Mile 206 - Seal Rock Wayside south, Elephant Rock, Hill Creek - December 31, 2011

Report Details

This was our first mile walk. The beach appears only to be walkable at low tide. There are several small headlands along this mile but all have trails around the back. Beach seemed pretty clean, not much trash. Found a tangle of rope that could be a wildlife hazard and removed it from beach. Was at the low tide mark. Also found a huge piece of bolted together driftwood - possibly a dock? Looked like it had been in the water a while. Normal amount of invertebrates. Saw 4-5 seals and several species of sea birds. This mile is a series of beaches and rocky outcroppings. For the sake of descriptions, I will name them beach 1-3 from north to south. Will get coordinates at next visit.

Conditions

Temperature: 45 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 3.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 35. Number of dogs: 4. Walking or running: 30. Photography: 12. Tidepooling: 5.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 25.

Notable Wildlife

4-5 harbor seals, 1 oyster catcher, ~15 cormorants, sea gulls, small plover looking shore birds

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Unusual concentration. Lots of mussel shells at N44 29.500' W124 5.069' along the rocks going into the surf.

Driftline Content

Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Wood pieces.