Mile 244 Report
Wecoma Beach north, Lincoln City, Roads End south
June 20, 2015
This morning at around 9 a.
Report Details
This morning at around 9 a.m., I walked about an eighth of my mile, directly west of NW 37th to NW 39th streets. I was checking on the health of my rock-inhabiting neighbors. Using the “observing eye technique” taught to us by Fawn, I looked carefully at a small area to discern camouflaged life forms. What I saw, was a majority of anemones: many, many anemones. Some of them completely surrounded and covered the rays of an orange sea star. The star appeared to be alive, of vivid color, but covered with a transparent gel. The sand level was high, as it has been for some months, leaving about 10 feet of the tallest rock from top to sand. There were tidepools at the base of the rocks, few on the nearby sands. The sand up to the access steps was also high, covering the bottom three steps and having filled our usual stream mid-beach to the shore. Tide was at about minus seven.Of a total of 28 stars, varying in size from 4 inches (ray to ray) to 8 inches, I saw two that were covered with the gel. Is this a normal reaction of the sea star to its surroundings or body functions? The stars looked to be healthy, firm of texture and vivid of color. I saw no scars, stubs, extra rays or discolorations. A couple, who were photographing the rock, said that they had seen a small dead star moments ago. I looked for it, but found none. Several people have been on the beach for several days, so it is possible that the star was harvested and left high and dry.I also found a tiger snail, about a quarter inch long. The lady of the photographing couple took a picture of it, but whether it shows up on our website is a “maybe."
Conditions
Temperature: 65 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: -7.0 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 73. Number of dogs: 4. Walking or running: 73. Photography: 2. Tidepooling: 8. Woman with 2 girls, one teenager, the other pre-teen. Woman was posing and photographing teenager. All three were on the west side of the big rocks (not advisable), but were watching the waves carefully, and returned to east side of rocks in good time.
Notable Wildlife
Flat kelp fronds in the rocky tidepools (appeared to be very healthy),anemone in abundance, small (about 2" diameter)sea stars 28 (see comment)
Driftline Content
Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Shells, Small rocks, Wood pieces.
Natural Changes
Higher than usual sand level
All Mile 244 Reports
Mile 244
Wecoma Beach north, Lincoln City, Roads End south
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Mile 244
Wecoma Beach north, Lincoln City, Roads End south
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Mile 244
Wecoma Beach north, Lincoln City, Roads End south
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Mile 244
Wecoma Beach north, Lincoln City, Roads End south
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Mile 244
Wecoma Beach north, Lincoln City, Roads End south
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Mile 244
Wecoma Beach north, Lincoln City, Roads End south
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Mile 244
Wecoma Beach north, Lincoln City, Roads End south
Crab fishing gear on the beach.
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Mile 244
Wecoma Beach north, Lincoln City, Roads End south
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