Mile 291 - Camp Magruder north, Watseco, Twin Rocks SW - October 23, 2016

Report Details

Today I was joined by my husband and dog for our scouting. It was a beautiful day on the coast so a lot of people were out enjoying the day. During the 4 hours we spent on the beach there were probably about 100+ people walking, sitting, making sand castles, and taking photos of the beach. The tide was significantly higher today than during my last visit. Considering the storm last weekend, we figured there would be a lot of trash either washed up, or blown out from town, and we were correct. We collected 2 bags of litter in our stretch. It's worth noting that the debris were different than last time I visited. While there was a significant amount of cans and bottles, there was a lot more rope, netting, boards, and debris that looked like it had blown off of a house rather than out of a trash can. Additionally, there were significantly fewer gulls on the beach today (we counted about 20). We came upon one who had perished recently. It looked like it had come into contact with a predator rather than oil or netting. Compared to last time there were a lot fewer crab shells and sea grass, however there were more razor clam shells. These shells had been pushed pretty high up the beach, most likely also due to the storm. The creek that is at the northern section of our walk had gotten a lot wider due to the amount of run-off from the storm making it difficult for us to cross and not get wet. Our dog didn't have the same issue. A lot of the man-made driftwood forts had been blown down as well.

Conditions

Temperature: 57 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: S.

Human Activities

Number of people: 100. Number of dogs: 7. Walking or running: 80. Playing in sand: 5. Sitting: 20. Photography: 5. Today was a beautiful day so a lot of people were out enjoying the sunshine. Most were either sitting or walking up and down the beach.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 3.

Notable Wildlife

Compared to my last visit, there were significantly fewer gulls than my last visit. Additionally, there was remains from one dead gull on the beach just about parallel with our entry point.

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 1.

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

There were a lot less crab remains on the beach today, but a lot more razor clam shells that were deposited high on the shoreline. I'm guessing this is due to the storm last weekend.

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Styrofoam, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.).