Mile 213 Report
Henderson Creek, South Beach SP south
September 12, 2025
A sunny day with comfortable cool temp and little wind.
Report Details
A sunny day with comfortable cool temp and little wind. More seaweed visible in southern part of the mile. Only gulls seen. Concern was about the vast area of black sand by South Shore community -- natural, erosion or man-made? One beached bird needing help in identification and COASST has been notified with photos. Lots of vehicle tracks by South Shore community.
Conditions
Temperature: 56 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 2.26 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 5. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 5. no concern seen being done by humans/dogs
Concerns
People/dogs/vehicles in closure areas
Apparent violations: wondering if a lot of vehicle tracks in South Shore community area are ATV's. Usually don't see tracks except perhaps South Shore Park Ranger's jeep tracks. But no violations were seen during this time..Notable Wildlife
A large group (35) of gulls resting near Henderson Creek. No other bird species was seen.
Beached Birds
Total dead birds: 4. 3 were small dead birds in bad conditions and couldn't be identified. One larger bird was photographed and those photos are with this report which hopefully can be identified by Ocean Shores personnel. Photos were sent to COASST. Report will be updated when reply is received. Looked like a cormorant but just a guess from what was observed.
Dead Fish or Invertebrates
Lots of seaweed in the area near Surfland beach access south of Henderson Creek. Seafoam not white but dirty brown/green. Did seaweed create this color? Photo with report. Not seen further north. Crab molts scattered in entire area but not in unusual quantity.
Driftline Content
Wood pieces. Typical content - nothing unusual.
Man-made Modifications
This is the area where help is needed. A vast area by South Shore community driftline was filled with black sand. Haven't seen this before. Manmade , erosion or natural? Contacted South Beach State Park personnel. The Ranger is on vacation but a temp said this is probably a natural phenomenon for this time of the year. Is it? When the last report was done in late March, it looked like more sand had been added to reinforce the bluffs at South Shore community. Learned now that probably occurred during the winter storms naturally. We're aware that basalt rock is an underlying rock on the coast.
Natural Changes
see previous section regarding black sand.
Actions & Comments
As mentioned, South Shore State Park personnel was contacted. Perhaps Ocean Shores personnel can also provide an explanation on what was seen.
Black sand area
black sand
Close=up photos of beached bird
Report Images
Julia/Paul
CoastWatcher
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