Mile 303 Report
Oswald West SP, Smuggler Cove, Short Sand Beach
January 23, 2022
It was a beautiful and sunny day out on Short Sand Beach and in Oswald SP.
Report Details
It was a beautiful and sunny day out on Short Sand Beach and in Oswald SP. There was not much of a breeze on the beach and it was warm for a January day on the Oregon coast. Beach was fairly packed with surfers and beachgoers and there was much more human debris/litter along the beach and hiking paths than seen in the past coming out here to survey (usually it's a very clean beach! today not so much). Most notably, there was more plastic in the driftline than usual for this beach. No wildlife to be seen, including birds, which seems to be common for this beach when people are here. Many dogs, though. The numbers for the amount of people walking/on the beach are not exact; many people were coming and going throughout the time we were there, but there were still quite a lot of people.
Conditions
Temperature: 52 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: S. Tide Level: 1.8 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 300. Number of dogs: 26. Walking or running: 115. Playing in surf: 12. Playing in sand: 6. Sitting: 10. Photography: 3. Surfing: 16. Nearly everyone there was there to surf. While only a few were in the water at a time, 3/4s of the people there had wetsuits and a board. Many people brought their dogs, more dogs than I have seen before at this beach.
Concerns
Litter
Vehicles
Cars/trucks parking: 124.
Notable Wildlife
no wildlife seen whatsoever
Dead Fish or Invertebrates
n/a
Driftline Content
Seaweeds and seagrass, Wood pieces, Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Styrofoam. Driftline had very little (but some) kelp along the southern end of the mile, and no algae. Most of the driftline comprised of small plastics, some styrofoam, just as much as there were pine needles and wood pieces.
New Development
none
Man-made Modifications
none
Natural Changes
No notable new developments or changes. The cliff-sides along this mile have been experiencing erosion for quite some time, but there have been no significant events causing change.
Actions & Comments
n/a
shattuckf
CoastWatcher
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