Mile 288 - Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point - September 1, 2009

Report Details

On a beautiful late summer day, I found mile 288 to be in full glory. Human debris was light and nature showed its best side. There was a heavy accumulation of sand and also much seaweed. The sand and seaweed combination resulted in some strange sand formations creating something almost like a lunar scape. I saw three people, two with one dog on a leash (very unusual for the beach)and one person walking alone. There were numerous large prints in the sand indicating the earlier presence of several horses. As noted, Tillamook Bay was alive with birds, especially hundreds of Brown Pelicans.The only uneasy observation was of two men in hunting outfits with bows and arrows. Unfortunately I did not ask if they had been hunting or target shooting. They were coming from the north end of the Bay side of Bayocean Spit.

Conditions

Temperature: 56 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: W. Tide Level: 2.1 feet.

Activities

Number of people: 3. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 3.

Other Activities: On the Bay side I saw two fellows in camouflage outfits with bow and arrow gear. I thought to ask if they had been hunting or target shooting, but I didn't. I don't think hunting is allowed so I wonder what they had been doing..

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 6.

Notable Wildlife

The Bay side of Bayocean Spit was teeming with birds. Hundreds of Brown Pelicans soared, dove, and congregated in the Bay. Near sunset many more were diving and fishing in the deep surf on the ocean side. As it was low tide, there were dozens of Great Blue Herons and Semi-palmated Plovers feeding off the mud flats. There were also the usual gulls (Western, Glaucous-winged), Caspian terns, Western Sandpipers, and Crows. Other highlights were Cedar Waxwings, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and one inquisitive Wrentit that came within four feet of me singing to me as I sang back to it. Our "dialogue" went on for several minutes. On a different note, the seaweed accumulations on the beach were larger than I have ever seen. It seemed that seaweed was covering everything and there was much in the surf also. One of the pictures shows this phenomenon.

Wrackline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Wood pieces.

Report Images

YaakovM

CoastWatcher

All Mile 288 Reports

Date

Showing 8 of 60 reports

Mile 288

Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point

January 14, 2026

A sperm whale, approximately 15 feet in length, washed up on Bay Ocean Spit in early January and was first spotted by ORPD Ranger Simon Freeman.

Denise Harrington

Mile 288

Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point

April 23, 2025

There was no human activity observed along Mile 288 during my visit. Due to our March 9th cleanup efforts along Mile 288, there was very little debris visible (although I did not enter the nesting area to survey the wrack line. I found one unidentified dead bird during my visit.

Karen Schank

Mile 288

Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point

November 10, 2024

Mile 288 showed no signs of man-made disturbance, and no one was on-site during my monitoring. I was glad to see a flock of plovers flying in the foredune again!

KMS

Mile 288

Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point

March 14, 2024

It was an incredibly busy day for Mile 288 the day before the snowy plover nesting season began! I was glad to see DOGAMI and OPRD on-site, and appreciated OPRD's willingness to haul the debris I collected back to their dumpsters. It was also exciting to see so many plovers in the wet sand.

Karen Schank