Mile 202 Report
North Spit Alsea River
August 30, 2023
As I began yesterday's mile walk and monthly COASST beached bird survey, a light rain began to fall, the first in months.
Report Details
As I began yesterday's mile walk and monthly COASST beached bird survey, a light rain began to fall, the first in months. Trying to photograph, measure, and indentify bird carcasses is challenging under the best conditions but impossible in the rain, so I quit after one bird. Returning today, I found seven more carcasses, Cassin's Auklets and adult and juvenile Common Murres, most of them severely decomposed. I often find maybe one carcass, however this was my first post-breeding season survey, when higher mortality is expected for fledglings new to the water and for adults exhausted after nesting and rearing young. The attached COASST field guide pages for juvenile Common Murres shows how Beached Carcass Abundance peaks from mid-May to mid-October.The beach was beautiful as always, with just a few people and dogs at the northern end. Down near Alsea Bay where the spit widens, the beach was deserted except for hundreds of adult and immature gulls bedded down in the sand.
Conditions
Temperature: 60 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Tide Level: 6.5 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 12. Number of dogs: 4. Walking or running: 8. Sitting: 4.
Notable Wildlife
Hundreds of adult and juvenile gulls (Western Gulls as far as I could tell) were bedded down in the sand near Alsea Bay.
Beached Birds
Total dead birds: 8. Three Cassin's Auklets, two adult Common Murres, three juvenile Common Murres, all reported to COASST.
Dead Fish or Invertebrates
One dead shark was found, species unknown.
Driftline Content
Very little driftline.
Beached bird carcasses as found
Beached bird carcasses as found
Beached bird carcasses as found
Photographing, measuring, and identifying carcass
Photographing, measuring, and identifying carcasses
Photographing, measuring, and identifying carcasses
Shark carcass
Adult and juvenile gulls bedded down
COASST field guide pages for juvenile Common Murres
Report Images
Jon French
CoastWatcher
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As I began yesterday's mile walk and monthly COASST beached bird survey, a light rain began to fall, the first in months.
Jon French
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Mile 202
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