Mile 216 Report

April 18, 2006
by Ranger Bug

Location:
Lincoln
Newport, Nye Beach south
Conditions:
Tuesday 1:30 PM
Cloudy
53° F
Wind:
Moderate from the NW
Tide Level:
4.0 ft
Humans / Pets:
Activities:
Concerns:
Disturbances:
Vehicles:
Activity Comments:
Notable Wildlife:
Dead Birds:
Stranded:
Fish & Invertebrates:
(Velella velella) in broad gray swash rows. There must have been millions of them. I detected them by smell as I approached the beach, long before I saw them.
Driftline:
New Development:
Modifications:
Natural Changes:
Comments:
Summary:
(Velella velella) in broad gray swash rows. The jellies (actually hydrozoans, related to jellyfish) are mostly 5-10 mm (.2-.4 inches) across. The largest specimens I encountered were 20 mm (3/4 inch) across. There must have been millions of them. I detected them by smell as I approached the beach, long before I saw them.
Other Mile 216 Reports (57)

2019

June 3, 2019 - NHS Leadership
Just a usual day on the beach, nothing noticible as far as errousoin. Some dune movement. There were spotty clouds. About 15 people walking, low number possibly due to the high winds making it cold.
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2018

April 29, 2018 - NHS Leadership
Everything was normal on the beach. There was not erosion or anything that was bad. One group of people was smoking but there was no sign of litter.
read more
April 8, 2018 - NHS Leadership
Nothing out of place. No noticible physical changes were observed. There were just a few people were walking and only one dog at the time.
read more

2017

November 9, 2017 - Ranger Bug
While eating lunch at Georgie's Beachside Grill above Nye Beach, I noticed an excavator driving on the beach by the Vietnam Memorial Walk. On further investigation, I found a strip of the cliff...
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  • Excavator on Nye Beach
  • Landslide with Excavator
  • Elizabeth Street Inn Landslide
  • Elizabeth Street Inn Landslide
September 18, 2017 - Volunteer Coordinator
Tagged pinneped- X 536.  Photo sent by Karen Driscoll
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  • tagged pinneped- X536

2016

March 31, 2016 - NHS Leadership
There were 6 people total and people were walking their dogs as well. Some people were on their morning run. It was a foggy morning and cool outside. It was not sunny and wasn't raining. There was no...
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February 1, 2016 - Anonymous
The beach was relatively clean. The driftline consisted primarily of wood pieces, plastic pellets, styrofoam, animal shells and casings. Most notably, we did observe a dead gull and headless,sea lion...
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  • This is the dead seagull we found in our mile.
  • This is the dead sea lion we found.

2015

March 17, 2015 - NHS Leadership
As we were walking the mile there were 18 people walking their dogs. There were 9 cars parked in the parking lot. There were many birds that were alive and flying around. We only discovered one dead...
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January 22, 2015 - NHS Leadership
Beach was being used by many a.m. walkers. Things looked ordinary and will serve as a benchmark for subsequent observations.Attached is a photo the dead marine mammal at the north end of Mile 216.
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  • Badly decomposing. previously reported to marine mammal stranding
January 18, 2015 - Ranger Bug
Quite a few (58) people on the beach, despite the overcast, windy weather. Fifteen people were walking 8 dogs, 5 off-leash, 3 on.One decomposing California sea lion carcass on the sand at the Nye...
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2014

May 10, 2014 - Ranger Bug
The sunny, warm weather has brought numerous people out to the beach. Their major activities were walking, playing in the sand, playing in the surf, and tidepooling. No major infractions: a couple...
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  • Large styrofoam float washed up on Nye Beach, which may or may not be tsunami debris. Length of walking stick 51" (130 cm).
  • Side view of large styrofoam float washed up on Nye Beach, which may or may not be tsunami debris. Yaquina Head in background. Length of walking stick 51" (130 cm).
  • Large pelagic goose barnacles on a styrofoam float, which may or may not be tsunami debris, washed up on Nye Beach.
  • Small pelagic goose barnacles and other organisms on a styrofoam float, which may or may not be tsunami debris, washed up on Nye Beach.
  • Slender tube worm tubes on a styrofoam float, which may or may not be tsunami debris, washed up on Nye Beach.
January 1, 2014 - daveincamas
Went for an evening walk and as we approached the Nye Beach turnaround from the south, we could hear something dropping onto the beach from the turnaround. As we got closer we saw that a pickup had...
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January 1, 2014 - Ranger Bug
Temperate New Year's Day around sunset. Lots of people on the beach. Visibility low due to darkness. 9 people walking dogs: 3 dogs off-leash, 3 dogs on. One regulatory sign at the Nye Beach...
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  • A family was releasing helium-filled mylar balloons into the environment as I approached the beach. Unfortunately, I couldn't get both the family and the balloons in the same photo.
  • The family that freed the balloons from captivity basks in the warm glow of their act (and the sunset).
  • Possibly vandalized regulatory sign.
  • First sunset of the New Year on Nye Beach

2013

September 19, 2013 - Ranger Bug
Nice weather: clear sky with a mild SW breeze. Despite being a weeknight after Labor Day, there were quite a few (74) people on the beach. Only 3 dogs, all on leash. Lots of crab molts on the swash...
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  • New Regulatory Sign at Nye Beach Turnaround
July 7, 2013 - Ranger Bug
Lots of people and dogs on the beach. One loose dog was chasing swallows, but the swallows didn't seem to be affected by it. No significant changes on beach; small sand moguls at the base of the...
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January 2, 2013 - Ranger Bug
Sunny day, but few beach-goers because it was a weekday. As usual, there were people walking dogs off leash, and one dog defecated and its owners didn't clean up after it. Relatively little debris,...
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2012

September 20, 2012 - Ranger Bug
Overcast with a hint of light drizzle. A day of many pelicans. Few people on beach. Not much debris, but lots of eelgrass plus a little seaweed (rockweed, bull kelp, and a couple sea palms) washed...
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  • Many eelgrass plants washed up on the beach were fringed with surfgrass laver (Smithora naiadum), an epiphytic seaweed.
  • Nye Beach was strewn with washed up eelgrass in a broad two-track band probably corresponding to the last two high tides.
June 6, 2012 - Ranger Bug
A quiet day on Nye Beach (it _is_ a weekday morning). Only one dog, and it was on leash. It's nice to see the new "do not harass the birds" signs at major beach access points. Relatively little...
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  • No special reason. I just found this feather attractive.
  • The famous Agate Beach Tsunami Dock as seen from Jumpoff Joe, at the north end of mile 216
  • This lined shore crab (Pachygrapsus crassipes) wandered _away_ from covering rocks onto the open beach. It then scurried toward a woman stopping to photograph it and took refuge under the arch of her shoe. I guess it thought she was tantamount to a rock.
  • These "Do Not Disturb the Birds" signs are a welcome addition at major beach access locations. It remains to be seen whether they will change peoples' behavior
March 17, 2012 - Ranger Bug
Relatively high tide, but still quite a few people on the beach. Not much debris, not many dead animals. Lots of loose dogs.
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  • Erosion fencing on cliff below hotel, above pre-existing rip-rap, north of the Nye Beach turnaround.
  • Mew gulls (Larus canus) on Nye Beach

2011

November 20, 2011 - Ranger Bug
Sunny day before a series of storms arrives. Lots of people (102) on beach. Major activities were walking (39 people) and dog-walking (37 people w/ 22 dogs). Not much washed up on beach, natural or...
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  • Dead common loon (Gavia immer) washed up on Nye Beach. Note gull tracks around the body.
  • A family attempts to beautify the sea wall at the Nye Beach turnaround. It looks like they are using sidewalk chalk. No permanent harm done.
  • Crab trail on Nye Beach
  • Possible snail trail in sand on Nye Beach. According to _The World's Beeches_, by Pilkey et al., the straight portion may be a travel trail, and the curvy part a feeding trail. Presumably, there is a burrow at each end.
  • This and the next photo show a kind of trail I haven't noticed on the beach before. There were tracks of small shorebirds nearby, so they could be where a bird stuck its bill into the sand after invertebrate prey.
  • This photo shows a kind of trail I haven't noticed on the beach before. There were tracks of small shorebirds nearby, so it could be where a bird stuck its bill into the sand probing for invertebrate prey.
September 18, 2011 - Ranger Bug
Cloudy Sunday. Moderate number of people. Almost no trash, doubtless because the fall beach cleanup was yesterday.
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  • Erosion control planting on recent fill below a house on the edge of a cliff near the Nye Beach turnaround (compare to http://www.oregonshores.org/photo.php5?pid=3010, taken on 5/7/2011
  • There was lots of surf- and eelgrass washed up on the beach, but not many animal parts. A notable exception was this egg case from a big skate (Raja binoculata), popularly called a "mermaid's purse."
May 7, 2011 - Ranger Bug
Quiet Saturday, weather cloudy, not much debris on beach, not much wildlife, either. An area of mass slumping beneath a house on the cliff south of Nye Beach turnaround has been filled. A harbor...
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  • An area of mass slumping beneath a house on the edge of a cliff just south of the Nye Beach turnaround has been filled. Compare with photo http://www.oregonshores.org/photo.php5?pid=2400.
  • This harbor porpoise stranded near the south end of Mile 216 on 25 April 2011, where it was illegally crowded by people and dogs before experts could arrive. It had to be euthanized.
March 23, 2011 - Ranger Bug
Despite the wind and partial cloud cover, there were quite a few people walking the beach today. The only significant change in the mile is that the Newport Visual Arts Center, at the Nye Beach...
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  • Formerly a tasteful, if dull, gray, the Newport Visual Arts Center is now bright yellow. The building is now visually striking, but is it artful? You be the judge.

2010

December 25, 2010 - Ranger Bug
No significant changes from last walk. Few people on the beach, no doubt due to the weather and it being Christmas morning. Lots of bull kelp and wood pieces along the high drift line near the base...
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  • Upper arm bone of (most likely) a harbor seal on Nye Beach
  • I found this ca. 3" long pine cone washed up on Nye Beach on 12/22/2010. If my identification is correct, then it has traveled a good distance to arrive here, as whitebark pine is an alpine species and there isn't any alpine on the Oregon coast.
  • No rain and a beautiful rainbow over the ocean made December 22 special on Nye Beach.
October 30, 2010 - [email protected]
Not much activity. Wildlife activity: about 12 seagulls, juvenille(grey), and 3 mures between nye and agate beaches. In nye beach, 3 large 20inch, sunfish
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October 18, 2010 - [email protected]
i also want to report for the past months on the newport beach....in july and august there were at first dozens of dead juvenille mures, and then, altogether 30 dead cormorants. now there are, daily...
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September 21, 2010 - Ranger Bug
Another humdrum (haven't seen much of interest washed up this summer) day on Nye Beach, except for the eight variegated meadowhawk dragonflies I counted on the dry sand by the Nye Beach turnaround on...
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August 15, 2010 - no-e[email protected]
lots of dead baby mures? in Nye Beach. A couple streams north of joj are really funky. and also, below best western. probably at least 100 people in the water this weekend here.
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May 30, 2010 - Ranger Bug
An uneventful survey. Few birds (a few gulls and a whimbrel). 94 people, and 6 dogs off leash. Someone left a fire burning in driftwood, but it was remote from any flammables it might have spread...
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  • Not many birds on the beach this morning. Here are two of them.
March 7, 2010 - Ranger Bug
Overcast Sunday with moderate west wind. Ca. 80 people on beach during my 45 minute monitoring walk. There appears to have been significant mass slumping of the cliff below a house just south of...
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  • Mass slumping of the cliff below a house just south of the Nye Beach turnaround. I didn't remember seeing it before, but someone who lives in the neighborhood told me it happened in December 2008.

2009

December 18, 2009 - Ranger Bug
Tide fairly high; overcast but no rain and little wind on the beach. Relatively few people. Little marine/terrestrial debris. Few dead organisms washed up. A father and son had constructed a...
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  • Construction continues on the condominiums that are replacing the rustic Vikings Motel cottages near the north end of Nye Beach
  • Feathers were numerous on the driftline. Don't know whether they are from molting or dead birds. This photo shows a particularly heavy concentration of the feathers.
  • A father and son built a rather large sand castle on the beach, about to be overrun by the incoming tide.
August 27, 2009 - Ranger Bug
Mass stranding of jellyfish, Aequorea sp. (possibly A. forskalea) on Nye Beach. Many appeared as little more than smears on the sand, but some were in good condition (aside from probably being dead...
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  • Stranded jelly (possibly Aequorea forskalea) on Nye Beach
  • Stranded jelly (possibly Aequorea forskalea) on Nye Beach
  • Stranded jelly (possibly Aequorea forskalea) on Nye Beach
August 11, 2009 - Ranger Bug
The F/V Little Linda is stranded on Nye Beach in Newport, just north of the turnaround. According to conversations I overheard on location, the stranding was first reported around 6 am. I became...
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  • F/V Little Linda Stranded on Nye Beach
August 8, 2009 - Ranger Bug
A typical summer day on Nye Beach, with heavy visitation, but relatively little trash on the beach, marine or terrestrial in origin. The rustic cottages at the Viking's Motel are being replaced by...
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  • Some of the equipment used to refloat the Lori Ann, which stranded on Nye Beach on August 11, 2009.
  • A large tracked excavator had to pull the tanker truck off the sand due to the poor traction.
  • This helicopter was to lift the Lori Ann up as a tugboat pulled it off the beach. Note the cable beneath the helicopter. There was some problem and it had to land on the beach.
  • This tugboat was to pull the Lori Ann offshore. It finally succeeded around 4pm on August 13. Unfortunately, I had to work and was unable to photograph the actual refloating.
August 7, 2009 - Diane H
50? people enjoying a cool day on the beach and many playing in the sand. Dead birds and lots of seaweed and kelp in area in the Hallmark Hotel and Elizabeth Inn.
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May 30, 2009 - Ranger Bug
A moderately foggy day with a modest number of beachgoers. Most interesting sightings were a gull eating a shriveled up gumboot chiton and a test apparatus being used by a Marylhurst College student...
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  • Cellophane worms (Sciochaetopterus costarum)live in papery tubes they build in the sand near shore. The tubes frequently wash up in large numbers on the beach following heavy surf.
May 15, 2009 - Diane H
A very sunny hour turn very foggy quickly; lots of people and dogs out walking on the beach, and people (adults and kids) tidepooling; not much sealife either birds, fish, or washed up on shore
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March 19, 2009 - Ranger Bug
A cool, overcast Thursday morning. Few visitors; nothing exceptional. No unusual drift-line contents, but an interesting assortment of seaweeds.
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  • Possibly purple laver (Porphyra sp.). Please e-mail me if you can positively ID it. Thank you
  • Relative small (a few inches long). Please e-mail me if you can positively ID it. Thank you.
  • Relatively small (only a few inches long). Please e-mail me if you can positively ID it. Thank you
  • Seagrass laver (Smithora naiadum) is an epiphytic red alga, an alga that grows on other plants.
  • On 30 January 2009, sea nettle jellies (Chrysaora fuscescens) washed up en masse on Nye Beach. They are attractive red jellies that can be up to about a foot (30 cm) diameter. These were about half that
  • Three sea nettles in a row, showing their beautiful color. The middle jelly is unusual in stranding with its mouth-side up, so you can see the oral arms.
February 25, 2009 - [email protected]
I want to call atention to effluent,11,000,000 gallons daily, from the mill 1/3 mile off nye beach. now is the opportunity to refuse this heavy pollution(1 ton of lead a year to start with). City...
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2008

December 30, 2008 - Diane H
Beach clear of driftwood and any tide residue; large kelp wad; bluffs appear sharper
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December 6, 2008 - Ranger Bug
An uneventful day on Nye Beach. No dogs off leash was the biggest surprise.
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  • Snow on Nye Beach, December 15, 2008
  • Dead Steller sea lion stranded on Nye Beach. No obvious external injuries.
  • Brown pelicans have been numerous along the Oregon coast this fall; no one seems to know why. Here is a flock hunkered down on the beach in rough weather.
September 1, 2008 - Ranger Bug
An unexceptional day on Nye Beach, except for the large number of people due to the holiday (Labor Day) and pleasant weather.
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  • Moon jelly and surfgrass on Nye Beach
May 31, 2008 - Ranger Bug
Aside from a 10-day pollution alert in late April following heavy rains, and a longnose lancetfish stranding on 14 May, this has been an uneventful quarter. Most striking has been the absence of...
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  • This 4' long longnose lancetfish (_Alepisaurus ferox_) stranded, alive but weak, on Nye Beach just to the north of the riprap covering the sewage outfall pipe. A well-meaning passerby dragged it out into the water and tried to revive it, without success.
  • Closeup of the head of the longnose lancetfish that stranded on Nye Beach on 14 May 2008, showing its formidable teeth and gorgeous blue eyes.

2007

December 17, 2007 - Ranger Bug
Considering the recent heavy weather, there is surprisingly little washed up on the beach: a few lengths of nylon rope or netting, a few picnic items (e.g., paper cups), four dead birds, and some...
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  • Sea gooseberry ctenophore (comb jelly) washed up on Nye Beach (mile 216). They are often seen on the beach between fall and spring.
  • Blade of surfgrass (Phyllospadix sp.) or eelgrass (Zostera sp.)--I'm not sure which--with an epiphytic red seaweed, seagrass laver (Smothora naiadum) growing on it.
  • Adult Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni)at water's edge.
  • Immature Heermann's gull (Larus heermanni) at water's edge.
  • Photo of the head of a northern fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis) washed up on Nye Beach, showing the tube atop the bill that encloses the nostrils. Numerous dead fulmars have washed up on Oregon beaches this fall.
  • Numerous unidentified orange tunicates, as well as a variety of jellyfish, were washed up on the beach today.
  • Numerous penicillate jellyfish (Polyorchis penicillatus) and sea nettle jellies (Chrysaora fuscescens) were washed up on the beach. They appeared to be dead.
  • On a whim, I decided to collect some of the penicillate jellies from 10/19. When I put them in a petri dish with fresh seawater, several of them revived, so I transferred them to an observation tank to photograph. Here are two of them.
  • In addition to several dead northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) washed up on the beach, I found this flagging immature fulmar at water's edge.
  • This hauled out California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) on the rip rap at the Nye Beach sewage outfall, originally sunning itself, appeared to me to be driven off the beach by people approaching it too closely.
  • The sinuous swash line visible in this photo was composed of marine vegetation and thousands of small feathers.
  • Closeup of a small section of the 11/30/2007 swash line, showing the density of the feathers washed up on the beach.
  • A closeup of the head of the dead salmon washed up on Nye Beach on 12/17/2007. Note the black gums and what might be a black tongue (though it's hard to be certain because the angle of the photo doesn't show the tongue very well).
September 8, 2007 - Ranger Bug
Business pretty much as usual along this stretch of Nye Beach, though people seem to be doing more sitting, sunning and swimming this year, perhaps due to the frequent failure of the customary strong...
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  • Osprey are fairly common along Nye Beach. Occasionally, you get to see one catch a fish.
  • Boy collecting seastars on Nye Beach. There isn't much rocky intertidal habitat along Nye Beach, but enough to attract visitors who don't necessarily know about tide pool etiquette.
  • Overflights by tourist helicopters can be an annoyance along Nye Beach. Thankfully, they have been less common this summer than last, when one would buzz the beach every 20 minutes or so at peak hours.
June 22, 2007 - Ranger Bug
Weather was nice, wind was calm, and there were quite a few people walking or playing on the beach. Little marine debris washed up. There were numerous gulls on the beach near the tide line when I...
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  • This photo reflects one small section of a large mass of gulls resting on the beach near the tide line. The mass extended as far down the beach as I could see. One couple with a dog off-leash soon drove them further down the beach
June 13, 2007 - Ranger Bug
Numerous sea palms washed up along current tide line, as well as swash line from a previous high tide. At least 5 turkey vultures patrolling/feeding along the mile. Relatively little trash. Dried...
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  • Turkey vulture feeds on a bedraggled immature large gull carcass. Shortly after the photo was taken, a beach walker and well-behaved off-leash dog passed too close and the vulture flew away.
  • Large swathes of dark mud formed patterns on the beach at various scales. I suspect it is the remains of sea foam (skeletons of dead phytoplankton) mixed with mud from ocean upwelling and possibly with beach sand.
  • This is a closer view of the dark mud that I believe was caused by sea foam (masses of phytoplankton skeletons) that washed up on the beach and dried up.
  • I photographed this still moist sea foam washed up on Nye Beach two days before I saw the dark brown dried mud on the beach. That is why I think the sea foam caused the mud.
May 6, 2007 - Ranger Bug
Mass stranding of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella). This event may be continuous with the 5/4/2007 stranding. The corpses appear fresh and recently stranded. They aren't just the remains of...
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  • A closeup of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella) stranded on Nye Beach, showing the range of sizes. The largest are about 1" across.
  • This is a more distant view of a mass of the stranded by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella), to give you an idea of how dense they were in their bands.
May 4, 2007 - Ranger Bug
Mass stranding of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella)
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  • This small section of stranded by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella) shows the range of sizes involved. Most are under 10 mm across. The large one is about 30 mm, more than an inch, across.
  • This 10 mm diameter sea gooseberry (Pleurobrachia bachei)was one of many washed up on Nye Beach, along with huge masses of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella). Sea gooseberries are comb jellies (ctenophores), not true jelly fish (cnidarians)
April 28, 2007 - Ranger Bug
Mass stranding of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella).
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April 15, 2007 - Ranger Bug
Mass stranding of by-the-wind sailors (Velella velella).
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April 9, 2007 - Ranger Bug
Mass stranding of ladybugs.
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  • This is a small sampling of the lady beetles (aka lady bugs) stranded along the swash line on mile 216.
March 11, 2007 - Ranger Bug
Stranded California sea lion (Zalophus californianus). It appears that someone has tried (but failed) to hack or saw off the head.
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2006

November 12, 2006 - Ranger Bug
Many stranded sea gooseberries (Pleurobrachia bachei), a kind of ctenophore, or comb jelly. One dead immature male California sea lion near Don Davis Park.
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November 11, 2006 - Ranger Bug
Mass stranding of jellyfish, primarily sea nettles (Chrysaora fuscescens).
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  • This is one of 358 intact stranded sea nettles (Chrysaora fuscescens) I counted in a .46 mile stretch of mile 216. There was a near-continuous line of whole jellies and jelly bits along the swash line for the mile. Scale is a 6" (15 mm) ruler.
October 29, 2006 - Ranger Bug
Several stranded jellies and ctenophores, plus a 24" section of the tail end of a robust club-hook squid.
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June 21, 2006 - Ranger Bug
Large numbers of dead mole crabs (not molts) washed up on beach. About 1/3 appeared to be gravid females bearing masses of bright orange eggs.
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