Mile 157 - Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Perkins Lake - March 23, 2010

Report Details

A beautiful day for breaking rules. I'm calling it my winter visit, since I failed to quite get there before the spring equinox. Found what USFS person said was a sanderling, but I'm calling a plover, because I so wanted it to be (and I'm not sure it wasn't). Calm in morning, brisk cold wind in afternoon, but very sunny and lovely. Very little bird action anywhere (but happy to see two bald eagles). Encountered five teenage backpackers, heading south for a two- or three-night spring break backpack along the dunes. New and very nice trailhead signs. Accompanied by Jack Long (AKA Mile 156) once again--great companion! Southern dune on Tahkenitch Creek oxbow continues to erode--I wonder if we will ever see it break through, and if so, where?

Conditions

Temperature: 60 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: N. Tide Level: 0.4 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 8. Walking or running: 7. Other Activities: 1 USFS person in truck. But the vehicle was driven by a USFS employee working on trailhead signs and plover fencing, apparently. No actual concerns. Day Use Area road was closed in the a.m., so we used the "loophole" to access dunes & beach.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks on beach, prohibited: 1.

Notable Wildlife

1 adult and one immature bald eagle, a half-dozen gulls, one pelican flying over waves, one flock of sanderlings, one snowy plover I swear (USFS person said it was a sanderling, but it was alone and had dark band at neck like plover. So, uncertain. Had bad right leg)

Driftline Content

Minimal (a few glass and plastic bottles, a rope, lots of shell fragments and smallish crab molt.

Actions & Comments

High sand volume (no sign of buried fishing boat).

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bzenderson

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