Report Details

On Saturday, Apr 29, there was a volunteer cleanup event organized for a Girl Scout Gold Award with SOLVE starting a Patterson State Park. I attended for 2 hours and saw many volunteers walking near the park and south on Mile 200. When I left, there were bags of trash collected by the volunteers and a couple of abandoned crab pots. I picked up a bucket full of trash - flip flops, styrofoam, plastic pieces, plastic water bottles, beer cans, and some rope. I had hoped to walk my mile this day but instead returned two days later. There were 6 cars in the parking lot this Monday morning and the weather varied the whole time I walked the mile - cloudy, then rainy and finally sun. Patterson Creek was flowing nicely and there was an abundance of sandpipers feeding in the creek near the ocean.  As I walked south,  I saw a couple of Mallard ducks in the ocean, some Whimbrels feeding on the beach and near the ocean (so nice of them to stop by on their way migrating north) and a pair of Black Turnstones. About midway through the walk, I saw 3 turkey vultures feeding on a bird carcass. Unfortunately, I did not see any snowy plovers like I did last time. The high tide line had a few sticks, lots of rocks, some shells and crab body pieces. The beach was fairly clean but I did see a few plastic water bottles even after the big cleanup on Saturday. The vertical wooden log on the dune that I use as a reference for finding one of the paths to 101 was not there anymore. I did find the path using GPS, but the dune was way too high to reach it.  I saw lots of erosion on this dune. One of the sandstone bluffs with graffiti (Chris loves Staci) has a large piece of rock crumbling from the bluff. Near Big Stump, most of the debris that I saw last time had been cleared from the sets of stairs that lead from the cottages and beach houses to the beach.

Conditions

Temperature: 48 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 5.6 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 10. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 9. Other Activities: 1 collecting driftwood.

Concerns

Disturbances: Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 6.

Notable Wildlife

Whimbrels, Sandpipers, Black Turnstones

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 1.

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces.

Natural Changes

Erosion of vegetated foredune, Visible retreat of solid bluff. large piece of crumbling rock from the bluff

Report Images

Volunteers for cleanup event for a Girl Scout Gold Award with SOLVE , Apr 29
Patterson Creek looking south at the start of the mile
Sandpipers feeding in Patterson Creek near the ocean
A pair of Black Turnstones feeding on the beach
A pair of Black Turnstones
Protruding log that I observe every walk
Whimbrels in the foreground feeding on the beach. Alsea Bay in the distance.
Whimbrels
Sandstone erosion on the bluff
Turkey Vulture feeding on bird carcass
Big Stump
Fire remains
Fire remains
Trash - Water Bottle
Trash - Water Bottle
Trash - Water Bottle

Report Images

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All Mile 200 Reports

Showing 8 of 49 reports

Mile 200

Big Stump Beach, south Patterson SP

August 22, 2024

It was a minus tide this cloudy morning and I could see a large group of pelicans off in the distance at Alsea Bay.

Karen Funk

Mile 200

Big Stump Beach, south Patterson SP

May 30, 2024

I was anxious to visit Mile 200 this week to see if there were tar deposits or any struggling birds due to the reported tar substance washing up on Oregon beaches.

Karen Funk

Mile 200

Big Stump Beach, south Patterson SP

March 5, 2024

Theme for today - Trash, Trash and more Trash.

Karen Funk

Mile 200

Big Stump Beach, south Patterson SP

December 13, 2023

Patterson creek had a heavy flow of water coming down to the ocean this afternoon.

Karen Funk

Mile 200

Big Stump Beach, south Patterson SP

September 19, 2023

Patterson creek was gently flowing and easy to cross near the ocean.

KFunk

Mile 200

Big Stump Beach, south Patterson SP

July 8, 2023

A beach brush fire occurred on July 2 around 3 p.

KFunk

Mile 200

Big Stump Beach, south Patterson SP

June 22, 2023

Beautiful sunny Thursday morning - perfect for walking Mile 200.

KFunk

Mile 200

Big Stump Beach, south Patterson SP

May 1, 2023

On Saturday, Apr 29, there was a volunteer cleanup event organized for a Girl Scout Gold Award with SOLVE starting a Patterson State Park.

KFunk