Mile 202 Report
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.
Report Details
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. I found a marine mammal carcass (tentative ID, Stellar Sea Lion) which I reported to the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, a beached Cassin's Auklet and Brandt's Cormorant which I processed for reporting to COASST, a Big Skate egg case, a dozen or more wintering Western Snowy Plovers now beginning to group together, a few Sanderlings and juvenile Black-bellied Plovers, hundreds of gulls resting beside Alsea Bay in place of last month's pelicans, lines of pelicans flying north to Seal Rock, the osprey nest platform at Bayshore Beach Club unused again this year after some brief early nest construction--there's always too much to squeeze into a short report!
Conditions
Temperature: 65 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Tide Level: 8.5 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 8. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 4. Playing in sand: 2. Fishing: 2.
Vehicles
Cars/trucks parking: 1.
Notable Wildlife
A dozen or more wintering Western Snowy Plovers, three juvenile Black-bellied Plovers, 2 Sanderlings, hundreds of gulls resting beside Alsea Bay, pelicans flying north
Beached Birds
Total dead birds: 2. Cassin's Auklet and Brandt's Cormorant, processed for reporting to COASST
Stranded Marine Mammals
Total stranded mammals: 1. Reported to the Marine Mammal Stranding Network with photo, a decomposing carcass, 6', a patch of brown hair, difficult to ID, probably a Stellar Sea Lion
Driftline Content
Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces. a Big Skate egg case
Report Images
Jon French
CoastWatcher
All Mile 202 Reports
Mile 202
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
Mile 202
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
Mile 202
North Spit Alsea River
This was my second monthly beached bird survey for COASST (Coastal Observation And Seabird Survey Team) which I combined with my mile walk.
Jon French
Mile 202
North Spit Alsea River
A dead certacean was reported to the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network to be on the beach in Bayshore Oregon by Beach Entrance 67d.
JLcoasties