Mile 239 - Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay - July 6, 2020 | Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

Report Details

We thought it would be a good idea to take a look around on our mile after the 4th of July because in past years we have found quite a bit of fireworks debris. To our pleasant surprise there was very little ... just a few paper casings. Not much trash at all, in fact. The sand at the end of the Salishan Spit had eroded into a steep dropoff, a natural phenomenon that occurs from time to time. Eventually it will even out again. Came across a dead harbor seal on the bay side of the Spit. It obviously had been there a while. Appeared to be an adult, although thinner than the live ones we see. No visible signs of trauma. The harbor seal colony looked large and healthy, maybe 200 animals.

Conditions

Temperature: 58 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 5.5 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 12. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 5. Sitting: 6. Fishing: 1. Not very crowded across the mouth of the Siletz ... maybe 30 people on the Taft side.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 6.

Notable Wildlife

Large flock of seagulls. Two "squadrons" of pelicans skimming the waves, 5-6 birds in each group.

Stranded Marine Mammals

Total stranded mammals: 1. 1 dead harbor seal

Driftline Content

Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt). grasses

Natural Changes

Dropoff at end of the Spit

Report Images

ORbeach

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All Mile 239 Reports

Date

Showing 8 of 88 reports

Mile 239

Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay

March 16, 2024

A beautiful 70-degree day in mid-March .

Linda Reid

Mile 239

Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay

November 12, 2023

Not a bad fall day for a walk with our out-of-town visitors, but walking the beach was impossible due to the high tide and big waves, which were reaching the beach grass area and bouncing large pieces of driftwood around.

ORbeach