Mile Report Browser

sighting of 4 Snowy Plovers flying and foraging

sighting of 4 Snowy Plovers flying and foraging

A cloudy day with intermittent mist, with comfortable temperatures and light human activity for a summer day made the mile walk very enjoyable. Most visitors to the beach were walking, with a few clusters of people sitting in the upper area soft sand. A line of wood chips was visible, almost continuous, through mile 313. The line of wood chips existed in 2 places along the beach:1) the high tide line from a prior day and 2) the high tide line from this morning.

Pleasant day, first chance to visit since Covid lock down. Beach is very wide and cleanest we have seen since starting Coast Watch program. Beach grass appears to be advancing at north end of mile. 

Many people enjoying the tidepools and beach as the weather began to get better in general. Wasn't able to get to S. Cove during the parks shutdown. This was the second low tide happening on the weekend in reasonable daylight hours since the reopening. I must have a very low tide to get to all of my mile, so this was my second chance, taken.

A lovely day on the beach. Arriving at the tail end of Circles in the Sand, many folks enjoying the beach after going to the Circles. Four horseback riders also riding along the beach. Only 1 dog on leash today. Lot's of children with their parents, and 2 kids running sprints on the sand. Looked to be highschool age. Due to such a low tide, many starfish and tidepooling to enjoy.

Graffiti at shallow cave entrance at north end of beach (past Maxwell point but before Lost Boy Beach).

I walked Mile 204 today for CoastWatch along with Miles 203-205 looking for snowy plover nests.  Three chicks have hatched this nesting season on Miles 203/205, and beach ranger Doug Sestrich roped off a new nest on the northern border of 203 this morning, but no nests have been found so far on Mile 204. I began walking at a minus tide, and the flat Driftwood beach seemed to go out to sea forever. The beach was misty and almost deserted, just a few people walking along the shore, a couple of people on those new fat tire electric bicycles, and one intrepid surf fisherman.

Twenty five people spent their time looking at the animals on Arch Cape or on the rocks near Arch Cape.  Four sea stars were found on one rock (see pictures).  The beach was very clean.   There was no land or ocean based debris.

Nesting Snowy Plover, firecracker debris and signs of campfire activity.  

Calm and warm day. No clouds. Gentle breeze from NW. Beach was very clean. Did find a golf ball from Sheep Ranch. Observed golfers on bluff. Low tide. ATVs observed on north end of beach (off-loaded from trailer/truck on beach). Trash was gathered, bagged, and left at parking lot entrance to beach. 

The only human activity noted was one couple fishing off the rocks - the only shoreline access point - at the extreme north end of the mile.  Only common wildlife was observed: a few gulls and comorants.  No physical changes have occurred to the mile in the last three months, a situation quite common with the erosion-resistant basalts of the mile.  The inaccessibility of the cliffed coastline of the mile also severely limits potential for any human modifications.  The gift shop area at the Lookout is blocked off, so the observation point for observing driftline content was not accessible.

It was a quiet day on the spit, but very busy on the Mo's part of mile (probably due to it being Father's Day.  Last week we did see horses on the beach for the first time.  Weather was comfortable with blue sky streaking along the clouds.

Hard to see the second needle and syringe (in the past 2 weeks!!) on our beach, lots of dogs and kids who easily could have stepped on it. The sea grass amount was notable. Eagles and turkey viltures abound...esp near the carcass of the Juv sea lion. Still quite a bit of small plastics in the wrackline for this time of year. The paved road has brought a lot more traffic to this beach.

Mattress dumped alongside trail near Highway 101 turnout just north of Whaleshead Trailhead.

This was my 1st time back on my mile since February.  Lack of trash was surprising to me(see the photo of what I picked up)  Driftwood on the shore was minimal.  We have had a lot of windy days with abundant sand movement which may have buried trash and driftwood.  I believe lack of human traffic has allowed for the plants to expand out into the sand a good 20-30 feet (see 3 photos of plants)  There were a lot of dead crab shells, probably the most I have observed on my mile.

Cosidering the phase 2 of the covid-19 for Clatsop Co., there were not that many people here on the beach and what few were here were socially distancing.

Beautiful day; exceptionally clean driftline; only a few shorebirds.

This is the first mile report I have filed since the re-opening of the Neskowin Beach State Recreation Area following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. There were more people on the beach than is normal for a weekday at this time of year, perhaps because people are not at work because of Covid-19 social distancing guidelines.

Mid-morning walk on mile 327 with no wind and sunny weather. Observed 6 people recreating on the beach close to the Del Rey entrance road. One dead pinniped eared seal family Otariidae (photographed below) and one dead bird (too far gone to identify) and a mystery pinniped skull). I collected 15 lbs of trash along wrackline including 3 lighters, cigarette butts, food trash from campfires, McDonalds and Subway cups, plastic bags, bottles, and bottle caps. Found large tangle of fishing line, four abadoned socks, a flipflop, and a glove. Multiple discarded dog poop bags were found on the beach (3 bags full) and dog poop along along the Del Rey entrance road. 

A pretty clean beach with lots of seagulls and a fair number of people and dogs.  An unusual amount of crab shells and body parts on the entire mile, along with lots of seaweed and kelp.  Human debris was less than usual surely due to the lack of beach traffic during the past few months.  Picked up mostly just small pieces of plastic, a few cans and bottles, some rope, assorted articles of clothing and beach toys.  For the first time we found graffiti on some rip rap...hope it's the last time.  Maybe we can blame it on COVID-19.

*Note: This report was originally submitted on 6/16/20, but did not print.  This submission is on 7/5/20.

Overall not much new at South Beach mile 214. The gradient from teh water to the dunes seem a little less steep and the dunes a little shorter but 

We missed our spring beach walk due to the closures of state parks so were happy to experience the wonder of the beach today. People were enjoying clam digging, hang gliding, picnicing, walking and one wheeling. We had never seen this on our mile. A skateboard that runs similar to a Segway.

There was very little on the beach today - very few logs, some dried seaweed but not much, a few people walking and agate-hunting, calm sea. A few accesses are usable, but not 50A or Circle Road. 

Mile 247, at the Salmon River Estuary, continues to be a very clean and pristine beach, likely owing to its remote location.  One difference on this inspection was the total lack of dead seabirds, which we had documented previously.  There were also very few live birds, perhaps due to bald eagles that live near the mouth of the Salmon River.

bonefire and campfire set ups

SAND202001 Snowy Plover Nest Failed

Driftwood Snowy Plover nest still ok.

A cloudy day at the beach.  Not many people in my mile. About a dozen in all.  4 dogs, all off-leash.  I found just a few pieces of marine debris in the wrack, small plastic pieces.  Lots of shell fragments, seaweed, crab molts, and a couple feathers.  It was a pretty low tide, about 0.4 feet.  A half dozen seagulls were working the area where a small creek emptied onto the beach, and some crows on the wet sand swash area eating mole crabs (?)   I enclosed a couple photos of them.  I also put up a photo of a plant that grows right out of the sand, up near the bluffy edges or the beach.  Anyone?   

More than 10 previously unobserved drainage pipes in places with already existing pipes.  Relatively large number of people on beach, presumably seeking respite from sheltering in place.  Weather was sunny but with low fog over beach, low tide so that beach was very wide, mild temperature and little wind, so that beach was an inviting place to visit.  

Everything looked stable and little change since last month.

Misty, overcast cloudy day, light wind mid week but noted singificant increase in people and dogs on the beach. Lincoln City is supposed to be in Coronavirus Phase 1 with only essential travel but parks and beach access has opened. The signs the NW 34th access limiting vehicles to specific area have been repositions... were taken down all winter. 

A windy and rainy day so not many people out on the beach. I was not able to take photos since the weather was so poor.

NW 68th street is open. The city has moved its pumping station closer to HWY 101 and sealed off the former gravel parking with a paved lot with 5 slots.

A total of 4 walkers and a dog.

I've walked this mile for Plover Patrol; this is my first time for CoastWatch. The photos show the future landfall site of PacWave South, OSU's project to install and test wave energy collection devices six miles off the coast between Waldport and Newport, with seafloor transmission cables coming ashore at Driftwood Beach. In the wayside's parking area, the seafloor cables will connect to terrestrial cables which will proceed underground to an OSU facility just east of Highway 101, where the electricity generated will be transmitted to Central Lincoln PUD.  Although the project will generate electricity, it's primary purpose is to test different wave energy collection devices along with the infrastructure necessary for such a project. OSU has prepared a detailed environmental assessment plan, and it doesn't appear that there will be adverse impact to the shore. All terrestrial drilling will occur underground through "horizontal directional drilling," although in the Driftwood parking lot underground concrete vaults will be installed for transitioning between seafloor and terrestrial cables. The project is to begin later this year, with the first phase scheduled to last six to eight months. Information, maps, photos, and schematics, can be found by Googling PacWave South

Met with Tara DuBois from Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve and received public education material regarding the reserve that I could give out to beach goers.

Day started out with ocean fog, air temp was 53 degrees F, Wind speed 10-12 mph.

Surveyed North Stonefield Beach first.

There was less of a quantity of small debris on the beach, but the debris was not as concentrated as it usually is. Debris at driftline was seen throughout the mile but most of it was on the beach west of Sea Perch RV Resort north to where there is an outlet from a spring crossing the beach. (approx. 1/3 mile)

I usually see quite a few seagulls on the beach but today there were none on the beach.

Found a 45”x45” insulated lid that appears to be from a container that fish or crabs are carried in. The writing on top was:

DYNO

Made in Canada

Ph: (604) 444-3500

Message has been left with a Beach Ranger for removal.

There was a lady that told me she had been collecting “seaweed” from the beach to use in her garden at home. I gave her some information on the Marine Reserve and said that she should check to make sure what she was doing was legal.

The pathway from the parking lot at State Location #86 has a lot of vegetation encroaching over the path.

Observed 13 people walking on the beach and 1-person rock hunting.

Observed 1 dog on the beach.

The large deposit of stones that was at the outlet on Tenmile Creek last year and which changed the course of the outlet has disappeared. The outlet for the creek has straighten out.

A very nice day for this mile, with a minus tide. Only 2 sea stars observed on the exposed rocks. Land slides seem more prominent than last time observed. First time on mile since early March, with the COVID 19 virus and stay home orders.  

Discovery of New Snowy Plover nest labelled SAND202001 on beach near Sandpiper Shores and being attended by Snowy Plover Patrol.  Unbanded bird.

A joy to be able to return to the beach!! This was first time I was able to visit Mile 287 after Covid-19 restrictions had closed beach access in Tillamook County for almost 3 months. I was surprised by how quickly the beach approach paths had become overgrown due to the absence of visitors. Even though the spring beach clean-up had been cancelled, the beach was remarkably clean. It was a delight to see four bald eagles soaring over the foredune on northern section of the mile, and fun to watch whimbrels foraging in the surf. All in all, a lovely day with nothing untoward to report.

Sunny quiet morning. No dogs on beach, and virtually no birds either. Only a minimal amount of plastic debris in wrackline. Some molted crab shells on sand.

Dead harbor seal.  No head.  About 200 ft north of the 72nd/73rd St beach access.  Submitted Marine Mammal Report.

Lots of people out enjoying the beach.  Noted numerous sea stars on many exposed rocks.  Didn't note any plastics in the debris line.  

Normal bird and seal (including several pups) activitie, strong north wind, nothing of note.

Dead whale on beach. Intact. 

Arrived at mile 246 at 2:35 pm and ended the mile walk at 3:22 pm. During that time we saw 11 people and 1 dog not including the two of us and the 1 dog we brought. Saw what appeared to be two new streams coming down the side of the cliffs on the eastern edge of the mile. One was fairly active, cutting a channel to the ocean. The other was very small and not very active. There was evidence along the east cliffs of rock fall with numerous pieces of broken rock on the sand. The north end of the cliff had a tide pool area and the water was too high to get around into the cove on the north end of god's thumb. The tree at the top of the north cliff is still clinging to the rocks above. There was more debris than usual on the mile, especially bagged dog poop and bits of plastic in the wrack line. The most surprising garbage was a retirement plan's worth of toilet paper. As we walked south across part of mile 245 to the parking area we picked up more garbage such as Starbuck's cups, a Mike's Hard Lemonade can and food wrappers.

Shoreline Wildlife - 

We found, we believe, a dead sturgeon on the shore without its head.  We have included a picture with a penny for size reference.

We picked up two 2.5 gallon buckets of ocean debris.  Pictures show bucket and examples of the debris

I saw a blue heron looking for fish. 
There was a dead sea lion on the South end of the beach. Still intact.

A lot less garbage than last time.  Am curious if driving on this portion of the beach is legal, seems like you shouldn't be allowed to drive north of Five mile point.  

Lots of commotion near the jetty on the north end of Nedonna Beach on this overcast morning! Earlier today a small rental boat had capsized, a man and a dog fell into the water. Both swam to the jetty safely, but the capsized boat could still be seen overturned in the water not far from shore just south of the jetty. Several vehicles (2 Sheriffs Dept, 2 Fire Dept, 1 truck from boat rental co) were parked by the jetty and several men and one woman were figuring out how to retrieve the boat. Several people were sitting/standing around watching whatever would unfold. I watched two men walk out in the surf to the boat, one climbed onto the overturned boat to assess the situation. They said the engines were stuck in the sand so the tide was unlikely to push the boat to shore. The men left in their truck to get rope and a winch, but almost immediately two Fire Department vehicles arrived with a big winch on a heavy duty pickup. I had to go before they retrieved the boat, but the incident will probably be in the newspaper next week! The beach was quite clean, not much debris in the driftline, a bit of foam and natural debris but no noticeable human debris. Two dead sea birds had washed up. About 55 people were walking, sitting, playing, or watching the boat incident. Despite what sounds like a lot of people, the beach remained quite empty, plenty of social distancing to go around. Nobody was wearing a mask.

Looking forward to the day no vehicles are allowed to drive on the beach.

The one good thing about the new Sheep Ranch golf course is the abatement of some gorse on the bluff.

People with several dogs walking and rock hounding around China creek and Big creek.Lots of dead baby crabs in the wrack line. Much less or hardly any trash or plastic seen today. Continued erosion of sand dunes an d cliff walls on Muriel Ponsler.

In addition to the usual dungeness crab and razor clam shells, I spotted a clutch of squid eggs (see photos) towards the northern end of Mile 325.

I met with Oregon Parks & Recreation Dept Beach Ranger Doug Sestrich on the beach to show him a Western Snowy Plover nest I had discovered 5/15 so that he could install a pole and rope buffer around the nest, which had contained one egg on 5/15, two eggs on 5/19, and the optimum clutch size of three eggs this date with two birds at the nest. The male ran off, with the female skittish and moving away from the nest and back while Doug installed poles, rope, and signs. The female was back on the nest by the time we left.  Incubation period is 28 days after the last egg laid.

Two new bluff-top houses currently under construction.

More plastics than usual.

Whimbrels and sanderlings were feeding in the surf wash zone.  A recently deceased harbour porpoise, about 1/3 mile north of the Siuslaw River North Jetty, appears to have washed ashore with today's high tide (photos).  Little scavanger damage indicates this creature recently died.

I was out on Heceta Beach several times this weekend,  There were a lot of people out enjoying the nice weather, but everyone (including family groups) was doing a good job with the recommended social distancing.

It was a beautiful, sunny day and a lot of phase 1 visitors hit the beach. Lots of families playing in the sand/surf and just enjoying the sun. 

A rainy day--Hatfield had 0.05 inches in the hour I was on beach, while my backyard rain gauge had 0.08 inch (my daily total was 0.24 miles).

On the walk down from 57th street--there are now some trail markings. There are more surfers using this way to access Sea Star Beach.

I was rather surprised that there was anyone on the beach with the rain--but I guess some people needed to get out, suffering from cabin fever.

This beach walk was done during the COVID beach closure. 3 local and 2 nonlocal people on the beach. Someone had an overnight tent perched on the dunes in a noncamping closed area. 

There were several pairs of Willets in the surf. There was a 25 foot dead Pacific Gray whale, male at the beginning of the mile. The whale had been reported 24 hours earlier and authorities had already been out and had taken samples. The rest of the beach seemed quite clean.

Quite the stranding of squid egg sacs all along Roads End beach.  A wedding was taking place at the north end.

Beach quite clean despite being popular. No porta-potty as usual; I anticipate human sanitation issues. 

Staircase in poor shape, and missing handrails have been draped in yellow danger tape. 

I feel guilty being able to walk my miles, 202 and 203, within walking distance from my home, when others aren't able to because of COVID-19 restrictions.  I apologize for so many reports, but when I walk my miles I always find something that I think others might find interesting and which I think should be reported on. In addition to the eagle I watched this day, I came upon two Western Snowy Plovers, a male and female I think, just south of Beach Access 66C.  Further north, I found a new plover nest (see photos) in the same approximate location as the plover nest which had been photographed by my neighbor a few weeks ago but which had then vanished. Just one egg in this new nest.  Oregon Parks will install an approximately 50 meter radius (165 feet) roped buffer around the nest if and when there are two eggs in the nest, which would more clearly indicate an active nest.  I will continue to check the nest (still only one egg as of May 16th).

Ospreys atop nest platform, Bayshore Beach Club parking lot.  Osprey couple settling in atop a very exposed nest platform I didn't think would be occupied.  Now for a little work on that nest!

High tide surge appears to have cleaned the beach of debris, and took out at least two snowy plover nests that were high on the beach.  Small woody debris and some large logs were moved up to the high tide line.

All was well on Mile 21 in the early morning of 8 May on a very low tide (-1.5).  An apparently orphaned Harbor Seal pup was observed on the beach in the cove at the southernmost end of Mile 21.  It crawled safely back to the ocean.

A beautiful day on the beach, with little human activity on the beach, around Haystack Rock and Ecola Creek.  Limited beach activity is due to Covid-19 social distancing and the fact that Cannon Beach continues to be closed to visitors.  The weather was amazing, sunny and 60's. It has been fun to watch, through these reports, how the location of the mouth of Ecola Creek continues to change in location, the mouth moving farther north over time.  Overall it was a quiet, beautiful day.

Another beautiful day on the beach.  Human activity was very limited, covid-19 social distancing restrictions continue and Cannon Beach continues to be closed to visitors.  Winds were NNE 10-20 MPH, and the weather was sunny, warm, and beautiful.

(This is part two of my report as I divided up the mile into two trips.  This represents Mile 208 .5 to 208.9). observed more cliff erosion and noted that the house I have reported on several times because it was "hanging" off the cliff is now gone.  I drove up to the housing site and it has certainly been removed.  There are two other houses, as noted in my previous report, that are in jeaprody. About mid-mile I observed a small group of Ploves and 4 Whimbrels along the shore line. 

What a fabulous day on 220! I am pretty sure I found a Laysan Albatross, what a majestic bird, the wings so long but incredibly light. We had quite a storm last night with hail and wind...perhaps what blew the bird onto the shore? He was a recent arrival as only his eyes and breast were eaten. The tide was low and the sand was expansive, not nearly the rockiness that is off and on on our beach. Lots of small plastics, nurdles, one large piece of rope with a buoy attached. 

Beach looks like it was swept clean by the tides. Left deposits of seaweed and bits of wood and stuff high up on near dunes. Scattered razor clam and blue muscle shells, crab body shells of small crabs, broken sand dollars. Small bits of wood from trees, black and brown stones. I see no trash washed up. 15 or so people and several dogs out enjoying the sunshine on a Sunday, which was quite busy for during COVID-19 shelter-at-home times. A short rain shower chased most of them away.

Never been to this beach, but will be back.  The weather was great, warm, and dry.  Ocean was low tide, plenty of beaches to walk.  No dead marine mammals or birds to report.  Island off the bluff, with common murres, pelagic cormorants, and gulls.  Plenty of social distancing, maybe 12 people on the beach.  

It was a beautiful day. I saw more people walking/jogging the road than usual but fewer people on the beach. Social distancing was observed, but most people weren't wearing masks. The parking areas closest to the beach access at both State Parks were cordoned off areas, but people were able to park at other turn-outs to get to the beach. 

I did not appreciate any significant changes in the erosion along Yachats Ocean Road or Ocean View Drive, although the fences along Ocean View Drive seem to be slipping down the bluff.   

Tide was low. Beach was smoothed over from last night's high tide, all the way in to the grass line. Accesses are still hard to maneuver, except 50B and an unmarked one near house #281. No debris (marine or otherwise), few logs. No birds.

Another beautiful day on Mile 202.  I watched a flock of 18 whimbrels feeding along the shoreline, probably migrants headed north to breed on the tundra.  Someone in the past attached an osprey nest platform atop a utility pole in a parking lot across from the Bayshore Beach Club.  I've seen an osprey there once this Spring, and a little work has been done on constructing a flimsy nest, but the location is very exposed to the wind.  I've seen ospreys flying along the shoreline on Mile 203 and over Alsea Bay, but I can't imagine this exposed Beach Club nest platform will be successful.

Because of the pandemic-related closure of the state parks, I accessed the beach via the steps at Deane's Lodging, by the kind permission of the owner. It was a mild, sunny afternoon. More visitors were out than I would have expected, given the current restrictions and closures -- a total of 22 people, 5 children and 17 adults, with 8 dogs accompanying them, 6 off leash. There were 1 bicyclist and 3 surfers. 

The drift line was well delineated by dried foam. (See photo.) There were numerous crab carapaces and legs as well as many dead sand fleas. I saw 4 whimbrels and a few gulls; also a couple of dead birds, which I couldn't identify. I'll attach a photo of the better preserved one. 

The large chunk of bluff that's been threatening to come down since December was still standing, although even more battered-looking. A little farther south, some bluff-top vegetation had collapsed, taking some of the Tillicum campground's fencing with it. (See photos.) Additional large chunks of bluff had fallen at a couple of other spots as well. 

Some kelp piles scattered about and evidence of upwelling.  Tire tracks suggest the park ranger had been by recently.   73rd St beach access closed to vehicle parking only, people OK.

Pleasant day with a southerly wind.  Normally there would be more visitors on the Taft side of the Siletz River, but tourism has been curtailed by coronavirus restrictions.  The harbor seals were difficult to count due to their position on the Spit, but we estimated there were at least 100 in the group.  Did not readily spot any pups.  Very little trash on the beach; we only picked up a few small items (plus a piece of plastic tubing). 

Occupants of RV camped on Highway 101 at North Isle Trailhead are dumping trash down hillside above Coast Trail.

Noticed a dead sea lion washed ashore.

The cliff erosion is significant.  One in particular is almost up to the house.  

My neighbor in Bayshore came upon and photographed this rare Western Snowy Plover nest approx 4/23/2020.  My neighbor didn't notice any birds incubating the eggs, but snowy plovers are very inconspicuous (see the plover photographs in my Mile 202 reports), and the incubating plover probably ran off without being seen. The photo shows a classic Western Snowy Plover nest, 3 speckled eggs in a shallow depression or scrape in the sand, this nest in a debris field of small rocks safely above the high tide line.  Western Snowy Plovers are the only birds, except Killdeers rarely, that nest like this on Oregon's sandy beaches, and no Killdeers, which are highly visible and vocal and usually lay more than 3 eggs, have been seen in the area.  When my neighbor told me about the nest, I went out and with her help tried to locate and document it, but the nest was gone without a trace.  There are coyotes in the dunes, and Bald Eagles in the area, but no indication of what happened to this nest.  A few days later, heavy winds and blowing sand almost covered the rocky debris field, which is now more exposed again after recent rains.  Even though the nest was no longer there, I named it DRI202001and reported it to Oregon Parks & Recreation Department, which administers a Western Snowy Plover protection program in cooperation with Portland Audubon and for which I volunteer as a Plover Patrol member. Miles 202 and 203 are not part of an area managed for Western Snowy Plovers, but if active plover nests are located here they are to be protected by OPRD.

A first for me (and sadly not alive), an octopus in the rocky area. Still beautiful, even in death. Large plastic/rubber mat was on top of one leg but I doubt that is why it died.

Beautiful calm sunny day on the beach. We spent most of the time down at the wrack line at low tide and saw very little non-natural debris and no dead birds or sea life other than shells and some crabs. This is the third or fourth weekend with gates closed and cars disallowed due to COVID-19, and what's most notable is not what is there, but what isn't. I.e. diesel fumes, cars speeding and doing cookies, trash piles, beer cans, yard debris, old furniture, fireworks, tire tracks over the clam beds. Clearly people are able to enjoy the beach without driving on it, as there were plenty of people but spread out and not crowded (it's a biiiig beach especially at low tide). This is my first mile report in a long time since we simply stopped coming to this beach as it's not enjoyable having to dodge cars and see the extra abuse it has to endure as a result of vehicle access. Now we've walked it more than half a dozen times in the last three weeks, and it's heavenly. If only it could last.

The beach is quiet although the same number of folks are there as there usually are!  No one in parking lot but parking along the street.  The erosion on the northern part of the mile is new.  We hear - but didn't see it - that there have been some unpleasant interactions with Cape Meares residents with those they deem to be "outsiders disobeying the beach closed injunction" due to the pandemic.  The community has rallied asking folks to calm down and be kind.  Very few birds.....

This report is a month late due to COVID19.....

The large sign on the sand at marker 34B of Sitka Sedge Park warning against driving any further north on the beach has been pushed down.

No Western Snowy Plovers were seen this visit, but extensive plover tracks were seen in the dry sand near the sloping dunes when walking south down the beach.  See attached photos.  The plover tracks are blurry in the soft sand, but they are a little "pigeon toed," not quite straight, and the tracks  zig-zag as the hunting plover finds a little edible morsel in the sand then abruptly changes direction. Although the wind was not strong (no blowing sand was seen), almost all the tracks had been obliterated by the time I walked back up the beach.  This is snowy plover nesting season, so hopefully there is a nest or nests somewhere in the dry sand area.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the park has been closed to all traffic (vehicle and non-vehicle). Despite this closure, there were 2 non-compliant walkers who were observed walking on paved roads through the park. With minimal human activity on the headland due to the park's closure, there has been a noticable increase in the number and variation of wildlife spotted at the park. Notable wildlife sightings include Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles, Brown Pelicans, Brandt's and Pelagic Cormaorants, Pigeon Guillemots, and Common Murres. Common Murres have begun to consistantly colonize on the rocks just off the coast of the headland. 

A beautiful day on the coast; sunny, partly cloudy.  Survery was done near low tide.  There were a number of sand bars and tide pools that had formed. Ecola creek output, where it connects to the ocean, had spread across a wide area.  Gulls and Black Oystercatchers were enjoying the freshwater of Ecola Creek.  The beach was very clean; little human debris noted.  Human activity was higher than expected on the beach overall, and at Haystack Rock, considering Covid-19 restrictions.

I was pleasantly surprised with how many people were out on the beach given the shelter-in-place mandate. I think the weather was too good to miss. I had seen signs indicating snowy plovers are back but didn't see any birds or protective fencing for their nesting grounds as I have in the past. Overall, the beach was clean and clear.

A beautiful day on the beach, sunny and partly cloudy with little wind.  Covid -19 social distancing restrictions are still in place.  Activity on mile 313 was very light, looking south there were few people on the beach.  High tide line had little debris - cellophane worm casings, dead moe crabs, small sticks, shell pieces.  Overall the beach was clean.  Some sand bars and tide pools had formed. 

Spotted what appeared to be a beached Lancetfish, which appears unusual for this area.

No snowy plovers today, and very few birds at all.  Plover sightings have declined from 30-40 individuals during my walk on 1/30/2020, to approx 20 on 2/14, to 12-14 on 3/4, to 10 on 3/22, to 6 on 3/31, to none today.  Continuing sand accumulation and smoothing out of beach may result in poor nesting habitat.  I live midway on Mile 203 and regularly walk 203 and southern portion of 204 as well, and I've only seen one pair of plovers once along that entire stretch of sandy beach.

Nice morning on the beach, cleanest I've seen the beach in some time.  Face Rock SP wayside closed, exited beach at marker 152, about 1/2 mi south of FR

One place "Social Distancing" does not apply. Since 2013, the Sea Star Wasting Disease has been severely affecting the Pacific Ocean Sea Stars causing them to almost disappear. Low tide and low sand level revealed my favorite rocks and the first photo this year I have been able to take and I am delighted with the number and apparent health of these very plump sea stars and their food sources. 

Maybe there will be hope for us, too, in the future.

There were only 24 people walking, 1 bicyclist and 6 dogs on the beach. This is notably far fewer than usual due to covid-19 bans on lodging/accomodations and restrictions on oceanside parking (now blocked with gravel berms) and associated beach access. Nothing at all in the driftline. However an unusual beached bird find was a Black-Legged Kittiwake tagged with COASST (Coastal Observation Seabird and Survey Team) zipties on the right wing. This species is distinguished by relatively small black feet and solid black wingtips and joins gulls and terns in the Larid family of birds.    

Marine mammal migration in progress.

fishing trawler put out net possibly in marine zone.

Very little human activity today.  Short-term vacation rentals at Bayshore have now been banned due to COVID-19.

Either rainy day or Corona virus scare is keeping people off the beach. Still necessary to be completely vigilant when on the beach. No whale sightings here during this whalewatching week. Just 1 seal swimming in the ocean. 

Most notable today was the lack of human activity. The beach was quiet, sunny, and beautiful .

An overcast day with occasional light sprinkles, but overall pleasant. A few people in small separate groups. Everything appears fine on my 1.8 km-long stretch of beach.