Mile 287 - Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2 - December 14, 2013

Report Details

Because the SOLVE beach clean up was cancelled this year, I was expecting to see more litter than usual on the beach. However, little debris was visible, likely because accumulating sand had covered it. There was no evidence of new deposits of tsunami debris, although there were several pieces of Japanese construction wood that has been present since last spring. Interestingly, one of the larger Japanese beams had been carried behind the foredune and incorporated into the construction of the large camping structure located at the mid-section of the mile. There were more dead birds than usual, maybe due to the unseasonably cold winter conditions of the last couple of weeks.

Conditions

Temperature: 45 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: S. Tide Level: 6.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 10. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 7. Other Activities: 3 eating around beach campfire. A lovely, quiet winter day on Mile 287. Fewer folks out; little evidence of recent human activity - with exception of tracks from two vehicles the length of the mile (one ATV and one full size vehicle with wide tires). While neither vehicle was present during my visit, based on the tracks remaining it appeared that both vehicles accessed the beach from the north end of the spit, drove southward towards Cape Meares, then returned to the north end of the spit crossing mile 287 from each direction. The larger vehicle drove up (and possibly parked) on a low area of the foredune at the north end of the mile. Of note, at the north end of the mile, there were several places where high tides had overtopped lower areas of the foredune, in one section frequently enough that the dune grass was dying off. The beach sand levels are the highest I've seen since beginning my visits to Mile 287.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 11.

Notable Wildlife

elk tracks/manure in sand, no elk seen

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 7. 4 gulls, 2 common murres, 1 great blue heron (first time I've seen one of these on the beach). Most had been recently tagged by the COASST volunteers who monitor that section of beach - they were working at the same time we were visiting and it was great to meet them!

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Shells, Small rocks, Wood pieces.

Natural Changes

Evidence of wave overtopping.

C Nelson

CoastWatcher

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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