Mile 184 - N of Ocean Beach Picnic Area, S of Squaw Creek - December 26, 2017

Report Details

A cool ,cloudy day on Ocean Beach. Hundreds of Sanderlings along the shore running back and forth with waves. They seem to be getting a lot of food- think small crabs and a few seemed to have very small clams that they worked hard to get open. Pounding with their beaks. A lot of drift wood- medium and large tree size up on high part of beach.

Conditions

Temperature: 52 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: S. Tide Level: 2.9 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 13. Number of dogs: 5. Walking or running: 13. Photography: 1.

Concerns

Apparent violations: none.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 5.

Notable Wildlife

Hundreds of Sanderlings happily eating. Surf Scoters in waves.

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 2. One bird was a fresh Red-Throated Loon and the other a grebe without a head. Will go back at low tide tomorrow and ID for Coasst. Set 2 birds up high in rocks so tide will not take away.

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Billions of clear tiny 1/4 inch tubes from some kind of worm?

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea).

Natural Changes

Landslides/major boulder falls. Normal large rock falls and some small landslides typical of winter