Mile 313 - Tolovana Park north, Haystack Rock - 06/08/2024 | Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

Report Details

An early morning walk to Haystack Rock was mostly foggy and overcast, with a brief clearing in the weather mid-morning. The low tides revealed 6 active Tufted Puffins observed on the north side of Haystack Rock. There was a pair of Black Oystercatchers observed in the area called "the Saddle." An adult Pacific Harbor Seal was hauled out on the north side of the rock, snoozing and resting on the rocks. I observed many healthy Ochre sea stars in the tidepools, including some individuals the size of a dinner plate. Interesting tidepool invertebrates included mossy chiton, hind's chiton, a Pacific peanut worm, green spongy cushion, plumrose anemone, moonglow anemone, aggregating anemone, giant green anemone, horned nudibranch, and California mussels. Some larger vertical rock slabs were exposed at the low tide revealing a pygmy rock crab, stiff-footed sea cucumber, rough keyhole limpets, red-trumpet calcareous tubeworms, and purple sponge in the genus Haliclona. Overall, I observed incredible tidepool diversity and amazing nesting seabird behavior at Haystack Rock during low tide.

Conditions

Temperature: 56 F. Cloud Cover: Foggy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 1.1 feet.

Activities

Number of people: 100. Number of dogs: 20. Walking or running: 20. Sitting: 30. Tidepooling: 50.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks on beach, allowed: 1.

Notable Wildlife

Notable wildlife included 6 Tufted Puffins seen on the north side of Haystack Rock that were easily visible at the low tide. There was a pair of Black Oystercatchers observed in the area called "the Saddle." An adult Pacific Harbor Seal was hauled out on the north side of the rock, snoozing and resting on the rocks. I observed many healthy Ochre sea stars in the tidepools, including some individuals the size of a dinner plate. Interesting tidepool invertebrates included mossy chiton, hind's chiton, a Pacific peanut worm, green spongy cushion, plumrose anemone, moonglow anemone, aggregating anemone, giant green anemone, horned nudibranch, and California mussels. Some larger vertical rock slabs were exposed at the low tide revealing a pygmy rock crab, stiff-footed sea cucumber, rough keyhole limpets, red-trumpet calcareous tubeworms, and purple sponge in the genus Haliclona.

Wrackline Content

No evidence of tar balls on the beach.

Natural Changes

Significant sand build-up is occurring as the seasons change with the summer season. The sand is covering many basalt cobbles in front of Haystack Rock, but the southern tidepool area called "the Needles" is more easily accessible due to the sand build-up.

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