Mile 109 - Whisky Run, Fivemile Pt, south end Merchants Beach - September 3, 2019

Report Details

Perfect weather, weekday, one day after holiday weekend. Quiet beach. No trash observed. Seven vehicles in parking lot upon arrival. Five when I left approximately 90 minutes later. Nobody was fishing, surfing, or otherwise playing in the water. Most folks walking dogs. Three vehicles observed driving on the beach (legal). Two people were rock hunting with pole devices. I spoke to them to determine what they were doing (I thought they may have been clamming). Beach was very clean. Limited washed ashore debris of shell casings, seaweed, wood. A couple of dead crabs. Bluffs looked healthy but there are a few bald spots near Five Mile Point. Minor to moderate rock sliding observed at the point. Only one access to this stretch of coast, which borders on two private properties, each owned by different business entities with the same contact person. Did not see any reason to contact owner. Graffiti observed on one of the monument rocks. Abundant driftwood. didn't appear to be any harvesting. Overall, a very healthy section of the coast.

Conditions

Temperature: 72 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 0.3 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 15. Number of dogs: 7. Walking or running: 15. Other Activities: 3 vehicles driving on beach.. All people observed were walking, some with dogs. Two people observed rock hunting at surf line.

Concerns

Apparent violations: n/a.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 7. Cars/trucks on beach, allowed: 3.

Notable Wildlife

A colony of seagulls observed north of Five Mile Point, on the beach and on rocks in the water. Estimated 75-100.

Beached Birds

n/a

Stranded Marine Mammals

n/a

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

n/a

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces.

New Development

Drainage pipes. This was a baseline visit. I observed a large drain pipe running east to west on the north side of Whisky Lane. It can be observed from the parking area. Possibly feeds into Whisky Creek?

Man-made Modifications

Graffiti observed on one of the beach monument rocks.

Natural Changes

Landslides/major boulder falls, Visible retreat of solid bluff. Again, this was a baseline visit. Some erosion observed along bluff, mostly near Five Mile Point. Light to moderate rock sliding at the point. Most of bluff had solid vegetation. A few bare spots noted with photos and video.

Actions & Comments

Baseline visit. Photos and video footage available.