Mile 171 - Heceta Beach South, almost to North Jetty - February 17, 2017

Report Details

A pleasent day for a walk on the sandy beach at Florence! Harbor seals and surf scoters observed working the near-shore surf. Huge amounts of sand have been removed from the upper beach by this winter's storms and big waves, exposing enormous amounts of long-buried driftwood logs, stumps, and woody debris.There was a large concentration of the 3-5" long "Pyrosoma" pelagic tunicates on the north half of the beach (photo). There was also lots of some sort of jelly that I've never seen before (photo). At first, I thought they were sea foam bubbles until I poked one. It looks very similiar to pasta cooking shells, about 1 to 1 1/4" long, 1/2" wide, about 1/2" in vertical. Clear, moon jelly-like material, but I could not see any internal organs like most jellies. Does anyone know what this is? They were all along Mile 171 today.

Conditions

Temperature: 55 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW.

Human Activities

Number of people: 5. Number of dogs: 3. Walking or running: 5.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 4.

Notable Wildlife

Harbor Seals and surf scoters working the near-shore surf.

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Unusual concentration. Significant concentration of washed-up "Pyrosoma" pelagic tunicates along the north half of Mile 171.

Driftline Content

Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). pseudoconchs-Corolla spectabilis-sea butterfly