Mile 131 - Horsfall Beach, Oregon Dunes NRA - December 31, 2014

Report Details

On the last day of the year, the full sun, light wind and low tide in late afternoon made for a beautiful day at Horsfall Beach. About a dozen of us wandered, and a half dozen ATVs headed south with lights at dusk. Sadly, a California sea lion lay dead high on the beach by the south access trail from the parking lot. He had a deep puncture wound and was missing some hide on his shoulder. I have reported this to the OSU Marine Mammal Stranding hotline. The sea lions have been dying from a bacterial infection. I also found two dead birds, one that appears to have been shot. At the water's edge, the low tide made for wonderful tidepools, eddys and sandbars. The beach rise to the dunes was very gradual, not the steep cut that I'd seen in previous visits. It appears that sand has been deposited against the dunes rather than eroded. Not much visible trash.

Conditions

Temperature: 40 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: N. Tide Level: 0.4 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 14. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 7. Several families out exploring at low tide.Four ATVs headed south on the wide beach at dusk.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 7. RVs/Buses parking: 2. ATVs/OHVs on beach, allowed: 5.

Notable Wildlife

Two Western gulls; half-dozen small plovers

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 2. Larger bird, Buller's shearwater? (see photo);smaller bird, no I.D.

Stranded Marine Mammals

Total stranded mammals: 1. Dead California sea lion, high on the beach just west of the south access trail from the Horsfall parking lot.Had a deep puncture wound; has been reported to OSU.

Driftline Content

Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Shells, Small rocks.

Actions & Comments

It appears that sand has been deposited against the dune, or that dune erosion has been minimal. The slope from the foredune is gradual; there is no steepness as I've seen in previous visits.