Mile 327 Report
Clatsop Plains
February 9, 2020
Chilly, clear (37 degrees F) early morning walk with visible frost covering the beach sand on mile 327.
Report Details
Chilly, clear (37 degrees F) early morning walk with visible frost covering the beach sand on mile 327. The weekend's impressive King Tides revealed an abundance of debris. I removed 45lbs of trash (3 SOLV bags full of hard plastic, marine-based debris, large styrofoam pieces, including floats and water bottle with Japanese writing-see photo below), especially concentrated around Del Rey Beach access road entrance. Observed human feces and toilet paper in the dunes along the dunes access trail. Observed 7 dead sea birds, and was able to identify 1 dead bird as Northern Fulmar. Someone sawed part of a large tree limb washed up on the beach, leaving sawdust on the sand. Observed 5 Bald Eagles, two of which were feeding on a gull on the beach.
Conditions
Temperature: 37 F. Tide Level: 1.1 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 1. Number of dogs: 3. Walking or running: 1.
Concerns
Apparent violations: None.
Vehicles
Cars/trucks parking: 1. Cars/trucks on beach, allowed: 5.
Notable Wildlife
Observed 5 Bald Eagles, including two on the beach with a recent kill (gull), one Common Raven, and one Glaucous-winged Gull.
Beached Birds
Total dead birds: 7. Northern Fulmar- 1 Gull-2 Unidentified birds- 4
Driftline Content
Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Styrofoam, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). Wrack line contents included hundreds of Cnidaria Velella (by the wind sailors), bull kelp, a few crab casings and mole crab shells, shells, and a high concentration of ocean-based debris, including fishing rope of many colors, plastic bottle caps, lighters, a shotgun shell from duck hunters, and many hard plastic bottles, containers, and large lids 4-5 inches across in diameter.
Man-made Modifications
Sand removal. It appears that someone used machinery to move sand near Del Rey Beach access road to widen the beach access and create a bluff or hill of sand to the north and south of the entryway. Sand is pilled up on either side. Road access is improved.
Report Images
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All Mile 327 Reports
Mile 327
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A morning walk on mile 327 revealed 3 species of kelp: chain bladder kelp, bull kelp, and rockweed, and some interesting invertebrates: purple mahogany clam (Nuttallia) and pelagic gooseneck barnacles attached to a plastic soap pump bottle.
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Mile 327
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A late afternoon walk on mile 327 revealed three species of kelp washed up on the wrack line: bull kelp, sea palm, and giant kelp, and three species of dead avifauna: Common murre, Northern fulmar, and rhinocerus auklet.
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Mile 327
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A morning walk on mile 327 on July 5th revealed a significant amount of human trash from the fourth of July festivities on the beach, including hundreds of fireworks, abundant single-use plastics, and many food containers/food waste.
sultanym
Mile 327
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A cloudy yet mild afternoon walk on mile 327 revealed an interesting diversity of arthropod species in the wrack line: Say's Stink Bug, Large Yellow Underwing, 61 Serrated Darkling Beetles, and ladybird beetles (Coccinella and Hippodamia).
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Mile 327
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A quiet, cloudy morning walk on the southern end of mile 327 reveals considerable trash from human activities around fire pits on the dry sand area above the high tide line.
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Mile 327
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Today was a welcome respite from the recent heavy rain, high winds, and stormy weather that accompanied the King tides of Jan.
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Mile 327
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Mid-morning walk south towards Gearhart beach at a very high tide along the tide line I saw a dead Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) carcass with bands on its legs.
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