Mile 247 - South Spit Salmon River, Tillamook/Lincoln county line - September 14, 2023

Report Details

As stated above, notable wildlife on the estuary side of the sand spit included 2 herons, 1 harbor seal and many small (approx. 3 in diameter) jellyfish. On the ocean side of the sand spit notable wildlife included leather chitens, ochre sea stars, a giant mole crab, sand fleas (in the tide line), giant green anemones, gooseneck barnacles, mussels and a small group of small, brown and white, unidentified shore birds. There were two groups of supervised school-aged kids in the rocky habitat (presumably from Camp West Wind). Due to a survey group size of 1 and an extreme lack of debris in the Marine Debris Survey 100m monitoring area, a Marine Debris Survey was not conducted during this CoastWatch survey. A 15 minute count of ochre stars was conducted for Sea Star Monitoring Sites 1 and 2. Site 1 yeilded a count of 41 ochre sea stars. Site two yeilded a count of 116 ochre sea stars. The ochre sea stars included in these two, 15 minute counts were not measured due to team size of 1 and absence of measuring tape.

Conditions

Temperature: 61 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: N. Tide Level: -0.2 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 17. Walking or running: 17. Playing in surf: 10. Playing in sand: 10. Tidepooling: 6. There were two groups of young people with counselors from the nearby Camp West Wind exploring the rocky habitat at the south end of Mile 247.

Notable Wildlife

On the estuary side of the sand spit 2 herons, 1 harbor seal and many small (approx. 3 in diameter) jellyfish were observed. On the ocean side of the sand spit in the rocky habitat at the south end of Mile 247 were numerous leather chitons, ochre sea stars, a giant mole crab, sand fleas (in the tide line), giant green anemones, gooseneck barnacles, mussels and a small group of small, brown and white, unidentified shore birds.

Beached Birds

none

Stranded Marine Mammals

none

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

none

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). There was an unusual, high, concentration of thin, white, brittle, plastic string (approx. 1mm in diameter) entangled with seaweed and other grasses in the driftline / wrack line / tide line at the south end of Mile 247.

New Development

none

Man-made Modifications

none

Natural Changes

none

Report Images

Sea Star Site #2 includes the rocky outcropping to the right facing the camera and the cave to the left. A 15 minute count was conducted with 116 ochre stars observed. Measurements were not taken during this count.

Small brown and white shore birds observed on rocks near Sea Star Site #2 (cave) at the south end of Mile 247

A hermit crab in the arch "key hole" opening in the rocks at the south end of Mile 247. During this survey the sand level was significantly lower than the previous month, causing the keyhole opening in the rocks to have about 1 foot of water in it.

Photo of the keyhole area for future reference of the sand level. During this survey there was about 1 foot of water in the mouth of the keyhole and the rocks beyond were fairly exposed. Rock hopping was required to access both Sea Star Sites.

There was a high concentration of white, brittle, thin, plastic cord wrapped in sea grasses on the beach directly north of the rocky habitat at the south and of Mile 247.

Due to a team size of 1 and an extreme lack of debris within the MDMAP Marine Debris Survey area an MDMAP Marine Debris Survey was not conducted during this CoastWatch survey.

A soft, feather-like structure found on the sand. The structure resembled the cirri (feeding appendage) of a barnacle but was not found near any barnacles or other such creatures.

There was a lot of invertebrate activity in the sand near the water line, evidenced by these tiny hills of sand.

On the return trip to the boat launch there was a high concentration of small (about 3 inches across) jellyfish in the estuary.

The view of Cascade Head from the north end of Mile 247.

This purple ochre star is a good example of what the ochre star looks like when deflated/dehydrated from being out of the water. This star is not an example of wasting disease.

These ochre sea stars were observed in the cave (Sea Star Site #2) where green anemones were also plentiful as well as this crab.

During the previous survey, a three-armed, purple ochre sea star was observed on the cave wall opposite of where this four-legged purple star was observed on 9/14/23. If they are the same star, it appears to be recovering/growing a new arm.

This photo was taken for reference of the sand level inside the cave (Sea Star site #2). This is from inside the cave looking south.

This photo was taken for reference of the sand level inside the cave (Sea Star site #2). This is from inside the cave looking northwest.

This orange ochre star is another good example of what the ochre seastar looks like when deflated/dehydrated from being out of the water. This star is not an example of seastar wasting disease.

Report Images

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