Mile 305 - Oswald West SP, Cape Falcon N - February 8, 2013

Report Details

Virtually nothing to be seen! The trees that I mentioned were the big news. The cove floors are all very flat, meaning it's easier for the ocean to take back whatever it brings in. I found only one plastic buoy of any decent size, and only a couple of small tangles of rope and crab pot type floats. No large birds, seals, sea lions, or any evidence of them. This is probably one of my first winter visits, so the area may look like this every year at this time. A nice walk, but I expected more flotsam and jetsam. The neighbors that had the NO TRESPASSING sign on the wood gate where I drive in have taken it down. Nice folks.

Conditions

Temperature: 45 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: E. Tide Level: -0.8 feet.

Human Activities

Nobody there except me, as usual.

Notable Wildlife

A few birds, but total absence of seals and signs thereof. Maybe too early.

Beached Birds

Surprising!

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Virtually none. Again, surprising.

Driftline Content

Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.), Styrofoam, Wood pieces.

Natural Changes

Newly exposed roots/trees falling, Landslides/major boulder falls.

Actions & Comments

Some trees that had fallen many years ago, and that were clinging to the south bluff face of the first cove I drop in to -- they fell! Slid straight down and now have their roots on the sea floor and point back up the hill. One is broken in two and has a 180-degree turn in it halfway up the cliff. The other is intact. The total length of each is probably 200-250 feet. They've been lying on the cliff face ever since I started doing this for Mile 305. I am glad I wasn't under them when they fell. There's an atypically large amount of rock that's fallen to sea level, but I think it's just the freezing temperatures and natural erosion, as most of it is in areas highly unlikely to have had any human digging, mining, or other resource removal, etc.