January 30, 2020

Temperature: 52 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: S. Tide Level: 2.7 feet.

Number of people: 12. Number of dogs: 14. Walking or running: 12. Other Activities: Except for entering/leaving beach, people and dogs tend to stay on wet sand close to water.

30-40 Western Snowy Plovers (see Summary)

Shells, Wood pieces, Styrofoam, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). Of three plastic bottles found on beach, all were marked with oriental script. According to Google, one bottle, Cest Bon (see photo), is a Chinese brand of mineral water. Another bottle, Calpis, is a Japanese uncarbonated soft drink. The third bottle could not be identified as to brand but contained oriental script. It seems likely, then, that this debris doesn't result from local fishing/crabbing activities but comes from a distance. This is interesting, and I'll continue to try and identify these ocean travelers. I removed all debris.

Towards the Southern half of Mile 202, where the rolling dunes transition to steep sand bluffs, the storms of the last two weeks have brought in much additional sand (see photos), as much as perhaps three feet of sand drifts blown up towards the base of portions of the bluffs. On the bay side of the spit, however, erosion at the base of a house previously photographed has increased some, and a portion of the driftwood "fence" along the property (don't know if natural or man-made) has fallen down towards the beach (see current photo and photo from previous report)