Mile 323 - Seaside - October 23, 2016 | Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

Report Details

What a wonderful morning on the beach. Most significant find was the hitchhiking amphipods (Hyperia medusarium), all by their lonesome, on the beach. It was made even more interesting due to the fact that there were very few (3 moons, 1 fried egg and some gooseberry) jellyfish on the beach. That said, I found spiders, lots of spiders...at least 5. Like last year, there were millions (most likely trillions) of tubeworm casings on the beach. Found quite a few 4.5 inch crab shells, probably just a molting event. Surf scoters were out and about, which we do not typically see so close to shore.

Conditions

Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 7.3 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 20. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 20. A lovely brisk morning on the beach, everyone was out enjoying the break in the rain.

Notable Wildlife

Surf Scoters in the water foraging and both Western gulls and Heermann’s. Found 7-9 hitchhiking amphipods (Hyperia medusarum). Oh, and spiders...five that I saw!

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Surf Scoters in the water foraging and both Western gulls and Heermann’s. Found 7-9 hitchhiking amphipods (Hyperia medusarum). Oh, and spiders...five that I saw!

Driftline Content

Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces.