Mile Report Browser

Some beach accesses are not presently usable. Seagull Lane/Beach Grass Lane access is being used by heavy equipment and area should be avoided. Accesses at lot 281, Circle Road, #50A and at lot 333 are dangerous drop-offs. A new access between lot 347 and 349 is usable and leads straight out to the beach. The beach has an unusual amount of debris. King tides will start next month.

strange bright liquid oozing out of bluff bank (photo attached), trail down bluff well used and causing erosion (photo attached)

3 of the 16 people hunting for nurdles, toxic plastic pellets, as part of a world wide catalog in October of the extent of nurdle pollution

There had been some shot gun activity at this beach. lots of wads on the beach. Found two dead emaciated birds. never seen that before. 

Beautiful day to hike in to Crescent Beach.  Saw gulls chasing an adult eagle by Chapman Point, a pair of hawks gliding overhead for over an hour and a half, and six black oystercatchers foraging on a rock at the end of Crescent Beach.  Tide was fairly high, so there were not many people on the beach.

Entered the beach at Patterson State Park to start the mile. As I started walking south near the ocean, there were little pieces of jellyfish on the tide line. I continued walking south and saw kelp, bull kelp, feathers, some crab pieces, a few moon jellies, and a couple of pieces of wood with nails in them. Observed 2 dead birds near the tide line and 3 bird skeletons near the bluffs. Many walkers were enjoying the sunny, windless morning. Reached the end of the mile and walked back near the dunes and bluffs. One of the goals today was to look for nurdles. The strand line was obvious and it was easy to find microplastics in the clumps of sticks and seaweed. I sorted through some of the clumps looking for nurdles. Most of the microplastics were small white round little pieces that were squishy and appeared to be styrofoam. I also found larger pieces of styrofoam near them. I did find 1 small (2mm) rigid white piece of plastic, most likely a nurdle. By no means did I do an exhaustive nurdle hunt, so I suspect where there is one there are many. 
 

Florence had some rain but when we got to the mile it was just overcast and kept getting brighter.   A lot of gulls and crows were sitting on the rocks near the ocean.  Usually they are on the sand or by the fresh water coming from the creek.  This time of year the sand is leaving the beach but in the middle section it was higher than in the summer.  Very unusual.   We saw 11 species of birds, two of them were new for our mile.    The tide was high so we only saw one harbor seal that was in the water.  One orange sea star out on the rocks.

The was a lot of Ball Kelp on the beach, more than you would normally see, other than that everything appeared normal. I also saw about 25 Western Gulls, 2 Harbor Seals. and 3 Pelagic Comorants.

Nothing noteworthy.

With the November 2nd election approaching, yard signs are up on Oceania Drive, which parallel's Mile 202's Bayshore Beach, supporting and opposing Lincoln County ballot initiative 21-203, which would restrict and phase out short term rental vacation houses (STRs) in certain unincorporated residential areas of the county, including Mile 202 and all of the Bayshore community.  Of the approximately 60 residences on Oceania fronting Mile 202's beach, Lincoln County Assessor records show that only seven or so are locally owned, more than twenty owned by out-of-staters, and the remainder owned by Oregon residents outside of Lincoln County. Meredith Lodging, an STR management company, has donated $200,000 towards efforts to defeat 21-203, and perhaps not surprisingly, there are more signs on Oceania houses opposing than supporting the measure. On the beach side of a few of the Oceania houses, I came upon the remains of some construction debris that had been dumped onto the dunes and which I reported to one of our local Beach Rangers. Otherwise, a beautiful day on Mile 202.

High tide reaching close to vegetation (composed of European beach grass) above the waveslope. Beach condition pristine; no litter (except for a fresh half eaten sub sandwich sitting on a log). Flock of gulls at mouth of Winchuck including a couple Heerman's gulls. 

Two locations with various degrees of erosion.  One consists of a large chunk of the bluff that broke loose and landed on the beach.  The second is erosion around a large drain pipe that extends to the beach from an unstable bluff area.

A pleasant day at South Cove, not many visitors. A stranded California Sea Lion, a call went out to the Stranded Marine Mammal Network. Saw a Mottled Sea Star, Evasterias troschelii, and may do a Sea Star Survey, even though I saw no Sea Stars suffering Wasting Disease. I aslo saw no Nurdles. I did however see two deer. Theywere on the beach for a bit, then traipsed over the cliffs. Saw a dead crab and gumboot chiton. Saw 3 people fishing, one was using WD40 and stated the rainbows in the water attracted fish. This is a myth, BTW, and no good reason to pollute the water, but it is not illegal. WD40 does what it can to disabuse people of this notion. It seems to me there is less drift wood at the South Cove than usual. 

10 people on beach, including 5 birdwatchers, 2 dogs (one of which was off leash), people walking with off leash dog allowed dog to chase gulls and were pushing a flock of sandlerings down the beach in front of them. 8 dead birds (reported to COASST) mostly common murres as expected here. Snowy Plovers at the north end of the mile.

Clear, quiet mid-week day with surprisingly few people. Photo shows NW 15th Street, Lincoln City, Oregon, high sand and high tide but not at the highest tide for the day.

Beach access area has been repaired and access is easier than before. Most people were being respectful. One family was allowing children to climb up embankments south of beach access. 2 people were working together with a hoe to collect something from the base of embankment north of the beach access area. No obvious large debris from recent visitors but many microplastics along the high tide lines.

It was a beautful day to walk our mile.  No real action on the Salishan spit part of our mile, but lots of activity and people on the Mo's side.

4 people walking on beach; 4 people digging for agates; 1 unleashed dog; no vehicles, but tracks were present. Beach swept mostly clean by recent tides; very little trash or plastic; no "nurdles" (plastic pellets) observed; 5 western snowy plovers resting together in dry sand; 1 alive stranded duck (brief look - unknown species); 1 dead brown pelican; 3 dead common murre. Area of cut shore pines on bluff (likely private property, but unknown). Notice of pesticide spraying posted at Paradise Point parking area.

Busy busy day at the cape.  500 cars parked is just a number, lot was full people circling for a spot.   We saw three wedding parties and one engagement party.  Many walkers, surfers and sitters present.  Minor garbage, plastic toys and cigarette butts main garbage seen.  

The northern half of this mile was engulfed by thick fog, but still attracted two other beach goers searching for agates. A large flock of gulls gathered near the jetty as low tide neared. There was no visible litter. Scores of small clear jellies marked the tide lines. So did small rocks, sand dollars, sea palms and kelp. Bullards allows beach access only from 7 a.m. to dusk.

The southern half the next day was cloudy with southerly winds. Two people and one leashed dog walked the beach. Four common murres were dead in the tide lines. Also there were bull kelp, small stones, sea grass, sea palms, mostly small clear jellies and clusters of mussels. Dog bags of waste constituted the only litter. They were pretty obvious in red bags, but the people left them anyway. Much of the driftwood was covered by sand or taken out to sea. What remained largely was used for huts.

Foggy, Temp 53 degrees F, Wind 5 mph from the NW

Low tide at 0840 listed as 2.46' and High tide at 1442 listed as 6.46'

31 people and 3 dogs observed doing a variety of activities. This included kite flying which is the first time we have observed this.

Fat tire bicycle tracks were observed in the sand

1 dead Common Murre was found and reported to COASST

Buried tire in sand just south of Agate Creek. (pic 26) This had been a step for the beach access stairs leading up to 95648 Hwy 101

Old set of stairs coming down from 95500 Hwy 101 that were damaged during the winter storms has been repaired with a new large base installed at the bottom. (pic 32 with a comparison photo taken on 4/17/2021 (pic32)). Previously the steps sat on rocks and sand. Earlier photos available

There was an increased amount of sand observed on the beach.   (pic 35 with a 2019 comparison of the area (closeup picture))

Tenmile Creek outflow was going straight into the ocean which is a change from its normal serpentine route. (pic 38 with a 2019 comparison of the area (pic 85))

It was a blustery, foggy day on Ocean Beach.  Several people were enjoying the beach from the parking lot overlook perhaps due to the rougher surf and higher low tide.  Most of the sand dunes are gone from the beach and the rock field at the north end of the beach is once again exposed; it's almost agate hunting time!!!  Lots of seagulls hanging out enjoying the beach.  

Rock hunters delight in this otherwise boring stretch of beach; 3 were mining away in a big bed of small stones despite heavy fog and their 4 at-large dogs. One guy was just walking. A large flock of gulls stretched along the water line while sanderling-size birds flitted to and fro. Kelp, small stones and shells marked tide lines, as did numerous small clear jellies and larger specimens in red or gold tones. No litter, probably because of recent winds. Stormy waves had eroded areas of vegetated foredune. Sand drifts were deep along the dune base and may have covered the winter crop of drift wood. Bullards has closed beach access; 7 a.m. to dusk are the open hours. We early risers are out of luck there. 

A beautiful early fall day with very light wind... The only remarkable thing was the extremely low flow in the waterways, lower than I've ever observed here, undoubtedly as a result of the severe/extreme drought in Coos County this year.... Merchant Creek at Seven Devils Wayside was so low that most people took advantage of the opportunity to step across it and hike mile 110... The waterfall cascading down the bluff at about mile 111.5 was barely visible, and only a trickle... I'll attach photos for documentation.

The sand dune that protects the campground is just falling away and revealing an odd collection of large white plastic bags and black landscape cloth that is shredding and flopping around in the wind. Seriously ugly. 

A very mild day on our mile with "flat" ocean waves and smell of clams. The beach was very clean of debris. First time we have seen the carcass of a brown pelican on the mile. 

More debis on the shore this walk. Found rope used for crab pots.

Nothing unusual except for the 6 dead Common Murres.  Dead murres have been reported all along the coast.

There was no human activity on or near the shoreline.  Nothing was observed with respect to wildlife.  No physical changes were observed since the last report.  The only human activity observed was well away from the shoreline - thus not described previously) - on Otter Crest Loop (old hwy. 101), where there was light traffic including a bicyclist and one person with dog in a van "hanging out", and vehicles coming and going from the Lookout area, where one person in a van with a cat was staying for a time.

Relatively large number of people (for mile 211) were enjoying the beach on a sunny, inviting day.  Standing water in the northern part of mile had disappeared and water level in Thiele Creek at north end of mile was very low.  Parking area at Lost Creek Wayside was nearly full.

Sunny, warm day at mile 301 on Monday. Relatively little debris on the sand, with some driftwood high up on the boulders. One enormous stump is still up on high-tide line. We have been observing this stump and taking coordinates since 12/31/2020; it has moved 300 meters southeast in 2021, about 7 meters since 8/7/21. Driftline content: eel grass, small rocks, a few broken sand dollars, and remnants of jellies - I believe a few Aequorea victoria (water jelly) and many, perhaps hundreds, of dime-sized Sea Gooseberry (comb jelly) on the sand. Some boulders nearest the surf have a light coverage of barnacles and seaweed. Five gulls rested on boulders around the halfway mark. Six pelicans observed flying south around Neahkahnie. One disarticulated Dungeness crab being eaten by a seagull on the shore, and about a dozen other gulls hanging out on the sand along the southern quarter-mile. Minimal signs of trash including one plastic bottle cap and a plastic trash bag. In the hour I was observing mile 301, 17 people and 6 dogs (5 off-leash) were viewed walking in the area. 

This mile is not surveyed 4 times a year since it became a designated bird nesting area.  I decided to skip the others since our dog enjoys surveys far more than we do.

The continued closure of Driftwood Wayside for OSU's PacWave wave energy testing project means that today's Mile 204 walk was more like three miles, with few people on the beach despite this being a beautiful sunny day. After the recent storm, the rolling dunes that form in summer are beginning to wear down a bit. Near Buckley Creek, I came upon Turkey Vultures scavenging a carcass which Jim Rice at the Marine Mammal Stranding Network identified as an adult California Sea Lion, the prominent sagittal crest on top of the skull being diagnostic. In the driftlines were numerous bird remains which I believe were young Common Murres. I had taken an injured young Common Murre to the Oregon Coast Aquarium a couple of weeks ago for rehabilitation, and the intake person noted that the young Murres can have a tough time adapting to life at sea and often wash ashore this time of year. 

I was just curious if a person who is knowledgeable about geology could explain what I'm seeing in the cliff here?  It looks like a layer of burned wood in clay, with sandstone above and below.  Location is 44.3531950110978, -124.09542113096815

It was a beautiful day with strong wind, few people, lots of dead Murres, no debris, and no more restrictions for the Snowy Plover. The beach is very long, with old wrack lines of seaweed but nothing at the current tideline.  There were 9 cars in the parking lots but only 7 people seen on the beach, 4 walking, 2 on horseback and one sitting in a little shelter.  No birds except a couple vultures were in the sky.  The restrictions for Snowy Plover nesting have been removed.  And the beach was clean of human debris with the sand built into waves from the wind.  Unfortunately there was a wreck of Common Murres with 16 carcasses found, most pretty fresh.  One brown Pelican, and a Sooty Shearwater were also found.  

A wonderfully blustery, but sunny day! The waves looked enticing if you enjoy surfing! Walked the mile from south to north and didn't see any people until the Adobe. Found one dead bird just south of the Adobe [see picture]. Will use some resources to try to ID the dead bird. Saw more Killdeer than usual, foraging and flying. Was not able to identify several birds swimming past the surf - profile of a cormorant with a slender neck, but dark and white bodies with a dark head. Remarkably few people and dogs on the beach, possibly due to the windy day and time of year. 

A couple fresh dead common murres being fed on by turkey vultures. People with off leash dogs on the beach, some of which disturbed gulls and peep sp.. Snowy plovers on the upper beach. Most beach visitors walking or sitting.

Observed approx. 40 people, 17 dogs, and just a few seagulls.  A very clean drift line including several large jellyfish.  The high tide line and beach fire sites contained the typical momentos left by inconsiderate beach visitors...cans, bottles, plastic, socks (3), masks (2), poop bags (2), and half a dozen beach toys.  12 dead birds were also noted.  Was hoping for a more positive report this time...but alas.

There were 18 people and 6 dogs walking on the beach.

There were about 50 brown pelicans on the beach and about 25 pelicans on nearby Gull Rock.  See picture.

There were pelicans on the shoreline on the previous day at Cove Beach.  See pictures.

The beach was very clean.

Very nice day on the beach, a fair number of folks on beach, very few birds on the islands, Gulls and Cormorants mostly.  One dieing harbor seal just north of mile 101 being proteted by stranding volunteers. Note, unable to add photo of the dead bird as it was greater than the 8 MB limit and do not know how to reduce the size.

I was mistaken in identifying murlettes - they are immature common murres.  The live murre was still alive the following morning (9/13 at 6:30am), but then a crow came and was pecking at it.  

1 live murrelet, 1 dead murrelet, 1 dead cormorant.  Didn't know what to do about the live murrelet on the beach.  Called North Coast Wildlife Center, but it was after hours.  Left the bird on the beach.

Weather was very pleasant which made for an enjoyable September day doing a Coastwatch mile.  It was low tide upon arrival with small waves, gradually increasing in size later in the day. Beach was very clean with hardly any trash or ocean debris, seaweed, or kelp.

Pretty day on the beach,  I was on the beach when the tide was going out, my South Beach tide table indicates the low tide in SB was at 9:43 am & 1.43'.    The water line was pretty far out, alot of the beach often underwater was exposed.    The two dogs (one was mine) on the beach did not chase the few birds I saw: maybe 15 gulls & 10 or 11 crows.  I did hear some bird calls on my way back that I didn't recognize.  I don't do sound direction that well, the sounds seemed to come from over the water--I could see some birds way out over the water, didn't have binoculars w/me so could not even hazard a guess as to identification.    Always possible I was hearing land-based bird calls.   I am very familiar w/the sounds black oystercatchers make so am sure I wasn't hearing them.  

    I saw few people, all appeared to be enjoying a quiet uncrowded time on a beautiful beach or the water.   

The community above/adjacent to the beach is showing signs of being overwhelmed & overrun.   Welcome to Zanzibar in the US!

I've posted no photos as I don't know how to reduce them as required by Coastwatch, and it's my impression CW no longer allows photographers to copyright any photos they post.

Beautiful day at the beach.  Cloudy, but warm and sun shining through the clouds.  Pleasant breeze.

There were many mussel shells clustered at McMinnville beach access, a deep hole (human dug) in front of the Breakers Condos, a lot of clear jellyfish (dead) in the tideline (not wrackline). Saw two dead common murres. There is increased erosion on this mile. 

It was a quiet but foggy moring on cove beach.  A lot of sand has washed up this summer so there was tons of beach for just a 0.5 low tide. Lots of pelicans hanging out by the bird rocks.  There was lots of sand all the way through the arch leading to Arch Cape, and possible to walk in shallow water around the big rock separating the beaches.

This was the first time I've ever seen a shark washed up on the beach. It was spotted the night before by Miles and still seems relatively whole.  No indication as to why it died or had washed up.  The shark is about 3 ft long and was located just north of the bird rocks.

Fog and low visibility were evident during today's survey. Low number of visitors at both beaches as well.

Specifically came out for the new moon low-tide action, and Silver Point delivered. The cave/tunnel was almost fully exposed. Armored Chitons, hidden Dungeness crabs, and a pretty health Sea Star community. Seagulls make up most of the bird population, and they were stoked about all the tidal treats as well. It was a lovely morning. Happy to share the sights with the sparse amount of human visitors. There were no suprising developments on the coastline in terms of man-made or natural changes. It was as beautiful as ever. Mile 311 rules!!!!!

I saw only a few surfers on the beach below the Devils Punchbowl state park trying to surf, but there was not enough wave action to surf. The cliffs appeared to be stable, and there were no falling trees. I did see about 4 Brown Pelicans, 10 Harbor Seals sunning themselves, and some Western Gulls.

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Minimal garbage was found for thIs high use area.  I have heard volunteer citizens frequently clean up this area.  However there were still dog poop bags, discarded or lost jackets, head bands, shoes and some plastic bottle, coffee cup and can garbage visible.  

All the visitors I saw were just taking pictures and enjoying the views. No one went beyond the fences. I saw 5 harbor seals sunning themselves, 20 Brown Pelican. and 26 Common Murres.

Almost half of the people seen were kite surfers. The dead Mola mola was a sigificant find...the first I've found in 5 years of CoastWatch surveys. They are not uncommon in the open ocean near Manzanita but are rare on the beach.

Beach was windswept and empty of debris. However at waterline there were hundreds of jellyfish pieces and a few whole jellyfish. 

Entered the beach at Patterson State Park to start this mile south of Patterson Creek. The creek was easy to cross. The multitude of Crystal Jellies on the driftline continued for the whole mile walking south. Observed 2 dead birds in the driftline and 1 dead bird buried in the sand closer to the dunes. Many walkers and runners were enjoying this beautiful sunny morning, as well as, a family playing in the sand and bikers riding by the surf. The dogs observed were either on a leash or in control by the owner. Reached the end of the mile near Big Stump and walked back near the dunes and bluffs. Saw evidence of erosion of the dunes and observed many large logs on top of the dunes. The bluffs also showed evidence of erosion.
 

Most important observation was the dumped contruction material - mostly wood -  at the end of a rough trail down the west side of dune. Reported it to the staff at the travel center, who also walk the beach, and to the ranger at Harris Beach. Plenty of colorfulful seaweed in the multicolored cobble and in the wrack. A few beachcombers picking up driftwood sticks and rocks. 

A lovely day and the summer sand is still there making it easy to walk.  A lot of people (23)  with their dogs (11)  but most stayed in the first couple sections of the beach.  One group was flying kites.  The tide wasn't really low so we didn't see any seastars out on the rocks.   One section of the beach had a lot of small dead jellyfish but they had been there awhile so we couldn't tell which kind.  Not much wind. A very pleasant day to be there. 

Due to the wind there was not much activity on the beach. there was a bit more trash to pick up caught in the grasses.

There were no sand dollars on the beach.

a photo of the drainfield pipes revealed by the dune eroding

photo of garbage picked up 

Nice day for a walk on beach and saw several others doing same. Started walk with sun, ended with hevy cloud cover and light rain. Beach remains very clean with no plastic bottles, styrofoam, shotgun shells, etc. which were very common in years past. 

Late August  along Mile 99 shows noticably lower sand dunes than in previous years. Both Johnson and Crooked Creeks are at very low levels less than 2 inches deep as they enter the ocean. There is more erosion of the bluff along the east bank of Johnson Creek, with large gorse roots exposed.

Large number of pelicans

3 dead murres were identified at Cobble Beach. 2 of the remains appeared to be chicks and 1 of them was tagged by COASST. It was relatively calm for a Friday afternoon, as there weren't many visitors at either of the beaches. 

A warm foggy day on Ocean Beach brought out lots of walkers enjoying the day.  There are numerous sand dunes on the beach.  The caves mid beach are almost completely filled with sand.  Most dunes are under 6 feet high.  The debris line from mid beach to the north end was filled with a large concentration of jellies of all sizes.  Most were less than 3 inches but some were as large as 10 inches across.  The water was full of them as well.  I also noted several palm kelp in the debris line.  I also noted that the stairs leading to the beach are now covered with graffiti.  On a positive note, I didn't find any trash on this trip.  

Unlike the recent stranding on a beach in Seaside, there were no sand dollars on Roads End beach, not even broken ones.  Truck tire tracks indicate the Park Ranger had been by recently.  A lot of people enjoying a lazy summer day at the beach.

All looked normal for a summer day.

Visited this beach to look for sand dollar or snail die offs reported elsewhere in the last couple of days. Didn't see any live sand dollars, just broken ones - which seemed normal. A few Dungeness shells, different sizes. Very few jellies. Muggy day, warmish water, cloudy, feels like rain. Tire tracks went south of the driving boundary though not too far. 

Large Fishing boat stranded on the sand above the high tide line about 100' from north jetty rocks.  Boat came in sometime Saturday, 8/14.  Several people (with one piece of heavy equipment) were trying to move the boat.  When we left, they were still working on it.  Could not smell any oil or gas.  

The continued exposure of pipes shows continued erosion along the shore cliffs/bluffs. Since I went later in the day there were more people (and dogs) present.

I have changed my routine--I am no longer going down to the northern rock face of Yaquina Head for the "keyhole photo". The slippery rocks finally caught up with me--a slight fall back in May.

An unusal note: I saw an Oregon Coast Trail marker at my usual beach access/egress point. It wasn't there in May (unless I missed it--VERY UNLIKELY). The new (release date of March 15, 2021) OCT trail map has a small map and instructions that would have people leaving the beach and going up the old surfers way on 55th. And in going up, there was no second marker to show which way to go at a triple intersection!!!

Sunny, 61 degrees, Wind light from SW

Low tide at 1106 hours listed at 2.26 feet

6 people and one dog observed on beach

1 broken sand dollar observed on the north end of the mile

10' x 30' area containing lots of clear/translucent "blobs" (possibly jellyfish) on north end of beach by Agate creek

Snowy plover fencing intact and no one violating that rule. Dogs not allowed on beach but dogs did not go into the fenced in area.

Beautiful day at the beach. Large white clam shells and many crab shells.

It was a quiet morning at mile 181.  I didn't find any litter or plastic.  The waves were small.  The beach had dunes which had trapped small ponds of water.  Weeks of windy days has caused this. Usually it's very flat on the sand.  There was a hint of smoke on the western horrizon, otherwise it was clear.  

The beach was quite clean and free from any obvious issues.  

Thousands of 1 inch tubes in the drift line. Not sure what they are some type of invertebrates or casing. The beach has been sculpted into small ridges making walking difficult unless you are walking by the water.

Saw multiple whale spouts close to shore. 

I didn't walk the whole mile on this date.  A friend texted, telling me that there was a dead mammal on the beach.  I walked down and found the dead animal (porpoise or dolphin) and took several photographs.  I reported this to the Marine Mammal stranding people at Oregon State. I did notice that the summer beach has built up quite a bit, and large driftwood logs have begun to submerge in the accumulated sand.

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Large number of people on the beach today.   The dunes are growing and the wind has pushed back a lot of the sand areas that were lost in the storms or last winter.

Flock of 100 + shorebirds, cliff soil graffiti, building of large sand dunes, and interesting ocean lakes seen due to low tide. 

We thought it would be foggy on the beach, given the weather the past few days, but it turned out clear and sunny.  Persistent chilly north wind, though.  The harbor seal colony was a little closer to the mouth of the Siletz River than normal, but all grouped together.  Social distancing is not a thing with them.  Estimated 150 seals or more in the group.  Saw several crystal jellies stranded in the sand at the edge of the rivermouth.  Very little trash ... we picked up 5 small items.

There was nothing unusual to report, despite that many footprints in the cliffside dunes indicate lots of recent visitors.

With the closure of the Driftwood Wayside parking area for construction of OSU's PacWave South wave energy testing project, hardly anyone was on the beach despite this being a beautiful summer weekend. In the Driftwood parking area (and unseen about 120 feet below the seafloor), work continues on the PacWave project. See attached photos, and for details and construction updates see:

http://pacwaveenergy.org/constructionupdates/

A pleasant weekend day out at the Cape brought several groups to the South Cove, despite it not being a minus tide (when I typically do my reports). Three people fishing reported catch 3 fish each. A new water source at the base of the access trail will be monitored. We found two dead animals we couldn't identify. See picture. It was about 6 by 2 inches. An inside of a mussle, maybe?? The underside seemed to have a sort of foot. Didn't take a picture of that.

The whole state park was in the fog. The visitors stayed on the trails and had their dogs and children under control.

I walked Mile 195 with my dog Westly on his eleventh birthday. It was a pleasant day, not too hot or cold. There were fewer beach walkers than I expected at this time when many visitors are escaping heat in the valley. The only unusual item to report is the observation of vehicle tracks along the whole mile of beach, originating farther north. This is evidently a violation, as the beach is posted just north of Starr Creek for "no vehicles."

Beach looks super clean; no litter except for one dog poo bag. People activity concentrated nearer to Vistor Center on south side of river and closer to mouth of river on north side. Activities: surf fishing, family gatherings, walkers; everyone behaving nicely and happy even in the fog (warm with no wind). Observed vehicle tracks in soft sand mid slope. I walked past park boundary south to rental cabins at south end of beach where there were several more people, some with a beach fire and some playing in the ocean. I was on the beach 1.5 hours.

Was a very nice day, but very few people on the main beach. The largest concentration was a family of 7 chatting up the 3 men fishing in the surf on the little beach to the north of Battle Rock. Some of the kids were playing in the sand, there. We did not try to go out very far onto the rocks around the headland. The beach was free from much in the way of litter, and the main beach really only had one person and dog besides the three of us. Not much to see and report on, other than the signs of the beach fires, especially one that looked like it was a giant bonfire. See photo.

Hubbard Creek has "drifted" pretty far north/northwest, but it appears to be natural.

There were several groups of people on the beach and coming down while we did the report. I only counted the cars in the lot when we arrived. There were more when we finished. Most activities appeared "normal" and didn't see anything of concern.

The fog and north wind of the past few days eased this morning, and although there was no sun to speak of, plenty of people and their dogs were out enjoying the beach.

This year's Western Snowy Plover breeding season seems to have concluded, with 48 nests located and monitored on the sand beaches of Lincoln County, 33 of them between Alsea Spit and Seal Rock. This compares to 21 nests located in Lincoln County last year. Unfortunately, only one of this year's nests is known to have hatched a chick, which apparently didn't survive. It's difficult to identify the cause of a nest failure, but predation (probably mostly by crows), tidal over wash, and windblown sand seem to have been major factors. Snowy Plovers winter here on Mile 202, and I encountered 8-10 today in the area where they congregate, perhaps gathering now that the breeding season is effectively over.

Chilly windy morning on 220. Lots of birds: 2 squadrons of pelicans flew over, 4 eagles, 9 Turkey vultures, a bunch of shorebirds and 2 separate gulls who were behaving out of the ordinary. One gull was up against the bluff sitting and not moving (other than his head) and another (pictured) who was in the higher beach area also not moving. This is really uncommon on 220 as most gulls will walk or fly off as you approach. I left lots of distance but tried to see if they were entangled by something (didn't see anything from afar. I post it here only because it was unusual behavior. The usual huge drainage pipes are still becoming more exposed from the bluff. Some plastics but not much with the wind blowing pretty hard.

Quiet cloudy morning with a sprinkling of rain. Very little debris. Sand is building back in on top portion of beach. 

Nice foggy afternoon. Crowded. Interesting to watch the seagull eat the fish. I'm not sure if it killed the fish or scavenged it.