Mile 207 - Seal Rock Wayside north, Seal Rocks, Deer Creek - 04/26/2026

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A quiet Sunday at the Curtis St. beach. While Seal Rock park on the other side of the South bluff was crowded with tourists, very few people visited here. Birds were the main attraction today as you can see from the counts and variety. One of the two resident bald eagles even made a fly-by! One strange note is the smell. I've visited this beach dozens of times and I've never smelled anything like the strong dead-fish odor that I did today. If the breeze was blowing straight from the West over the far rocks where the Murres were nesting I'd guess it was that, but any breeze was coming from the North. The odor was concentrated in a narrow area but persistent over the entire span of my visit. Nothing out of the ordinary was on the beach or within sight in the water.

Conditions

Temperature: 54 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 1.0 feet.

Activities

Types of Activities: Walking/Running.

Number of people: 11. Number of dogs: 4.

Other Activities: Exercising some energetic dogs was the main activity today - one parent was throwing a football with his young son. Just a quiet Sunday on the beach for people avoiding crowded areas..

Notable Wildlife

It was Bird Day at the beach today. Bald Eagle: 1. Turkey Vulture: 6. Common Murre: 100+ on offshore rock in one large colony. Brown Pelicans: flock of 18 plus another 3 later on. Whimbrels: 9. Dunlins: 20. Western Gull: 9 Velella Velella still washing up but in much smaller numbers - 15 or 20 at low tide mark. A "lefty" photo is included for Dr. Tom Iwanicki, but left/right Velella about equal numbers today.

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Dungeness crab: 3 small individuals, largest was 2.5 inches across.

Wrackline Content

Shells, Animal casings or molts, Wood pieces, Marine debris. Still surprisingly little litter/debris from fishing boats or human visitors, no styrofoam found.

Man-made Modifications

Steps down bluff. Photo shows replacement steps down from home on bluff through cut in the bank.

Natural Changes

Visible retreat of solid bluff.

Report Images

Steeper than it looks, but the access was actually better than usual today. Still some discolored runoff to one side, hopefully the subject of water testing.