it was in an area near the highway. Other areas of the trail were trash-free.

WOOD CHIPS!!!! Soooooo many of them all along the entire stretch of Mile 220. They are in the surf line and high wrack. Also a fresh Common Murre was being eaten by a Turkey Vulture. Lots of people and dogs.

Crowded on the beach on the day after the 4th of July...255 people and 16 dogs. Golfing and a softball game in addition to the more usual digging of holes, building sand castles and cycling. Mild weather and calm ocean with minimal algae and kelp in the driftline. 

Lots of washed up jellyfish: counted over 30. Also a seal (alive) on the beach near southern end of the beach. Two dead seabirds (one COASST tagged), appearred to be LIGU's. 

Immature bald eagle at Cascade Head.

I brought two people with me who collected litter while I observed. Found one washed up bottle with Vietnanses on the label.

Beach fairly clean - lots of beautiful at the shoreline.  Thirteen sea stars near the cave - fewer than five years ago, but more than last year.  Pelicans flying - seven!  Again, more than last year, but many fewer than five years ago.

It was a beautiful morning on Siltcoos Beach. No noticeable changes since our report in February except for the appearance of roped off plover nesting areas...a large area to the south of the access point and a smaller area to the north. It was 54 degrees when we arrived at 8:15 AM at low tide with a light breeze coming from the NW. The beach was very clean with no observable plastic pellet debris (unlike last Feb. when we saw a lot of that). We did not walk all the way to the mouth of the river (south) because there were adult plovers feeding at the wrack line and we did not want to disturb them (especially since that area is normally busy with visitors, making it more difficult for them). The beach was empty when we arrived; when we left (10:00 AM), there were several people on the beach and some ATVs and a truck within the allowed riding area. Most walkers were staying on the wet sand near plover areas as requested by signage at the entrance. One person did appear to be east of the wet sand out on the spit, but we could not see well enough to know for sure if they were off wet sand or in the plover fenced area since the river does cause a bend there. One dog was on the beach off-leash near the plover areas, unfortunately. At first, the dog was north in the dog-restricted area; by the time we had gotten back to the access point, he had moved north of the access point in the dog-allowed area, but the dog was near a roped off area (north of the access point) where a pair of plovers have attempted to nest, but where they have been unsuccessful so far (per the plover educator we spoke to there) due to human/dog disturbance in that area. Dogs are allowed in that area (per signage).

8 people on the beach.  Large piece of driftwood smoldering from a fire that had not been properly extinguished. Monday morning observing the remnants of human activity over the weekend. Besides the smoldering driftwood, there was some litter (water bottle, Styrofoam cup, paper), and a couple of new driftwood forts. Noticed that a lot of sand has been scoured out. There is a long sand shelf and several rock beds visible. 

Beautiful day.  Lots of people and dogs enjoying the beach.

I first adopted this mile in 1995. I left Oregon and discontinued my watch in 2007.  I've returned to Oregon and have just re-adopted this very same mile.

I hiked in on the Tahkenitch Creek trail.  The first thing I noticed is the extensive roping off for the plover along the last 1/3 mile trail TO the beach.  Once on the beach, the roping is now on both sides of the creek.

 I see is that there is a lot more habitat for the endangered snowy plover to nest;all planned and good.  Around 1997, ODNRA bulldozed and used herbicides to rid the invasive European beach grass to create designated habitat for the plover.  It's been improving since then.  Also, the signage is much more direct and extensive, warning hikers to walk only on the wet sand, etc.

Because of very low tide and need to stay on wet sand, I was maybe 75 yards from roping, making it impossible to spot any plovers.  

I can't make any comment on the changes from last time, but I'll look for them when I return in the fall.

My first CoastWatch-based walk on mile 99, which is between 2 creeks, and includes numerous large rock formations on the beach and a public picnic area. I collected 2 containers (approx. 2 gallon capacity each) of inorganic beach debris along the east/bluff side of the beach. The debris was primarily plastic pieces over 2 inches square, and glass and trash from beach campfires. There were no concerns identified with the wildlife or people enjoying the beach on a lovely day. 

Cloudy 61' , light breeze from NW, 15 people, 5 dogs walking or running along beach. 5 cars parked in parking lot, beachside campground full for holiday weekend. Few gulls and crows present along tideline, many 1-2inch clear jellyfish and Dungeness crab casings along tideline. Clean beach.

• Human Activity:  Higher than usual numbers of people. 1 equestrian.
• Shoreline Wildlife:  1 dead Harbour Porpoise;1 dead large jellyfish

8 people were enjoying the beach.  Noted 2 dead gulls and Valella valella in the drift line along with kelp.

Beautiful day. Moderate amount of trash. Found dead harbor seal approximately midway of mile well above the wrack line. The beach was littered with downy feathers. Not sure if from molting/preening but more that we had ever seen before. There was a Volkswalk event going on this day.

There was nothing startling or unusual about this beachwalk except that we noted significant destruction of a staircase and its foundation below the large vacation rentals just south of Moolack Beach. In the same vein, the fancy RV park's attempts to build a path or stairs to the beach and add drainage pipes below their property have failed spectacularly. We're not certain when either of these erosional events took place. A third change has been the virtual disappearance of the 2-track beach access just north of Moolack Shores Motel. The vegetation is now crowding in on a 5-inch-wide gully at the center of the access route, difficult to navigate.

beginning of holiday week, lots of morning beachgoers, -0.6 tide, many Moon Jellies in driftline

I walked and was blown from north to south on this very windy day, and was very nearly deposited on the Dune  myself. the wind was strong enough to pick up chunks of still wet sand and blow it! Virtually no trash present except one tire. A new informational sign on petrels has been erected on a parking area on 101.   One on shore rock on the south end of the mile usually has a sand ramp on its south side in the summer but as yet does not.