Mile 330 Report
Sunset Beach, Sunset Lake
July 9, 2020
I drove this mile in my vehicle while birdwatching.
Report Details
I drove this mile in my vehicle while birdwatching. Notable dead animal sightings included a dead elk being scavenged by turkey vultures (see photos below), a dead harbor seal being eaten by turkey vultures (see photo) and a recently dead harbor porpoise 95% intact but had its eyes pecked out (see photo). I submitted an Oregon OSU Dead Marine Mammal Stranding Report via email. With a low tide of 0.5ft during my drive, many clammers had parked cars on the beach and were actively searching for clams, along with plentiful numbers of western and california gulls, as well as whimbrels foraging in the shallow water pools near a great blue heron. A sea watch yieleded the following avifauna: surf scoters, white-winged scoters, caspian terns (some males carrying fish in their bills to present to females for breeding), and brown pelicans.
Conditions
Temperature: 60 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 0.5 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 52. Number of dogs: 5. Walking or running: 3. Other Activities: 95% of all people on the beach were clamming at low tide. Large numbers of vehicles parked on the wet sand for clamming at low tide.
Concerns
Litter
Apparent violations: Campfire litter (food wrapping, plastic, beer bottles) was evident around the remains of campfires..Vehicles
Cars/trucks on beach, allowed: 35. ATVs/OHVs on beach, allowed: 1.
Stranded Marine Mammals
Total stranded mammals: 1. Freshly dead eastern pacific harbor porpoise. Dark gray back and creamy white belly. Small face and body size. Its body was 95% intact but its eyes were pecked out. The exact location can be seen on my iNaturalist observation which includes the GPS linked map and my photograph: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/52487534
Driftline Content
Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Land-based debris (picnics, etc.).
Report Images
sultanym
CoastWatcher
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