Mile 157 Report
Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Perkins Lake
August 21, 2023
It was another beautiful day on Mile 157, which we entered from the upper part of the Oregon Dunes Loop Trail.
Report Details
It was another beautiful day on Mile 157, which we entered from the upper part of the Oregon Dunes Loop Trail. We saw four harbor seals, various gulls, a few cormorants and vultures, several small flocks of sanderlings, and thousands of small jellyfish. Sadly, we counted at least 15 dead juvenile common murres and three others too weak to fly laying at the edge of the surf.
Conditions
Temperature: 65 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 1.4 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 4. Walking or running: 4. Few people visit this area.
Vehicles
Cars/trucks parking: 12.
Notable Wildlife
Harbor seals, various gulls, cormorants, two vultures, several small flocks of sanderlings, thousands of small (1-3" diameter) jellyfish washed up on the beach, at least 15 dead juvenile common murres on the beach, and three other juvenile murres too weak to fly. On the following day we saw smaller numbers of dead and dying juvenile murres on the beach above Yahats. KLCC.org posted a story on August 25 blaming these dieoffs on rising ocean temperatures.
Beached Birds
Total dead birds: 15. Juvenile common murres
Driftline Content
Small rocks, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt).
New Development
Much of the beach and dunes here are roped off to protect nesting snowy plovers.
Report Images
GasiorowskiM
CoastWatcher
All Mile 157 Reports
Mile 157
Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Perkins Lake
It was another beautiful day on Mile 157, which we entered from the upper part of the Oregon Dunes Loop Trail.
GasiorowskiM
Mile 157
Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Perkins Lake
Mile 157 is a beautiful, little-visited stretch of coastline.
GasiorowskiM
Mile 157
Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Perkins Lake
Beautiful New Years Day at the beach, while it was cold and foggy in the valley.
bzenderson
Mile 157
Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Perkins Lake
A rainy day; we had the beach to ourselves.
bzenderson
Mile 157
Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Perkins Lake
Gorgeous day at the beach (crappy and cloudy and cold in Eugene).
bzenderson
Mile 157
Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Perkins Lake
There is a lot of buzz about whether the stuff on the beaches these days is from the tsunami.
bzenderson
Mile 157
Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Perkins Lake
Fair amount of ocean-borne debris, but unlike my last walk here about a month earlier, when the debris was d0ominated by Japanese plastic bottles (tsunami debris?
bzenderson
Mile 157
Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Perkins Lake
Stunning winter day; we were totally overdressed, kept shedding clothes to the brink of immodesty.
bzenderson