Mile 171 - Heceta Beach South, almost to North Jetty - April 23, 2018

Report Details

This doesn't happen often - 72F and calm winds at Heceta Beach today! Another stranding of Velella velellas of various sizes, mostly 3-4" in length, all along the mile. Only a few Pyrosomas observed, along with the occasional bits and pieces of Moon and Sea Nettle jellies. Large flocks of sanderlings feeding in the wave run-back, with lots of unidentified gulls flying northbound.There is an unusually large die-off of Mole crabs (Emerita analoga) all along the mile, except for the very southern end of the mile near the Siuslaw River North Jetty "lagoon". Rarely seen until just a few years ago on Heceta Beach, they now seem to be all over. I don't know if these crabs shed their exterior shells like Dungeness crabs, so I tried to disassemble a few only to find they still had the soft inner tissues inside including one crab who was still alive and highly offended by my efforts to take him apart. (photo)A dead adult Steller sea lion (female) is one the beach about 1/4 mile north of the Siuslaw River North Jetty. Looks like Dr. Jim Rice's crew had just performed a necropsy on it, as the head was cleanly cut off and appears the internal organs removed. A trio of Turkey vultures were happily dining on it. (photos)Some scumbag dumped a stripped and abandoned wheel-less Honda on the North Jetty Road. The car already had a state patrol tag on it. Shouldn't be too hard to track down the scufflaws as they forgot to remove the license plates ... (photo).

Conditions

Temperature: 72 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW.

Human Activities

Number of people: 17. Number of dogs: 4. Walking or running: 10. Sitting: 5.

Concerns

Litter

Apparent violations: Some scumbag dumped a stripped and abandoned car on the Siuslaw River North Jetty Road.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 11.

Notable Wildlife

Huge flocks of Sanderlings feeding along Mile 171 today.

Stranded Marine Mammals

Total stranded mammals: 1. A deceased adult female (?) Steller sea lion. Showing signs that Dr. Rice's crew from the Hatfield marine Science Center had recently done a necropsy on the remains. Missing the head and internal organs. Several very happy turkey vultures were busy dining away ...

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Unusual concentration. Large concentrations of dead Mole crabs (Emerita analoga) all along the mile today, along with another recent stranding of By-the-Wind sailors (Velella velellas).

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt).