Mile 300 Report
June 13, 2009
Despite the high use of this beach, it remains pretty pristine in terms of accumulated trash and other human impact.
Report Details
Despite the high use of this beach, it remains pretty pristine in terms of accumulated trash and other human impact. My only complaint is that folks tend to torch every large log or stump that washes up. But overall, it appears that the overall cleanliness of the beach encourages visitors to pick up after themselves and leave no trace. The new wheelchair-accessible ramp down to the beach from Ocean Avenue appears to be getting a lot of use by folks who would otherwise have a hard time making it down there, thus making the beach a treasure to be savored by all Oregonians.
Conditions
Temperature: 65 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 1.5 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 40. Number of dogs: 6. Walking or running: 13. Playing in surf: 5. Playing in sand: 5. Sitting: 5. Other Activities: 12 Kitesurfers. Kitesurfing is becoming the new activity on Manzanita Beach. It's starting to look like Hood River out there. As a whole, they were all very courteous though and left no visible impacts of their visits.
Concerns
Disturbances: Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs
Vehicles
Notable Wildlife
A bald eagle flew right over my head at very low altitude twice! Couldn't have been more than 20 feet high. Flew parallel to Ocean Ave. and on both occasions, was being badgered by two crows.
Driftline Content
Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Shells. My trash collection efforts yielded mostly paper and a few beer cans/bottles.
Man-made Modifications
none detected
Actions & Comments
I didn't find a single plastic bottle this time! We either have a lot of other diligent trash collectors on this beach or the recent modifications to the Bottle Bill are really having an effect.
All Mile 300 Reports
Mile 300
More than 30 mid-sized, dead birds of what looked like the same species and one sea gull and one crow. Not too much sea plastic - I picked up some of it. Large burnt stumps and logs were rolling around in the high tide. Farther south, the ocean has removed the dune and some of the paths end in a sand cliff now.
Lisa Lucas
Mile 300
We had big storms the past few days! On just mile 300 there were at least 11 deceased Cassin's auklet. All the locals were talking about it.
Michelle Schwegmann
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It was a beautiful morning on the last day of the "bonus" king tides in November. The biggest shock was finding a deceased Peregrine Falcon!
Schwegmann