Mile 324 Report
Seaside north
May 5, 2021
The tide was very low this morning and there was a lot of beach.
Report Details
The tide was very low this morning and there was a lot of beach. I didn't find any marine debris/litter, the beach was in a gorgeous natural state. I wonder if there has been a clean up recently? The tsunami siren test happened promptly at 11:00 am. Today was a great bird watching day! I saw Canada geese, a flock of terns, adult and juvenile seagulls, whimbrels, mergansers, and killdeer. There weren't a lot of people/dogs out. Peaceful beach walk with the sun showing itself now and then.
Conditions
Temperature: 55 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 1.0 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 24. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 12. Playing in surf: 1. Sitting: 10. Photography: 1.
Concerns
Fire
Apparent violations: Large wood debris with burn marks, lots of evidence of bonfires in the dunes.Disturbances: Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs
Vehicles
Cars/trucks parking: 15.
Notable Wildlife
50 -60 tern in a flock hanging out on the sand near the estuary, 9 whimbrel foraging in the sand flats, a pair of Canada geese flying low over the beach and landed in the sand, a handful of adult and juvenile seagulls, killdeer in the dunes and another small brown bird that I didn't identify, three merganser swimming and diving in the Necanicum estuary.
Driftline Content
Shells, Wood pieces. The beach was very natural today! I didn't see any litter. It was so clean that I wonder if there has been a beach clean up recently.
Natural Changes
The Necanicum estuary is constantly changing shape. The beginning of the dune area seems to have more sand than last time I was out.
Tsunami siren test happens at 11:00 am the first Wednesday of each month (with the exception of summer months I believe)
Tillamook head, tide low. Some tire tracks in the sand but I didn't see what made them.
Low tide, lots of sandy beach area
Surf was very small today
Very excited to see whimbrel foraging in the sand flats! I counted 9 total.
Tubes from cellophane worms (?)
Estuary sand flats
Rocky island in the river mouth
Driftwood structure
Charred large woody debris, this bonfire must have been rather large
As I walked through the dunes, I found many areas that had been bonfire pits
Report Images
angela whitlock
CoastWatcher
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