Mile 214 - South Beach SP, South Jetty Yaquina River - February 18, 2019

Report Details

Mild weather for President's Day brought out the beach-goers of all kinds. We spotted many people walking, (razor)clamming, surfing, and playing around. The tide was the lowest we have seen which is expected during the King tides. An hour before low tide we were able to walk out to the red spray paint on the South Jetty. A highlight of the beach walk was finding snowy plovers nesting in the wrack line. Upwards of around a dozen had dug shallow holes where they sat. So cute!

Conditions

Temperature: 47 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 0.7 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 62. Number of dogs: 8. Walking or running: 37. Playing in sand: 4. Sitting: 4. Photography: 1. Surfing: 5. Fishing: 2. Other Activities: 8-clamming; 1- kite biking?. There was a kite biker but I don't think it was motorized.. just wind driven

Concerns

Disturbances: Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 14.

Notable Wildlife

We saw nested snowy plovers between the 61B sign and the condos closer to the creek. They were nested up in the wrack line.

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Wood pieces. snowy plover nests!

Man-made Modifications

Dune modification/removal, Sand removal. Sand was removed and moved on the pathway to the beach from the South Jetty parking lot making a smoother walkway to the beach. The boulder blockade was also widened on one side allowing easier access beyond the parking lot.