Mile 204 Report
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
May 21, 2012
Cold, rainy and windy.
Report Details
Cold, rainy and windy. Beach laden with debris, from big trees to pebbles.
Conditions
Temperature: 45 F. Cloud Cover: Rain. Wind Velocity: Storm. Wind Direction: S. Tide Level: 6.2 feet.
Human Activities
The people in the cars were sitting at the wheel and enjoying watching the stormy sea.
Vehicles
Cars/trucks parking: 3.
Notable Wildlife
about 18 seagulls only (all facing the winds and trying to stay upright)
Beached Birds
Total dead birds: 1. Enganglement: 1. nonecould have been a cormarant. Had a very sturdy beak almost parrot-like
Stranded Marine Mammals
none
Dead Fish or Invertebrates
none
Driftline Content
Seaweeds and seagrass, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Shells, Small rocks, Styrofoam, Wood pieces. It was like walking thru a dump
Man-made Modifications
none
Natural Changes
Evidence of wave overtopping, Visible retreat of solid bluff, Landslides/major boulder falls. These were small landslides.. perhaps from high wave action
Actions & Comments
It was a cold, rainy, and very windy (35-40mph wnds) time on the beach. The beach was laden with debris. Big trees, lumber, etc, right down to the smallest pebbles. Quite a windy stormy walk for a late May day.
Janets
CoastWatcher
All Mile 204 Reports
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Mile 204 isn't my usual mile, so I've waited to walk it again until work resumed on PacWave South's wave energy testing project at Driftwood Beach Wayside. https://pacwaveenergy.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Today marked my latest sighting of the old growth driftwood log that I've admired and whose comings and goings from Driftwood Beach I've documented since June 2020, when I first photographed it high on the beach south of Buckley Creek.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
I had read that the 265-foot vessel Seacor Lee would be anchoring a mile off Driftwood Beach in support of OSU's PacWave South wave energy testing project, positioned so that divers from the ship could perform work on previously installed seafloor conduits.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
I haven't walked Driftwood Beach regularly since the PacWave South wave energy project completed work underground in the Driftwood parking lot.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
By the time I got to Driftwood Wayside, a lot of people had already arrived for their New Years Day beach walks, some 30 vehicles in the parking lot and 30 - 40 people down on the beach, accompanied by at least half as many dogs, almost all leashed.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
This was probably the last dependably dry Mile 204 walk before the rains begin in earnest.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
After the morning fog lifted and before the marine layer moved in, I walked from Seal Rock on Mile 205 to Beach Access 66C on Mile 203.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Driftwood Wayside is open again after PacWave's departure, but I was the only visitor on this breezy, drizzly day.
Jon French