Mile Report Browser

Ocean Beach Picnic area was busy with 13 people, 6 cars and 2 dogs. Most people enjoying a walk on the sandy beach. This side of the knoll,north,had little to no debris on the beach.

Rock Creek had 3 people and 2 cars. Rock hunting and tide pools seem to be the activity. I noticed 2 fishing boats, 32 seagulls and 2 crows. This beach,south, is mostly covered with rock.

A lot of people on the beach and crowded parking lot. People are enjoying themselves in the sunshine today.

Downed tree partially blocking the trail one-half mile north of Whaleshead

Beautiful morning on the beach. Spring break. One family in a tent, one family flying kites and 2 men with their dogs walking the beach.

We came across this flock of approximately 3,100 Dunlin a bit south of the Iredale wreck in Fort Stevens State Park.

In about 2 hours we saw 6 or 7 Grey Whale spouts out near the horizon.

Surprise sunny March day, Tuesday of spring break week, many beach lovers enjoying the beach. Deposition level of beach sand generally low, making low tide seem higher at Austin Point, Point Meriwether and Adair Point.

More beach litter than usual.  Signs of rock fall from cliffs.  Many people out on the low tide.

A very quiet beautiful spring day on the beach!  Beach had been cleaned of debris some of which was up at the foot of the dunes.  The foredunes in the middle portion of our mile has been eroded more than we've seen previously.  Only 1 seagull, but lots of small bird footprints on the several tide lines.  We collected a full bag of trash - typical content of water bottles, pieces of plastic and styrofoam and pieces of rope.

Huge (estimated about 6-8 feet) waves crashing about 1/4 mile out.  The waves came in toward high tide before we reached our pickup parked at the Plover sign!  A little panic, but we were able to get going back to the parking lot. That was much earlier than the predicted high tide time - the State Park lady agreed.

It was SOLV today and the beaches look wonderfully clean!! With the onset of Spring break people seemed to be enjoying themselves on the beach with the exception of the person stuck in the sand. It was a very calm day at the beach.

SOLVE spring beach clean-up day. While there were not many larger pieces of debris to be retrieved from the beach (amazingly only one plastic bottle), there was considerable microplastic. We retrieved as many small plastic pieces as we could without having an appropriate tool for the job, but it was distressing to see how much microplastic remained. As observed at our last visit, evidence of wave overtopping and erosion of the foredune persists. No other concerns noted.

The signage is up again keeping all dogs off Mile 289.  By all means,  dogs need to be on leash and kept out of the sensitive areas.  But to exclude dogs only and by inference allowing any other type of animal with a leash is wrong.  So much for windmill tilting.

There were no human activities noted below the level of the Lookout, some 500 feet above sea level, where there were several cars and a few people.  Very little was visible along the shoreline as the the tide was high and only a small portion of one cobble beach was visible.  Ropes were observed hanging down a cliff face where, according to a volunteer at the Lookout, fishermen lowered themselves and their equipment from an access point down to close to water level.

Of note:  unusual amount of small rocks; no birds.

Mile 99 seems to have weathered the winter storms with some erosion of the seagrass foredunes, but minimal loss of solid bluff. The creeks bordering the mile to the north and south have carved significantly wider and deeper paths to the ocean. One California Sea Lion was observed alive at the last high tide line, and was reported to Oregon Marine Mammal authorities. Local environmental scientists reported that the beach showed evidence of mole crab breeding activity from the previous night of a full moon. There were fewer people and dogs on the beach than during a summer day of similar conditions (sunny, light winds).

15 people observed, all walking along beach, some with dogs. No one in water or tidepools. Minimal wildlife observed, none dead. A few crows and seagulls walking on ground. This was my first report so unsure what, if anything, has changed. Did not appear to be any brand new construction of houses or stairways down to beach. One small area of possible recent erosion/fall of a cliff. 

Quiet, beautiful day.  The low tide did not seem to match the online posting for time nor degree as it was considerably low and the tide turned before the posted 7:26 PM (?) low tide.  The beach seems wind swept clean, almost no flotsam or jetsam aside from woody debris. The usual suspects... erosion near the basalt outcropping at the north end of the beach brought down a large chunk of the cliff and with it three trees.

It is very obvious that this winter's storms have been so strong that many properties along this mile have lost a lot of their beachside embankments. Some, especially the first two north of the Wakonda Beach acccess, were close to exposure of their sand filters. Due to concerns that these sand filters were a threat to the public beach, Oregon State Parks & Recreation issued emergency permits to allow temporary rock installation. Speaking with one property owner, it is likely that OSP&R will issue a permit to replace these with permanent structures. One big question is how the rock structure just north of the access will affect the access itself. It appears that the contractor did not place rock on state right-of-way (ROW) - likely because that is not allowed in the permit. It will be interesting to see what effect wave action will have on the unprotected access that is armored on its north edge.

Overall calm day on the beach.  Only 5 people and 3 dogs.  Saw a bald eagle at the north end of the mile.  There were some newish trails and drainage strips.  Above one of the trails looked like a burned area and activity.  

Many people enjoying the beach on a beautiful Sunday near spring break.  Standing water I noted earlier on beach near bottom of cliff has disappeared and beach continuously slopes down to ocean.

Great day at mile 206! People were out enjoying the sun and tidepools. Noteably, there were 2 starfish found in the tidepools on 206. People, families (including those with young children) were respectful of the starfish in the tide pools, watching but not harrassing. The driftline looked better this time around, but I did pickup a backpack pocket full of plastic pellets.

It was a nice day, but windy, with  many people walking or playing with dogs.  We monitered the dogs to see if there was any disturbance of sea birds and we did not see any.  The number of large jellies on the beach was substancially higher than we have seen before.  The micro plastic build up is sad and people commented on the increase in the small pieces.  We did find a large chunck of a marine animal but could not accurately identify it.  The chunk is about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide.  It looks like it was washed very high up into a puddle area a while ago.  It is breaking down but until the vultures return other animals don't see to be feeding on it.  We are including a picture if any one can identify it.

A beautiful day with an abundance of people. Notable was the dead sea lion. 

The beach is flat, i.e., no dunes except for small ones around the grass tussocks. The creek is spread out and shallow in most places. A man was walking along the creek with a clam gun but no clams. It was a nice mellow gray day if you were out of the wind, but it was blowing much harder on the beach than the land report. I heard one song sparrow. Willow catkins are appearing.

Quite a few people and dogs enjoying the beach even though it wasn't a particularly warm sunny day.

Unusual things I noticed were:  One headless pinniped carcass.  New gorse slide from the top of the bluff.

Not much going on.  No new apparently erosional issues.  Except for some tire tracks little evidence of human activity.  As always, I cleaned the beach as I walked.

This was our first Marine Debris Survey. We are about 15 children and 5 adults from Fire Mountain School.

Low tide and people walking, rock collecting at 182.Very little in the rack line today.No debri seen on the beach today. There is wash over of the dunes next to Big creek. There is undercutting of the rocky wall on Muriel Ponsler by about a foot creating more rocks on the beach.

I perfect sunny, but brisk, day on the beach.

Lots of large wood on beach. More kelp beds than I remember offshore (low tide made visibility better).

The beach was unusually clean of debris.

Clear, calm 30' morning. Beachside campground being prepared for spring break opening. One person walking beach, 1 Western gull flying Drift line content- shells, pebbles and some crab and mole crab parts. Notable observation is that debris fro boats has lessened considerable in the past two years. Only a few pieces of plastic and food wrappers removed. No ropes, larger Styrofoam pieces, or bottles, that often were the bulk of what we removed were seen. CLEAN BEACH!

Cleaned off beach -- not much beach due to sand migration I would guess.  Super quiet

Beautiful sunny morning, lite wind, a bit on the cool side.  No shore birds, some gulls, a few crab shells, not much on beach with exception of a lot of tree debris (driftwood) high on beach.  A little plastic debris and outside of the cabinet on beach pretty clean. 

Came across a few patches of what look like Market Squid egg cases, the first we've seen on the Oregon coast.

Jean just sent this link about them: https://aquarium.org/market-squid-eggs/ Thanks, Jean.

Difficult to stay upbeat along Schooner South today as the "microplastic" debris is overwhelming. In doing a COASST survey on the same day in a 20"x20" survey square I had 225 (!!!) pieces of plastic with 62 nurdles, 57 pieces of styrofoam and multiple other pieces. We also had lots of plastic bottles on the south end of Schooner and many pieces of nylon and polyethelene rope. The erosion is revealing more of the plastic black pipes that are now starting to break mid-cliff level. No deceased birds seen. 2 crabs noted in high wrack line. 

Nothing out of the ordinary observed on Heceta Beach today with one exception - an adult-sized purple Ochre sea star washed up at the high water line (photo).  Haven't seen any of these guys on Heceta Beach for several years.  They were commonly observed on the beach prior to the eruption of the sea star wasting disease several years ago.  One skate species egg case (Mermaid's Purse) also washed up on the beach (photo).

The northern segment of this mile was a real shocker on this rainy morning close to low tide and 38 degrees: I couldn't access the beach at the lighthouse parking lot because the stormy/king tides had created a dangerous dropoff. So I drove north to backtrack and explore what winter has wrought. Lots of logs and branches and grasses, also stones and shell fragments and considerable plastic litter that came in with the tides: water bottles, milk jugs, sheets, pieces of nameless utility. No people (no surprise because it was raining), no dead things. A large flock of gulls was near the jetty, and several sanderlings ran along the wet sand. Erosion of the vegetated foredune was endemic along most of this segment.

The southern part of the mile had its share of storm-caused erosion, but not as severe. The drift line contents were similar to the northern segment's. Again no people or dead things. Gulls and crows numbered among the living.

Evidence of driving on dunes where vehicles aren't allowed.

Very minimal activity noted today, likely as a result of the high tide and it being a Monday. We noticed a very high concentration of washed up moon jellies, unlike what we have seen in the past.

It was a gorgeous day on the beach. Quite a few people were out and fewer dogs than usual. I did not appreciate any major changes in the amount of erosion occurring along either Ocean View Drive or Yachats Ocean Road.  2 surfers were out where the Yachats River empties into the ocean. 

Beach relatively clean.

Dead cow elk.  It appeared to have broken a hind leg.  A mystery as to how it ended up on the beach. It did not appear to have been in the water very long.    It was a beautiful cold winter day.  The beach has alot less driftwood accumulated then in previous years.  We got just a few #'s of trash.  My guess is that I am not the only one continually picking up trash.  I am on this section of beach on average 4-5 times a week. It is nice to see an increse of people using the jetty and mile 290.

Nothing unusual to report.

This was a lovely sunny day with a strong wind from the northeast making it quite cold.  The water was far out leaving a clean bright beach.  Previous tides had cut away the sand leaving steep cliffs over 8 feet high at the north end, with the large wood deposited last year holding the rest of the sand behind.  One fat tire track had been made at the high water line, and there was a wrack of sticks up there.  No wrack had been deposited after that.  There was a couple of small flocks of shore birds, no debris and no bird carcasses.  9 people and 6 dogs were walking with only 3 cars in the parking lot.  What was noteworthy was a herd of elk grazing in the dunes by the parking lot.  And just south of this mile, the dunes have been completely bulldozed to eliminate the non-native beach grass and provide a gentle slope down to the beach proper, in the hope that the snowy plover would find this more suitable for nesting.  Right now it looks like a moonscape with nothing but bulldozer tracks back to the trees.  One last observation was over on the shore of the bay where there was a wreck of jellyfish left on the high tide line. 

Big winter waves pulled many feet of sand off the beach, exposing some rock and gravel beds. Sand is gradually filling back in. They also made an impact on the bluffs, creating some small erosion. Wrackline had hundreds of small plastic pieces in some areas, much more than is common. Large debris consisted of 8 pieces of lumber and plywood.

Beach very clean, no man-made refuse noted. Beach very wide, sand has built up at foot of foredune.

Sand removal and riprap restoration taking place north of access 50A.  Some unofficial access points unusable due to erosion.  Beach at northern end of the mile wide for this time of year, but erosion threats on southern end.

Walked the bulk of the mile with Wayne Hale and Starla Nelson. Beautiful day. Minimal debris/garbage (1 plastic grocery sack full as well as a piece of a red brick and 5 pieces of wood). Deposited collection next to the garbage cans at the Roads End parking lot.

Another bright clear day on the northern Oregon coast. Swarm after swarm of Dunlin & Sanderlings kept whizzing past us, always from north to south. In all... conservatively there were >1,500 Dunlin & >800 Sanderlings. Most amazing.

A pack of coyotes was caterwauling off in the distance by the 2 chunky concrete barricades on the way in. Or maybe, knowing how coyotes are, two of them were simply in concert, I'm not sure. 5 female Western Bluebirds greeted us from the Camp Rilea fence on the way in but were gone when we returned.

Lots of wood in the tide line suggests to me the recent storm action is at work.  Driftwood was partly blocking the trail to the beach.  There was water surging up Blowout Creek when the water came up.    Small bits of colored plastic were on the beach but the waves prevented their removal.    A sneaker wave effect was occuring as waves stacked up and the water came way up.  Lots of foam on the beach was caused by the 12' surf.  

It was a cold February morning with little animal and human activity. Access is limited to observation well back from the surf in most spots and the housing complex limits observation of around 40% of mile 227. In this initial visit there was no attempt to gain legal access through private property. Vegetation appeared healthy, trails to shore were few and well used. Human impact was light, in my opinion, with very little litter found. My main concern is a recently erected tree stand in a clump of trees and the trail cut through the brush. I need to confirm land ownership where the tree stand and fire rings are found. Attachments: Map and Photos 

Some King Tide photos

Bluff retreat and wave-overtopping observed at the back of the beach on this mile.  One vehicle present in an area where they are allowed--the beach otherwise completely deserted during this visit.

Cloudy, rainy day.

41 degrees F

2 people walking on beach

4 people rockhunting

1 dog observed on beach

A lot of small plastic pellets found on Stonefield Beach

A lot of sand has been removed by wave action. Large amount of gravel has been deposited at outlet of Tenmile Beach causing the outlet to form an S shape and empty into the ocean further south then in the past.

Watch carried out at maximum King Tide.  Nothing unusual to report.  The beach has assumed a typical winter profile and dune erosion was evident (see attached photos).  It was an unimpressive King Tide  with just a 6', 13 second, NW swell.

Some King Tide photos

Wonderful day at my favorite beach during King Tide!           

Mild weather for President's Day brought out the beach-goers of all kinds. We spotted many people walking, (razor)clamming, surfing, and playing around. The tide was the lowest we have seen which is expected during the King tides. An hour before low tide we were able to walk out to the red spray paint on the South Jetty. A highlight of the beach walk was finding snowy plovers nesting in the wrack line. Upwards of around a dozen had dug shallow holes where they sat. So cute!

Some photos at King Tide

The Peter Iredale shipwreck in Fort Stevens State Park, from shortly after wrecking in October, 1906, to the February 18, 2019, maximum king tide.

I wanted to take this survey on Feb. 14th or 15th--middle of the quarter but there was rain. This survey was taken the evening before King Tide.

The winter has caused erosion exposing more pipes, more landslides, etc.

Nice weather, a negative tide, and got several photos of sea stars--Lincoln County Historical map called this section Starfish Beach.

A very nice day. Went to try and get better photos of the Harlequin group I saw last time, but if they were there, they were out of range for photos. My battery ran dead fairly soon anyway. I observed a strange tidepool creature, but had no camera! This report should be taken with the last one I did as the last one I covered the Northern portion of my mile and this time I covered more to the South. I did find a lot more garbage on the Southern edge, but also found a nice number of sea stars. Good to see them coming back.

A bright sunny day with lots of people and dogs. The people and dogs may be why we saw far fewer birds than usual.

We saw very little wildlife on our walk but it was the middle of a sunny day and there were many people out on the beach rock hunting so I'm sure that had some impact. As noted in our previous report in December, a lot of sand has washed off the beach, presumably due to wave action during storms. This has exposed large stretches of small rocks and cobbles making it attractive during low tide to people looking for agates. 

Lots of people and dogs on a bright sunny day. The people and dogs are possibly why we saw far fewer birds than usual.

It was a pretty calm day at the beach. I seen nothing out of the ordinary.

Had hail for part of the walk. I think that kept a lot of people indoors.

Cloudy afternoon, with light winds from the NW, only 1 person, walking seen on beach during our walk. High winter tide lines to edge of vegetation, with some kelp, wood pieces, shells and pebbles, along with 10 pounds of ocean based plastic, and rope-, removed. Only 1 gull seen at a distance. Usual winter high tide sand scouring at the S. entrance of Beachside campground path to beach. Beach walk a welcome outing after heavy rains, stormy past few days.

Sunny windless morning with few people on the beach. Tracks of ORV up dune and down from earlier... some tracks on lower beach had been wiped out by earlier wave action. Dune shows sign of waves eating away still more of the bank, probably from earlier king tides. A Peregrine Falcon was north on the beach when we arrived, flew to the top of rock outcropping north of the McPhillips Park access road apparently chasing off two Ravens. Lots of stranded jellyfish on the beach, presumably Moon Jellies. Wrack line all the way up to dune in places.

During the survey there were 8 total people and 1 dog recorded on the beach. Wind speeds were averaging in the mid to high 20's and about half way through this survey we had the onset of rain showers. Large amounts of driftwood and trash seem to be washing up along this mile. No unusual animal sightings. 3 black oystercatchers were seen feeding along the shoreline. 6 gulls were consistently feeding on clusters of mussels and urchins during this survey. A handful of jellies were seen washed up on the beach, likely crystal jellies.

I normally don't report on Mile 190 but since I've been a volunteer naturalist/interpretive ranger at Cape Perpetua since 2008, I can report on those things that have been changing over the years.  I walk the Captain Cook , Cape Cove, and Restless Waters trails every Sunday.  Since the south half of Mile 190 is not accessible to casual pedestrian traffic due to a rough and jagged volcanic rock shoreline with no trails of any sort, this report will cover just the paved trails and accessible north half of Mile 190.

Easily the most commonly asked question we answer is "Where is Thor's Well?"  Signs were installed several years ago, but most were quickly stolen and have not been replaced.  Previously known in the 1980s as the "Toilet Bowl", this feature has a huge Internet-based presence and it seems everyone just has to walk out to it for photography with everything from el cheapo point-and-shoots, smart phones, to super high-end cameras.  Since the entire rocky shoreline is technically a state park, its all public property.  The latest trend is to march out there, stand at the edge with your back to the ocean and take your "selfie" with the waves crashing ashore behind you.  We frequently see people get knocked down by waves, causing lots of "rock burn", the occasional broken bone(s), ruined electronics, and a fatality/drowning two winters ago.  It's perfectly safe to go out there at low tide, but approaching Thor's Well near high tide or with large swells crashing ashore is hazardous to your health and potentially fatal.

Since the drowning, we have replaced all of the way-too-wordy "sneaker wave" signs with a simple graphic warning sign (photo).  We positioned the signage so that no matter how you approach Thor's Well, you must walk by two warning signs. The term "sneaker wave" does not translate well into Chinese or Texan, so we removed all references to that term and instead use internationally recognized symbology indicating "Danger!".  We have since observed a definite improvement in visitor behavior and concern for their own safety, although there will always be that 2% of clueless risk-takers we refer to as "Darwin Award Candidates".  They get knocked down frequently.

Oregon state parks have recently installed general warning, location identifier, and beach safety signs at Cape Perpetua.  New tsunami inundation and safety maps have also been installed at all highway trail access points (photo).

The recent "King" tides have swamped the Spouting Horn lower observation platform and damaged the stub trail leading to the tide pools (photos).  A collapsing sand bank undermined the Cape Cove trail alongside Hwy 101, requiring the Forest Service to build a temporary bridge over the collapsed section (photo).  The last set of King tides washed away the base of the slide, which will likely re-activate the bank failure. ODOT has been notified of potential undermining of Hwy 101.

The recent King tides also re-arranged the driftwood log pile at the base of Cape Creek, throwing huge stumps and logs high into the salal - never seen that before! (photo).

The Forest Service has approved a complete re-building and re-paving of the Cape Cove and Restless Waters trails this year.  The 1960s vintage asphalt is badly broken and buckled by tree roots, pavement edges are crumbling, and several pedestrian injuries have recently occurred here due to the uneven and broken surfaces (photo).  Mile 190 ends at the scenic bench out on the point. Mile 191 continues north past Devil's Churn and around the point of Cape Perpetua but there is no pedestrian trail on the north side of the "Churn".  I've scrambled around the point in the past, but it's rough, jagged basalt rock requiring serious scrambling and careful foot placement on slippery, crumbly rocks.  Due to cliffs and a large sea cave on the NW side of the Cape, it is impossible to continue north towards Yachats and to the north end of Mile 191.

FYI - The Forest Service will also be replacing all of the wood structure (roof, beams, posts, and shingles) of the West Stone Shelter, at the top of Cape Perpetua this September.  This will structured as a "Passport In Time" project, with a professional restoration team assisted by volunteers. The volunteer information should be posted soon.

There weren't many people out at the time of our survey, mostly just a few groups walking dogs. It looked like a fair amount of driftwood washed up recently. Also it looked like some sand was dumped near the 61A marker. 

Mile 99 is showing the usual changes in sand shifts and creek configurations for winter. The major change from a few months ago is the large amount of non-organic debris in the wrack lines and along the bluffs. I picked up approximately 15-20 pounds of plastics, styrofoam and rope ( 3 five gallon bags) along mile 99 over 2 days on Jan 29 and 31.

vehicle tracks (not car tracks; perhaps a motorcycle)? One person collecting driftwood

Nice morning to end my 2019 reports for Mile 200.  

Much of Mile 238 is being worked on due to erosion issues, and trucks/bulldozers are coming in throughout the day during the work week. Beach access 50B is usable, as is Seagull Lane. However, no other accesses north of that point are usable at this time until approaching 50. There is considerable drop-off eroded area at access 50A, and at accesses between lots 281 and 283, between lots 299 and 301, and between lots 331 and 333. Some equipment is left in place overnight, blocking areas around 307/308 and 349. These accesses are dangerous right now. Equipment has created some temporary accesses for their use only. Some days, walking on the beach from access 50 to 50B is possible, but most days there are several areas along that stretch where waves are coming all the way in to the rip-rap, no matter what the tide level. 

Little wire bundles in wrack line, around the Point, at the north end of Roads End beach.  (Mile 245 and into mile 246)  Coincidently, this area also marks the northern boundary of the Cascade Head Marine Reserve, where crabbers have been busy setting their traps.

There were a couple of firsts on this survey.  This is the first one we have done after missing the last equinox and solstice time slots.  It was good to be back at it.  We can blame bad weather,  high surf, and a nagging leg injury for the delay.  It was also the first time that we have seen a large group and bald eagles working on a carcass.  There must have been over a dozen of the big birds.  And lastly we saw a single gull over something in the surfline.  It turned out to be a possum.  How did it get into the ocean?  Maybe an eagle grabbed it and let it go over the ocean.

I do have to comment on the fencing and restrictions that are in force during the spring through fall.  This is for plover protection.  There are small signs directing people and their animals away from the fenced area and to the wet sand.  BUT on this sign is a dog icon with an slash throught it.  It is off limits to all dogs.  I searched for "Bayocean Spit Hike."  There are pages of sites.  All talk about a great family hike.  I only saw 1 that said dog restrictions are in effect.  But it said dogs must be on leashes.  This hike is widely promoted, but many famlies and individuals with dogs will be in violation.   If you really want to protect nesting birds,  put up large signs saying all dogs must be leashed.  And post a phone number to report violations.  The current situation is foolish and wrongheaded.

A beautiful day, sunny with very little wind.  The sand is mostly gone except for the first section of the beach by the parking lot.  All the rocks have brought out the agate hunters.  The big storms have moved the small cobbles inland to block the exit to Tenmile Creek which now zig zags farther to the south.  We saw very few birds, recording only four species.  4 Black Oyster Catchers, 4 Brandt's Cormorants, 55 Surf Scoters out in the water, and some gulls, but not very many.   We have been checking the mile since 2002 and that is only the second time we have had that few species, the other was in Sept. 2016.  Our highest numbers have been in June, with 22 species one year. 

Sitting on our sunny patio in 65 degrees this January day, we thought it would be a good day to do our Coastwatch mile.  It was a different story once we got out on the beach and were facing the hearty, chilly north wind.  More debris than usual no doubt due to recent storms and the large amount of driftwood pushed far up the beach, which tends to trap plastic bottles and styrofoam pieces.  There were NO SEALS at the tip of the Salishan Spit, which is their usual hangout, but we spotted a few in the water.  

The most notable change has been the movement of sand from the northern half of the beach which occurs each winter.  Although it restores each summer and early autumn it has lessened over the past 20 years.

One of those beautiful, warm, calm January days.. nothing eventful to report...

This observation was most notable for the dramatic erosion that had occurred two months since I had last walked the mile. Just prior to this January visit, there had been a couple of major winter storms with high winds and seas that occurred in conjunction with king tides - and the powerful effect of the storm surf was quite impressive. Waves had carried driftwood far onshore, overtopping the foredune and depositing it in significant quantities behind the dune. There was also considerable erosion - at least 3-4 feet of sand (and maybe more) had been carried out to sea, leaving newly sculpted faces and breaks on the foredune. Photos below illustrate the erosion. The only before/after photos I have to show the full extent of the erosion are of the exposed root structure of the 'hobbit tree'. (I've called this large piece of buried driftwood the 'hobbit tree' in honor of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Years ago, when almost all of this root structure was exposed above the sand, someone painted the whole thing with blue paint and stamped white hand prints on top of the blue paint, much like was done in the Lord of the Rings movies. Small portions of the blue paint still remain on protected areas of the wood). In the December photo, only the very topmost branch of the root structure is visible above the sand, In the January photo, nearly four feet of the root structure is exposed.

The other observation of note was the extremely large amount of smaller pieces of plastic in the drift line. This is the first time I've encountered so much very small plastic (1 inch or less in width) in such huge quantities. The sheer volume of the plastic is of concern, as there is far too much to pick up manually. Maybe Coast Watch could invest in the invention of some sort of 'sand sweeper' to clean it up??

50' cloudy morning with light breeze from SW. Mod amount broken clam shells, pebbles, along tideline. 9 people walking beach, beachside campground closed, host present. Some sandy erosion present along grassy bluff line with recent king tide and winter storms. several med. size Styrofoam pieces, brown paper, 1 yellow crab bait packing strap removed, about 10 lbs. No wildlife- dead or alive present along beach. In campground several varied thrushes, and a small flock of kinglets were visible in the spruce canopy. Nice weather for a winter morning.

Very quiet day, despite the fine weather. Saw a boat closer in than I've ever observed. 3 Cormorants and a flock of Harlequin ducks. Two Sea Stars. 3 Chiton, one a gumboot I'll swear I photographed years ago when it was a baby. Found an unusual net. Wasn't prepared to haul out any garbage. My bad.

Digging out after January's king tides.

Since my October visit, large amounts of vegetated foredune has occurred along about 90% of Mile 23. The south end has escaped it. Up to as much as 30 feet of foredune has been lost especially in the region around the yellow location sign number 184. Much of  large pile of driftwood that has accumulated on the beach that is protected by the  huge offshore rocks has been re-distributed north and south of it's original spot.

Lots of sea foam on Heceta Beach this afternoon.  This stuff is almost pure white compared to the greenish-tannish foam usually seen in the fall.  Small groups of sanderlings feeding in the surf outwash was about the only observed wildlife today.

The recent "king" tides sloshed up against the grass-covered foredunes, undercutting the hummocks in various locations, most notably on the south half of Mile 171.

A MLK Day hike on our beach mile--a very mild day with a beach that had been swept clean by a very high set of tides. We saw more sandpipers than usual and only a few gulls. On the return walk we walked close to the bluff. Areas that had collections of seaweed and small driftwood, also had small pieces of plastic of various colors. We noticed six boats (crabbers?) off shore in the distance.

A throwback to a couple years ago...the black sand is back along with some previously exposed remains of plastic rope and an assumed crab ring buried deep in the sand.  Very clean beach, probably the result of the King tide clearing out whatever was present.  Found just a small amount or plastic stuff but not a single plastic bottle...that doesn’t happen very often!  Thanks to the two Kings...Tide and M.L.K.