Mile 192 Report
Cape Perpetua north
December 31, 2018
Since much of my mile is rocky with steep embankments, I can't really get down to view it from eye level.
Report Details
Since much of my mile is rocky with steep embankments, I can't really get down to view it from eye level. As such, the most significant things I notice are a lot more large stumps and more debris. My house looks at the Cleft of the Rock seagull/harbor seal colony so I observe the birds and seals there every day. I have two big observations this year. The biggest change I've seen in my two years, is the number of sea stars that have come back to the rocks. When I first moved here in 2016, looking at the rocks/island around me, I counted 6 orange and 1 purple sea star. Now I can count 36 orange and 3 purple sea stars. It could be I was just missing them before, but they are very pronounced now. The one really sad thing is the Black Oystercatcher pair that live on the rocks on the west side of my house. They sucessfully mated and had two chicks that grew to maturity in 2017. They mated and had two eggs and two chicks this year, but they didn't even last a month. I don't know exactly what happened, but there were a particularly agressive pair of eagles this year that came to the seagull colony every day and decimated the eggs, and then the young chicks. In previous years the seagulls were able to run the eagles off. This year the eagles pretty much did what they wanted. They would come in the morning and evening and spend 30 mins on the colony jumping from nest to nest eating the eggs or chasing the chicks. We had three seals die on the colony this year (2 babies, 1 adult), and one washed up on the rocks nearest to my house (where the Oystercatchers live). I counted 5 eagles (3 adults, 2 juvenile) munching on the dead seal. They were about 40ft from the baby Oystercatchers. Two days later, the chicks were gone. In 2017, the adults where so agressive, not even seagulls landed on their rocks. In 2018, they didn't seem to care, even when the eggs had hatched. Both parents would fly off and leave the chicks unattended. They even left the eggs unattended. Very strange behavior.
Conditions
Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: SW. Tide Level: 2.9 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 1. Walking or running: 1. Other Activities: Exploring the rocks.. Very little of my mile is accessible to people.
Concerns
Disturbances: Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs
Notable Wildlife
I haven't been seeing many seals these days, but there are about 16 sunning themselves on the Cleft of the Rock seagull colony.
Beached Birds
Total dead birds: 1. Definitely a brown pelican. Looks like its been dead awhile.
Driftline Content
Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). After the last King Tide, I've noticed large tree stumps that weren't there before. I'm also seeing 4 new floats. 3 while and one light blue, along with some netting. No markings on the floats. There was also some debris that the OSU researchers left on the Cleft of the Rock seagull colony. They put large wooden markers on the rocks in the summer so they could view the colony with a drone. Instead of picking up the debris, they just left it there. The last big windstorm broke it apart and tossed it up on the rocks. That's just what I can see. Who knows where the rest of the garbage went. Bad form OSU researchers! Bad form.
Natural Changes
Landslides/major boulder falls, Major cracks appearing in bluffs, Evidence of wave overtopping. This last King Tide came higher than any other I had seen. I posted pictures on the King Tide website and will post some here. Not only did it bring in a lot more large stumps, but the water was actually hitting embankment it hadn't in the 2 years I've lived on this mile. My house views North Cape Perpetua, and even in my short tenure here, I can see cracks in the bluff and landslides around Hwy 101. The embankment on the south side of Amanda Creek (south of my house about 50 feet) has a large crack in it. I'll take a picture and post it on a Dispatch.
Actions & Comments
I only have control on the embankment directly in front of my property. I've been planting grass seed to slow the erosion on my bluff. It's been surprisingly effective. I now have a large area that was all dirt and rocks on the west side of the property covered in grass. Its only about the first 20 feet of my 50ft embankment down to basalt rock, but it's better than it was.
Report Images
phillil60@gmail.com
CoastWatcher
All Mile 192 Reports
Mile 192
Cape Perpetua north
Very bad year for the seagulls and oystercatchers on the Cleft of the Rock sanctuary.
phillil60@gmail.com
Mile 192
Cape Perpetua north
Since much of my mile is rocky with steep embankments, I can't really get down to view it from eye level.
phillil60@gmail.com
Mile 192
Cape Perpetua north
I can't get down to the water on much of my mile but I will try as soon as I get a dry day.
phillil60@gmail.com
Mile 192
Cape Perpetua north
Despite warmer than normal temperatures since December, the main sign of the coming change of seasons was the widespread growth of bright green algae around pools and runoff areas on all the rocky shelves we explored.
mcrobbins
Mile 192
Cape Perpetua north
The weekend was mild, but foggy and damp from the recent rain, and mile 192 was deserted except for a couple enjoying a walk on the rocks and a man walking two small dogs.
mcrobbins
Mile 192
Cape Perpetua north
The day was sunny and warm, with a light breeze, and only a few other people were out exploring.
mcrobbins
Mile 192
Cape Perpetua north
Spring is not very much in evidence on mile 192, although there are subtle signs of change.
mcrobbins
Mile 192
Cape Perpetua north
Despite the mild weekend weather, we did not see much human activity during our walk, except at the beach access directly off Yachats Ocean Road.
mcrobbins