May 19, 2018

Temperature: 50 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Tide Level: 5.0 feet.

Number of people: 45. Number of dogs: 6. Walking or running: 15. Sitting: 5. Surfing: 30. Other Activities: Standing.. For once, all dogs seemed pretty much under control. No dog harassed/jumped on or attacked my dog (at another beach last week, the dog was attacked by a dog of one of the "pitbull" breeds"0 dog's owner beat off the dog w/a ball chucker) which was nice. In the past two weeks, on other beaches (one w/in the Newport city limits) the dog, an mellow 8 year old Golden Retriever, has: (1) had 3-4 black & white corgis charge at her, barking wildly. Then two of them shifted their charging/yapping attentions to a nearby dog (who was peacefully hanging out w/his family), that younger dog started chasing one of the corgis who looked shocked & scared. Not used to getting some of its own behavior returned apparently. Owners stood by and did nothing until corgis decided to return to them; (2) two days ago was charged from 50' away on the beach by what looked like 2 border collies & one cattle dog of some kind as we descended a stairway access to the beach (Georgie's restaurant access in Newport). Owner stayed where the dogs had been, near the ocean's edge, calling them. They, as so often happens with dogs on OR beaches, ignored his calls until I rounded on them and yelled, "GET AWAY" which shocked the BCs, who decided to leave, and left alone, the cattle dog decided to return to the owner as well. I don't think any of those 3 dogs wanted to hurt my dog, but I sure didn't ask for them to charge headlong over to us either and the GR was interested in running after & retrieving the ball in my ball chucker. The beach is NOT a dog park. Dogs are supposed to be under voice control if not leashed. The golden retriever who stays w/sometimes, is not my dog but she's spent alot of time w/me and her owner & I have obedience trained her. She comes when I call or whistle 98% of the time, regardless of distractions, that recall rate is about 85% better then that of way too many of the dogs I see on the beach. It's not rocket science. Takes about 5 weeks, 30 minutes/day and a good training method. Or hire a trainer. Then your dog can accompany you to the beach off lead without being a PITA to almost everyone else and an object of fear to people who are afraid of dogs or don't like them. Both categories of people have an equal right to enjoy Oregon beaches as anyone who's got a dog/s with him or her. And yes, I'm lecturing on this topic because I'm really tired of seeing shore birds harassed (violating another park rule and depriving the shore birds of the time/ability to hunt for food & rest) and wondering what dog is going to jump on/harass/interfere w/the GR if she's with me. Occasionally, bother me (jump on me, charge at me) if I'm on my own. It doesn't have to be that way. I trained my own dog, I've trained a few others. It's just not that hard. It makes a huge difference in how good a companion the dog can be (imo), how many places the dog will be truly welcomed, and I felt, how adoptable my dog would've been had something happened to me while she was alive. Sooner or later, dogs will start being banned from some of the beaches in OR--it's happened in CA and NY, perhaps elsewhere. It doesn't help that some of the people w/dogs (especially if they have several dogs) can't be bothered to pick up after their dogs. In the summer, at Agate Beach wayside, there's usually at least 10 piles of dog feces within 15' of the west side parking lot. Is there anyone who thinks the beaches look better that way?

Disturbances: Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs

There are usually very few birds on this beach, however, for the past week or so, and for much longer on the beaches in Newport I walk on several times/week, I have seen relatively large (estimated 20-40) whimbrels/mile (I'm usually walking a mile to X, a mile back). Great to see them. I usually see some every spring, this is the most I've seen in awhile and for far longer into the spring then usual. I've also seen them harassed by loose dogs, and flying to get away from people walking at waves' edge. Otherwise, a few crows, vultures & seagulls flying overhead. Maybe 2 of the larger sized plovers, mingling w/the whimbrels.

Small rocks, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces. Plastic, pieces of plastic, not pellets. What looked like some clear plastic gloves.

I saw tracks of heavy equipment near a gradually falling apart concrete creek culvert under highway 101, about 2/3s of my mile going south. My guess is ODOT cleared the drift wood/logs from around the stream as it has done once before that I'm aware of. However, the channel was still or again littered & partially blocked by small drift logs, etc.

Newly exposed roots/trees falling, Visible retreat of solid bluff. Same old, same old. All the exposed bluffs along the mile are erosional/eroding, how fast seem to vary w/how heavy the rainfall is every fall/winter/spring. A few of the bluffs are probably sometimes wave eroded at their bases if there's high energy event at high tide, otherwise I think most of the erosion is rain/wind related.

There is no action to take.