March 4, 2008

Number of people: 5. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 5.

quite a few gulls flying overhead. Rarely see any shorebirds along this mile, along I think on my last visit I saw some plovers.

Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Small rocks, Wood pieces. sea grass, lots of plastic bits.

Visible retreat of solid bluff. usual gradual

The most visible retreat of a solid bluff is just north of Beverly Beach park/the bridge. At the north end of the bluff is what looks like a drainpipe that goes under the highway. It seems to be sticking out even further than a few months ago (water was flowing out of it and further eroding the bluff beneath it). Most marked change that I noticed--and it's possible it was present last time but because of the angle of the sunlight put the bluff features in high contrast & the low tide enabled me to walk that much further away from the bluff than last time--is that there seems to have been so much erosion at the top of the bluff that the salal (dying) is draped over the edge of the bluff like a cape. A few large pads of salal have separated from the mass at the top & slid all or part way down the cliff. The stand of pines at the top now seem to be about 2-3 "rows" of pines deep, whereas, 15 years ago it was 6 pines deep (so to speak). The sediment stratas are vivid & cleanly exposed suggested that erosion is pretty continual, i.e, always a fresh surface. Further south the rest of the bluff is deeply incised, as is the bluff south of the creek that forms the southernmost boundary of my mile. Once again, did not see the ancient tree roots exposed. Beach was great, tide was way out, the sun was out, just a mild breeze & the air vibrant & crisp. I really only saw two other people during my walk as the other 3 people (plus dog) were coming up the stairs from the beach as I was going down them. Surf sounds unspoiled by the engine & rotor loud & irritating noises of & small planes flying overhead (small jets are just as bad but much less frequent).