Mile 187 - Neptune SP, Bob Creek, Gwynn Knoll - April 4, 2018

Report Details

It was a mild, overcast day with no strong winds. Upon first arrival there were only two other cars, one belonging to a large family with children, the other to an older couple who were exploring the rocks with buckets in hand. By the time that I returned from my walk, the parking lot had completely filled up and there were a number of families exploring the tide pools closest to the parking lot. Only a few people were going beyond those initial pools I noticed.There were several groups of sea lions out in the water with their flippers in the air. There were also some small birds who seemed to be nesting in the cliffs. They were too far up and too small to get a good look at them, but I could hear them chirping for most of my walk. There was also a plethora of anemones and sea stars in the tide pools as well as several different types of plants and algaes.I didn't notice any physical changes to the area.

Conditions

Temperature: 51 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 0.1 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 7. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 1. Tidepooling: 6. All of my counts are from when I initially arrived at the parking lot at Bob Creek. By the time I got back to my car the parking lot was completely full (10 cars) and there were about 18 people on the beach either walking around or exploring the tide pools.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 3.

Notable Wildlife

There were three groups of sea lions, each with about 6 or 7 members, floating out in the water with their fins in the air for thermoregulation. It was hard to get a good count on how many were out there because the waves were just large enough to periodically block them from view. Occasionally they would make some noise, but the majority of the time I was there they were just floating quietly.

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces. I was very pleased to see the lack of human debris on the beach.