Mile 287 - Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2 - June 24, 2021

Report Details

Lovely early summer day on coast. Most notable wildlife observations were flocks of brown pelicans. It was nice to see how completely the sand has filled in previously eroded foredune areas. Also remarkable was absence of trash - only saw and retrieved one plastic water bottle, the fewest I've ever seen on the mile during a visit, and the bag of trash I carried out was the smallest I've ever collected.

Conditions

Temperature: 65 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 6.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 21. Number of dogs: 6. Walking or running: 19. Other Activities: 2 riders on horseback. 1 pickup/horse trailer combo parked in access lot; saw two riders on horseback riding together from north to south along length of peninsula. Other folks were strolling along beach. There was one empty tent set up in the foredune on the north end of the mile, but no campers or other camping equipment present.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 24.

Notable Wildlife

Several large flocks of brown pelicans observed flying above surfline; one bald eagle noted sitting on snag above foredune.

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces. remarkably little human debris or plastic visible

Natural Changes

Sand has filled in virtually all of the eroded areas of foredune that were observed during winter storms/high tides.

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