Mile 184 - N of Ocean Beach Picnic Area, S of Squaw Creek - March 25, 2022

Report Details

It was a warm day with a low tide during Spring break on Ocean Beach. Lots of people enjoying many different activities. This was the first time I got to observe tidepools this year. I saw sea stars, anenomes and lots of little crabs. I also saw lots of sand shrimp. I observed a dead sea lion toward the north end of the beach. He/she appeared to be recently deceased. I noted no signs of entanglement or predation. I have notified the NFS park ranger. It's my understanding they are typically not removed unless entangled. A great day.

Conditions

Temperature: 52 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: S. Tide Level: 0.7 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 31. Number of dogs: 8. Walking or running: 17. Playing in surf: 3. Tidepooling: 6. Other Activities: Painting, picnicking. Beautiful partly cloudy day with a low tide during spring break brought out lots of folks. Picnincking, painting, rockhounding, tide pooling and strolling. Lots of activity.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 16.

Stranded Marine Mammals

Total stranded mammals: 1. I observed a dead sea lion toward the north end of the beach. He/she appeared to be recently deceased. I noted no signs of entanglement or predation. I know that they are typically not removed from the beach unless they have been entangled.

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Styrofoam. The drift line was full of small plastic and styrofoam pieces. I did note less big concentrations of styrofoam than on previous visits.