Mile 203 Report
Driftwood Beach south, Hidden Lake
May 15, 2020
I feel guilty being able to walk my miles, 202 and 203, within walking distance from my home, when others aren't able to because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Report Details
I feel guilty being able to walk my miles, 202 and 203, within walking distance from my home, when others aren't able to because of COVID-19 restrictions. I apologize for so many reports, but when I walk my miles I always find something that I think others might find interesting and which I think should be reported on. In addition to the eagle I watched this day, I came upon two Western Snowy Plovers, a male and female I think, just south of Beach Access 66C. Further north, I found a new plover nest (see photos) in the same approximate location as the plover nest which had been photographed by my neighbor a few weeks ago but which had then vanished. Just one egg in this new nest. Oregon Parks will install an approximately 50 meter radius (165 feet) roped buffer around the nest if and when there are two eggs in the nest, which would more clearly indicate an active nest. I will continue to check the nest (still only one egg as of May 16th).
Conditions
Temperature: 56 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: S. Tide Level: 4.5 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 30. Number of dogs: 20. Walking or running: 30.
Notable Wildlife
Western Snowy Plovers and nest - see Summary. At Beach Access 66C, a Bald Eagle flew overhead low and laboriously from inland, carrying something very dark, not a bird or fish. The eagle circled over the water, came to rest on the beach approx 100 yards south of me, and began feeding on the carcass (see photos). My guess is that it might have been a small (or already partially eaten) black cat.
Driftline Content
Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces. No debris
Report Images
Jon French
CoastWatcher
All Mile 203 Reports
Mile 203
Driftwood Beach south, Hidden Lake
Today I walked beach accesses 67A (Mile 203, Sandpiper Beach), 67C (Mile 203 Bayshore/Sandpiper), and 67 (Mile 202, Bayshore Beach).
Jon French
Mile 203
Driftwood Beach south, Hidden Lake
We found 7 lbs 12 oz of marine and ocean debris on the beaches in the wrackline area. The north and south ends of mile 203 show evidence of substantial wave erosion of the dunes.
Jeff Hildreth
Mile 203
Driftwood Beach south, Hidden Lake
The beach has had substantial washing away of old dunes and washing up of beach grass into the dunes. There were 45 bird carcasses of we believe are Cassin's auklets.
Jeff Hildreth
Mile 203
Driftwood Beach south, Hidden Lake
Today I and my two CoastWatch partners conducted a NOAA Marine Debris survey on our 100 meter survey site at Sandpiper Beach, Mile 203. On reaching our marine debris survey site, we saw a lot of Cassin's Auklet carcasses, which COASST calls CAAU, all high up on the beach among the beach vegetation and washed-in sea grass, many carcasses partially covered by sand or vegetation. After we completed our debris survey, I returned to our survey site and began collecting CAAU carcasses in groups of 9, as COASST recommends, ultimately collecting 40 carcasses in 4 full and 1 partial grouping. Below is a link to our Sandpiper Beach NOAA debris survey site where most CAAUs were found, reached by a boardwalk that enters the beach midway in the debris survey site. COASST defines a "wreck" as more than 20 beached individuals of one species per kilometer, and a "MME" (Massive Mortality Event) as a spike of up to hundreds of carcasses per kilometer. We also found a beached Northern Fulmar and what is I believe was either a female Gadwall or White-winged Scoter, which I took note of but didn't measure or report on to COASST. I submitted documentation with photos of the CAAU beaching event to COASST, and COASST responded that they had received reports of CAAU beachings from Southern Oregon sites like Coquille Point and Cape Blanco but also as far north as Manzanita. All this sounds very dry, but it was really sad to see and handle all these beautiful little dead birds and wonder if this is completely natural or if climate change, and perhaps a decline of prey species making these birds more vulnerable, factors into these mortality events. https://mdmap.
Jon French
Mile 203
Driftwood Beach south, Hidden Lake
The storms and rain caused some beach washout from the ocean and from the land.
JLcoasties
Mile 203
Driftwood Beach south, Hidden Lake
The dunes have reappeared due to the spring winds.
JLcoasties
Mile 203
Driftwood Beach south, Hidden Lake
Last year at this time, Jesse Jones helped us set up a 100 meter NOAA marine debris survey site on Mile 204, which we later moved to Sandpiper Beach on Mile 203.
Jon French
Mile 203
Driftwood Beach south, Hidden Lake
It was a beautiful day for a walk.
Nancy Thomas