Mile 202 - North Spit Alsea River - April 25, 2021 | Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

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At the Bayshore Beach Club beach access, I posted a "Snowy Plovers Are Here!" sign, then walked down to where two plover nests had recently been discovered and roped off. There were no birds at either nest, and later in the day another Plover Patrol volunteer confirmed that both nests had failed--one from unknown causes, the other, based on the condition of an egg at the nest, probably a victim of predation, most likely crows. A few plovers were hanging around near the two roped enclosures, and that afternoon a new nest was discovered with two eggs. Later in the week we'll help Doug Sestrich the Beach Ranger remove the enclosures around the failed nests and rope off the new nest. Last year at this time, the forty or so plovers that wintered here were dispersing to nest elsewhere, but many of the nearby beaches are flat and bare after winter storms, without the sparse vegetation and small driftwood favorable for nesting, so some nesting pairs are apparently trying their luck here, which unfortunately hasn't been very lucky so far.

Conditions

Temperature: 50 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: SW. Tide Level: 6.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 44. Number of dogs: 10. Walking or running: 40. Sitting: 4. Other Activities: During the last few COVID-time beach walks, people were mostly alone or in pairs. Now, there were some groups of 4 and 6 walking together..

Notable Wildlife

4 Western Snowy Plovers; an Osprey circling over Alsea Bay (no Ospreys were seen at the wind exposed nest platform in the Bayshore Beach Club parking lot); the cluster of gulls that usually sit at the bay's edge were circling close over the water, maybe a school of fish there.

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Shells, Wood pieces. The beach was clean.

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Jon French

CoastWatcher

All Mile 202 Reports

Date

Showing 8 of 60 reports

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

March 7, 2024

Mile 202 beach accesses and exits are now restricted because of erosion and sheering off of the sand cliffs along its northern portion, so I now need to plan for a receding tide if I want to walk the entire mile safely.

Jon French

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

January 28, 2024

After finding forty beached Cassin's Auklets on Jan.

Jon French

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

October 30, 2023

A beautifully calm, sunny day, maybe the last for awhile, with a fifteen mile view from Seal Rock to Cape Perpetua and hardly anyone on the beach except for two surf fishers and a couple valiantly trying to launch a kite with no wind.

Jon French