Report Details

This was a lovely sunny day with a strong wind from the northeast making it quite cold.  The water was far out leaving a clean bright beach.  Previous tides had cut away the sand leaving steep cliffs over 8 feet high at the north end, with the large wood deposited last year holding the rest of the sand behind.  One fat tire track had been made at the high water line, and there was a wrack of sticks up there.  No wrack had been deposited after that.  There was a couple of small flocks of shore birds, no debris and no bird carcasses.  9 people and 6 dogs were walking with only 3 cars in the parking lot.  What was noteworthy was a herd of elk grazing in the dunes by the parking lot.  And just south of this mile, the dunes have been completely bulldozed to eliminate the non-native beach grass and provide a gentle slope down to the beach proper, in the hope that the snowy plover would find this more suitable for nesting.  Right now it looks like a moonscape with nothing but bulldozer tracks back to the trees.  One last observation was over on the shore of the bay where there was a wreck of jellyfish left on the high tide line.

Conditions

Temperature: 42 F. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: NE.

Human Activities

Number of people: 9. Number of dogs: 6. Walking or running: 9. One fat tire track along high tide line.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 3.

Notable Wildlife

Only a couple small flocks of shore birds

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Unusual concentration. This was in Nehalem Bay not on the ocean beach - a wreck of jellyfish, with many large ones left along the high tide line.

Driftline Content

The high tide line had continuous small sticks. There was nothing in the current surfline. The beach was very clean

Man-made Modifications

Dune modification/removal. The project to remove the beach grass and slope the dune better has begun with a huge area south of this mile to the jetty having been bulldozed. This is to improve the habitat for the snowy plover. It looks like a vast moonscape however.

Natural Changes

Erosion of vegetated foredune, Visible retreat of solid bluff. The high tides have cut into the accumulated sand creating cliffs as high as 8-10 feet. The large wood behind this is holding the sand now and may contribute to a new dune.

Actions & Comments

A herd of elk was grazing on the grass in the dunes by the parking lot. 

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All Mile 297 Reports

Showing 8 of 62 reports

Mile 297

October 22, 2023

The sky was mostly cloudy with some patches of fog and noticeable blobs of sea foam on wet sand.

Platypus Custard

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 297

September 4, 2023

A nice warm partly cloudy day with a large group enjoying the picnic area by the parking lot.

NehalemBay

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 297

June 6, 2023

It was a blustery sunny day with 3 horse back riders and one walker on the beach.

NehalemBay

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 297

March 18, 2023

A nice bright day with a large group of birders from 30 cars looking for Snowy Plovers when I started but only 13 people walking or sitting on the beach on my way back.

NehalemBay

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 297

December 15, 2022

This was a sunny, cold, blustery day with 8 people and 2 dogs walking or biking(1) on the extensive beach.

NehalemBay

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 297

September 6, 2022

This was a sunny calm day with few people on the beach.

NehalemBay

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 297

June 15, 2022

This was a nice day with clouds and little wind.

NehalemBay

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 297

March 8, 2022

This was a nice cloudy day with only 4 cars in the parking lot and four people on the beach, one with a dog.

NehalemBay