Mile 157 - Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Perkins Lake - May 8, 2010

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Lovely spring visit--rhodies in full bloom along with beach pea, strawberries and our friend Mr. Scotch Broom. Big surprise was to see the Sanak, the buried fishing boat I wrote about in my book "Strand"; it has been under sand since 2004. The foredune seems to have migrated west so it was about over one end of the Sanak. But the spring storms of about a month ago scoured the sand off the beach and attacked the foredune and exposed the boat and its very rusty head block. I was also struck, as usual, by the plastic bits defining the debris line, and by the absence of seabirds--just not a lot to see this day bird-wise.

Conditions

Temperature: 65 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: W. Tide Level: 2.5 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 2. Walking or running: 2.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 2.

Notable Wildlife

Lots of shorebird tracks, but only one group of about 20 sanderlings. One duck in the water (kind?)

Driftline Content

Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Shells, Small rocks. Many glass bottles and dozens of plastic bottles, plus maybe two dozen plastic fishing floats.

Natural Changes

Erosion of vegetated foredune. The Sanak (grounded fishing boat, grounded since 1983) was visible! Haven't seen since 2004.

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bzenderson

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