Report Details

We thought it would be foggy on the beach, given the weather the past few days, but it turned out clear and sunny.  Persistent chilly north wind, though.  The harbor seal colony was a little closer to the mouth of the Siletz River than normal, but all grouped together.  Social distancing is not a thing with them.  Estimated 150 seals or more in the group.  Saw several crystal jellies stranded in the sand at the edge of the rivermouth.  Very little trash ... we picked up 5 small items.

Conditions

Temperature: 62 F. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 2.2 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 10. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 7. Playing in sand: 3. Looking across the mouth of the Siletz, we counted 130 people or more and 7 dogs on Taft beach, but did not walk that side. Two parties with dogs were walking at the end of the spit near the harbor seal colony but both appeared to be aware of the cautions to keep their distance.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 5.

Notable Wildlife

150+ harbor seals at the tip of the Salishan Spit

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt).

Report Images

Harbor seal colony at the tip of the Salishan Spit. Taft beach across the Siletz River in the distance.
Harbor seals on the Salishan Spit
Harbor seals on the Salishan Spit
Crystal jelly stranded in the sand
Crystal jelly stranded in the sand

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All Mile 239 Reports

Showing 8 of 90 reports

Mile 239

Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay

July 7, 2024

Pleasant breezy day.

Linda Reid

Mile 239

Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay

May 26, 2024

A pleasant calm day on the holiday weekend.

Linda and Clyde

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

Mile 239

Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay

July 12, 2023

As nice a summer day as we get here on the coast.

ORbeach

Mile 239

Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay

April 30, 2023

After a winter and spring of horrible weather, we finally got out to survey our mile on a mild day.

ORbeach

Mile 239

Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay

November 20, 2022

Sunny, calm day.

ORbeach

Mile 239

Salishan Spit north, Siletz Bay

August 6, 2022

Found a dead sea lion on the beach at beach access #50.

ORbeach