Report Details

It was a perfect, sunny morning. The tide was low providing a wide beach. The waves were quiet and low. There was a slight breeze of approximately 1-2 miles per hour coming from the east. The beaches were clean. Some areas had quite a bit of scattered shell pieces. The mouth of Sutton Creek had shifted approximately 900 feet to the south since my last report, 3 months ago. I sighted my first whale spouting off of Baker Beach for this new year. Any driftwood was up near the dunes. The beach slope to the sea was virtually non-existant...it was pretty flat.

Conditions

Temperature: 49 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: E. Tide Level: 2.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 7. Number of dogs: 4. Walking or running: 3. Sitting: 2. Photography: 2.

Notable Wildlife

Whale spouting, Gulls, Canada Geese flying over surf, Sanderlings

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

One dead fish had washed up on shore. I don't know the species, but it was approximately 15" long

Driftline Content

Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Shells, Small rocks.

Man-made Modifications

Dune modification/removal, Stream modification.

Actions & Comments

The US Forest Service had bulldozed approximately 14 acres of dunes on Baker Beach in order to improve Snowy Plover nesting habitat. They were working on it during the month of December, 2007.The mouth of Sutton Creek had shifted approximately 900 feet south onto Heceta Beach. During high tide, the whole area around the mouth of the creek becomes more like a bay, and it is not possible to safely cross over to Baker Beach. However, during low tide, you can cross over the river closer to the sea. There the river is no deeper than 14 inches.

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All Mile 173 Reports

Showing 8 of 27 reports

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 173

South end of Baker Beach, Sutton Creek, Heceta Beach

October 5, 2017

Hundreds of resting gulls, 8 humans 12 dogs-No humans encountered beyond the north of the creek mouth.

Ariana172

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 173

South end of Baker Beach, Sutton Creek, Heceta Beach

November 16, 2012

It has been a couple of months since I have had time to visit my mile.

cheshire

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 173

South end of Baker Beach, Sutton Creek, Heceta Beach

July 29, 2012

This is the first chance that I have had to walk this mile in several weeks.

cheshire

Mile 173

South end of Baker Beach, Sutton Creek, Heceta Beach

June 24, 2012

Walked miles 172-174 from south to north, then cut across the dunes inland and followed Sutton Creek back out to the ocean.

cheshire

Mile 173

South end of Baker Beach, Sutton Creek, Heceta Beach

June 7, 2012

The beach itself is cleaner than it has been, but there is quite a bit of debris that has blown into the dunes and into the area between the dunes and the brush on the north and west sides of Sutton Creek.

cheshire

Mile 173

South end of Baker Beach, Sutton Creek, Heceta Beach

May 10, 2012

Went back to Baker Beach, walking miles 172-176.

cheshire

Mile 173

South end of Baker Beach, Sutton Creek, Heceta Beach

May 8, 2012

I was able to cross the creek and check out the part of miles 173-174 North of Sutton Creek for the first time this year.

cheshire

Mile 173

South end of Baker Beach, Sutton Creek, Heceta Beach

April 23, 2012

Sutton Creek continues to migrate north, and the mouth of the creek has widened considerably.

cheshire