Mile 199 - Beachside SP, Waconda Beach, Little Creek - December 30, 2008

Report Details

Due to constraints, I had to do my mile at almost high tide. I saw 5 people including two small children, 2 dogs, and a lot of accumulated flotsam and jetsam. Some domestic plastic and glass bottles, many with Japanese manufacturers names on them. I found two dead birds and an unidentifiable carcass at the very start of my mile. Compared to the usual windswept appearance of this stretch of beach, there was a lot to look at. 2 weeks ago there were a lot of jellies washed up, evenly spaced at 1 every 3 or 4 feet in the tide line. Today, I only saw one jelly, very few crab shells, and lots and lots of kelp. The high tides and rough weather has knocked down a set of stairs, and has caused some predictable erosion along the mile, but nothing remarkable.

Conditions

Temperature: 40 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 8.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 5. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 5. Individual walking with golf club, hitting ball up and down beach. Small family walking with dogs. They picked up after their dogs and packed out trash.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 3.

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 2. 1 Pelican, 1 unidentified (see photo)

Stranded Marine Mammals

Total stranded mammals: 1. unidentifiable (see photo). Carcass approx 30"x18".

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Shells, Small rocks, Styrofoam, Wood pieces. heavy accumulation, many new logs, trees, root wads.

Natural Changes

Unusually high tides have been washing into dunes and bluffs, with the expected results. Some private beach access structures have been lost or broken, e.g. stairs, etc

Report Images

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