Mile 161 Report
Oregon Dunes NRA just north of Siltcoos River
January 23, 2024
We are a group of 6th grade students in the Siuslaw Middle School Stream Team class.
Report Details
We are a group of 6th grade students in the Siuslaw Middle School Stream Team class. We have just adopted mile 161 and are creating our first report. Today we have a group of 4 students and 2 adults, including the CoastWatch Programs Manager. The tide was an 8’ high tide at 10:00am. It was a calm wind & partly cloudy 53*F. We walked South to the Siltcoos outlet mouth. There we saw 16 harbor seals & a large flock of sanderlings. As we walked the wrack line to the North we began to find Cassin’s Auklets washed up. We found a total of 31, all near the South end of mile 161 in the upper wrackline. As we continued North we found many living & non-living things including small plastics. Toward the North side of mile 161 we found many velella velella. We cleaned up 12 bottles & 10 ropes as well as other garbage. There is a large amount of marine debris along the bank of the river, mixed in with the driftwood.
Conditions
Temperature: 53 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 8.0 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 5. Number of dogs: 2. Sitting: 6.
Concerns
Litter
Notable Wildlife
At the mouth of Siltcoos Outlet River, there were 16 beached harbor seals and at least 3 more harbor seals in the water. There were also approximately 150 sanderlings in a large flock along the water and a small group flying.
Beached Birds
Total dead birds: 31. 31 Cassin's Auklets, none banded, all within 1/4 mile of the Siltcoos Outlet, in the upper wrackline.
Driftline Content
Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). The following things were found in the wrack line, that are biological organisms (living or once living): Cassin Auklet (dead) shells driftwood sanderlings crow bones little fish yellow jackets English ivy spruce cone gull feathers hazel nuts jellyfish bull kelp seaweed velella The following things were found that are non-living, never living and these are almost all human created: clear plastic seafoam blue plastic white plastic red plastic black plastic pink plastic bottles shotgun shells
Natural Changes
Erosion of vegetated foredune, Visible retreat of solid bluff. A natural change that we observed was a large cut bank due to high waves. At the beach entrance, the cut bank ranged from 10-15 feet. Closer to the outlet the cut bank decreased until it was non-existent.
Actions & Comments
COASST will be notified about the Cassin's auklets, as they have been found in large numbers since December 21, 2023 on Oregon and Washington beaches.












Report Images
All Mile 161 Reports
Mile 161
Oregon Dunes NRA just north of Siltcoos River
What we found at mile 161 is a variety of things like birds, clams, and shells.
Siuslaw Middle School Stream Team
Mile 161
Oregon Dunes NRA just north of Siltcoos River
We are 6th-grade Stream Team students who went to the Mile 161 shoreline.
Siuslaw Stream Team
Mile 161
Oregon Dunes NRA just north of Siltcoos River
It was a foggy cool day.
Siuslaw Stream Team
Mile 161
Oregon Dunes NRA just north of Siltcoos River
We are a group of 6th grade students in the Siuslaw Middle School Stream Team class.
Siuslaw Middle School Stream Team
Mile 161
Oregon Dunes NRA just north of Siltcoos River
It was a stormy, wet and windy morning at Siltcoos Recreation Area today with dramatic clouds and storms coming and going.
dpavlis
Mile 161
Oregon Dunes NRA just north of Siltcoos River
It was a beautiful morning on Siltcoos Beach.
dpavlis
Mile 161
Oregon Dunes NRA just north of Siltcoos River
It was a beautiful winter day, with sun and gentle breezes from the northwest.
dpavlis