Mile 202 Report
North Spit Alsea River
November 15, 2020
Alsea Bay was fairly calm at noon for today's 8.
Report Details
Alsea Bay was fairly calm at noon for today's 8.985' King Tide, but on the ocean side the surf was high and roiled up after last night's rain and 60-plus mph wind gusts. This what it looked like, with surf all the way up to the dunes at times. I didn't think I would find any of the wintering Snowy Plovers which normally rest during the day on the beach south of access 67D, but as I got closer I could make out their little shapes darting back and forth along the surf, probing for food in the wet sand. Visual and photo conditions weren't great, but I counted nineteen. It was a treat to watch them all so active, making the best out of a challenging day after what had to have been a really hard night.
Conditions
Temperature: 54 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: SW. Tide Level: 8.5 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 9. Number of dogs: 5. Walking or running: 9.
Notable Wildlife
19 Western Snowy Plovers, a few gulls
Driftline Content
Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces. sea foam
Report Images
Jon French
CoastWatcher
All Mile 202 Reports
Mile 202
North Spit Alsea River
Today was the first windless day in awhile, shirtsleeve weather with a calm sea and a distinct marine layer offshore.
Jon French
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North Spit Alsea River
Bayshore's HOA recently spent $2,500 for permits and bulldozing a path down to the beach behind the Bayshore clubhouse, a designated public access, smoothing out the drop-off resulting from winter erosion and restoring access for beach goers and our State Parks ranger's ATV.
Jon French
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North Spit Alsea River
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
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North Spit Alsea River
After finding forty beached Cassin's Auklets on Jan.
Jon French
Mile 202
North Spit Alsea River
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
Mile 202
North Spit Alsea River
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
Mile 202
North Spit Alsea River
As I have done before, I combined today's walk with my monthly COASST survey for dead seabirds.
Jon French
Mile 202
North Spit Alsea River
The beach was fairly cool today after 99 degrees two days ago.
Jon French