Mile 324 Report
Seaside north
March 4, 2020
It was a beautiful mild day, there were a small handful of people out enjoing the day.
Report Details
It was a beautiful mild day, there were a small handful of people out enjoing the day. The tide was very low, there were some people fishing in the surf, many people playing with their dogs, one person riding a dirt bike, a family flying a kite. The channel in the estuary had changed dramatically since the last time I visited this part of the beach. It was a couple hundred yards further North, and had changed shape further back in the estuary. Lots of cut lumber littered the area where the Necanicum feeds into the ocean. I found one black garbage bag full of marine debris, it looked like mostly plastic peices. It had been sitting long enough that seagulls had been picking at it trying to get to the contents. I'm not sure if it had fallen off of a ship, or if someone had been collecting garbage on the beach and never made it to the garbage can. There was also some sort of contraption made of a large bamboo pole bound on both ends with black elctrical tape, and tied to it with a piece of rope was a plastic bottle of toilet bowl cleaner, possibly from Japan?
Conditions
Temperature: 50 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 0.9 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 19. Number of dogs: 8. Walking or running: 10. Playing in sand: 5. Fishing: 4. Other Activities: one dirt bicycle rider. a family fishing in the surf, people throwing ball for their dogs, a jogger, kite flying, one person riding a bicyle.
Concerns
Fire, Litter
Apparent violations: none.Vehicles
Cars/trucks parking: 10. RVs/Buses parking: 1.
Notable Wildlife
gulls in the surf
Beached Birds
Total dead birds: 1. There was a carcass that wasn't recognizable, mainly feathers but covered with a lot of sand.
Driftline Content
Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). A large tree with root ball still attached, there was a lot of wood that cat been cut by people, it was concentrated where the Nacanicum meets the ocean. Most likely came from up the river. Many sand dollars, broken and some whole, in the waterline.
Man-made Modifications
Rip rap holding the bank together behind the sewer plant. Large boulders and tree snags with roots.
Report Images
angela whitlock
CoastWatcher
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