Mile 202 - North Spit Alsea River - May 16, 2023 | Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

Report Details

The beach was fairly cool today after 99 degrees two days ago. My wife, Trish, helped me combine today's mile walk with a COASST beached bird survey. We didn't find any beached birds today, but I still submitted the required data form with beach information.There is now an Oregon Parks and Recreation Department roped enclosure with Do Not Enter signs around each of three Western Snowy Plover nests here. Trish went up to a woman unknowingly approaching a nest enclosure with a very rambunctious unleashed dog and explained that a threatened shorebird was nesting there, and the woman nicely leashed her dog and walked away. Some people think secrecy and censorship help protect Snowy Plovers. I believe instead in information sharing and education, like the Plover signs Oregon Parks posts on beach accesses, and the roped nest enclosures, and talking to people and otherwise trying to inform them. In 2020 through 2022, I spent hundreds of volunteer hours for Oregon Parks and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service helping locate and monitor Snowy Plovers from Waldport to Seal Rock, and it is my experience that these brave little birds are threatened not by people knowing too much about them but rather by people not knowing they exist.

Conditions

Temperature: 55 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Tide Level: 5.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 6. Number of dogs: 5. Walking or running: 6. See Summary for human/Snowy Plover comments.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 2.

Notable Wildlife

Western Snowy Plovers (see Summary and photos). Also, a pair of Ospreys is again attempting to nest atop the old repurposed tsunami siren pole in the Bayshore Beach Club parking lot. Previous nesting attempts have failed in this exposed, windy location, but this year the pair has been diligently gathering sticks from the beach and has weathered recent strong winds, so here's hoping for some Osprey chicks!

Beached Birds

I submitted my monthly report to COASST showing no dead birds found.

Stranded Marine Mammals

Total stranded mammals: 1. Last remains of a very old carcass, previously reported by others, which I had been told was the remains of a whale that had been buried in sand and had now reappeared, being scavenged today by two Turkey Vultures.

Driftline Content

Very little driftline content today, but on my walk 4/25/2023 there was a large accumulation of Vellela vellela along the northern portion of Mile 202.

Man-made Modifications

Sand removal. During the past week, I have seen multiple dual tandem gravel trucks hauling off full loads of sand from the southern, "Sahara Desert" portion of Oceania Drive paralleling Mile 202. It's my understanding that this clean up is required, is paid for by homeowners, and that no permit is required for removal of sand east of the beachfront houses on Oceania Dr.

Natural Changes

Erosion of vegetated foredune. The foredune on the northern portion of Mile 202 has been undercut by winter storms and is now eroding (see photo).

Report Images

Jon French

CoastWatcher

All Mile 202 Reports

Date

Showing 8 of 60 reports

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

March 7, 2024

Mile 202 beach accesses and exits are now restricted because of erosion and sheering off of the sand cliffs along its northern portion, so I now need to plan for a receding tide if I want to walk the entire mile safely.

Jon French

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

January 28, 2024

After finding forty beached Cassin's Auklets on Jan.

Jon French

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

October 30, 2023

A beautifully calm, sunny day, maybe the last for awhile, with a fifteen mile view from Seal Rock to Cape Perpetua and hardly anyone on the beach except for two surf fishers and a couple valiantly trying to launch a kite with no wind.

Jon French