Mile 287 - Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2 - December 12, 2022

Report Details

A pleasant December afternoon. Sunny, calm, quiet, not many visitors, little visible trash (only picked up one bag of miscellaneous items, including lots of plastic shotgun wads). A dead salmon deposited in the driftline was the first I've seen in my years of walking this mile, otherwise nothing notable to report.

Conditions

Temperature: 45 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 6.5 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 6. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 3. Other Activities: bicycling with dog. Few folks visiting today. Other than the two of us, three people were walking with their dog and a bicyclist went up and back along the mile with his dog.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 6.

Notable Wildlife

Two juvenile and one mature bald eagle seen soaring above foredune.

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 4. All dead birds noted had been extensively scavenged so identification wasn't possible; two were likely gulls.

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

One dead salmon deposited in driftline; body had been scavenged but head, tail, and skin were all intact. Have rarely seen dead fish on mile and never before a salmon.

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces. Occasional jellyfish; one lion's mane and a couple moon jellies and comb jellies.

Natural Changes

Considerable sand accretion since last visit. No evidence of waves overtopping foredune from this year's first king tide.

C Nelson

CoastWatcher

All Mile 287 Reports

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Mile 287

Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2

March 17, 2024

The cloudy marine layer that was present when we first arrived eventually burned off, providing us with a pleasant but breezy sunny afternoon for our visit. 1) We encountered an intact hull of a fiberglass boat on the mid-section of the mile; photos and location information was provided to the State Park Ranger so it could be retrieved from the beach. 2) There had been a massive influx of velella velella (by-the-wind sailors) washed ashore several days before our visit. 3) Given the number of folks in the parking area when we arrived, we had expected to see more folks on mile 287 but encountered just a typical number of visitors. 4) There was more detritus on the beach than we've seen in recent previous visits.

C NELSON