Mile 239 - Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay - April 30, 2023

Report Details

After a winter and spring of horrible weather, we finally got out to survey our mile on a mild day. Picked up very little trash ... only a few small items plus one long piece of rubber hose. The harbor seal colony was at its usual spot at the end of the Spit. It looked like there were a few juveniles among the 150 or so animals ... but a little hard to tell from a distance. Most unusual thing - we found 6 dead sea stars (ochre and leather sea stars) in the sand along our route. Unusual because this is a sand spit - not the rocky shore areas that sea stars usually like. Not sure why they would be washing up here.

Conditions

Temperature: 55 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: SW. Tide Level: 3.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 8. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 8. Est. 40 people and 2 dogs on the Taft side of the Siletz River, but we did not walk that side

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 5.

Notable Wildlife

Est. 150 harbor seals in their usual resting place at the tip of the Salishan Spit

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Unusual concentration. Discovered 6 dead sea stars in the sand

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Shells.

Man-made Modifications

On the Siletz Bay side of the Salishan Spit, part of the trail through the shore pine woods had been eroded away, probably by winter storms and high tides, leaving a steep drop-off. This trail is used as a route from the parking lot to the end of the Spit. The rangers (I assume) have marked out and cleared an alternate trail that skirts around the eroded part, making this route again useable.. One section is very close to the sand cliff but it looks like there is an alternate route there also.

Report Images

ORbeach

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All Mile 239 Reports

Date

Showing 8 of 88 reports

Mile 239

Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay

March 16, 2024

A beautiful 70-degree day in mid-March .

Linda Reid

Mile 239

Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay

November 12, 2023

Not a bad fall day for a walk with our out-of-town visitors, but walking the beach was impossible due to the high tide and big waves, which were reaching the beach grass area and bouncing large pieces of driftwood around.

ORbeach