Mile 335 - Columbia Beach, Coffenbury Lake, Fort Stevens SP - September 26, 2016

Report Details

Beautiful day. Lots of human activity: riding horses, playing ball, walking or playing with dogs, family picnics, climbing on vegetated dunes, and one fishing. Lots of tire tracks near wrack line. Tube worm castings along shoreline. Dead birds: four older half-covered in sand and 2 recent (an adult Common Murre floating in surf and one fledgling. Not too much human debris: plastic bottles, two cans, papers, a couple bottle caps and cigarette butts. Collected about a half a bag.

Conditions

Temperature: 66 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 1.5 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 31. Number of dogs: 6. Walking or running: 4. Playing in surf: 5. Playing in sand: 8. Sitting: 14. Fishing: 1. Other Activities: 2 Climbing dune grass. Parking area count for both parking lots; upper and lower. On beach; parked and drive-bys.

Concerns

Litter

Disturbances: Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 73. RVs/Buses parking: 11. Cars/trucks on beach, allowed: 16.

Notable Wildlife

12 seagull near surf and 10 Brown pelicans flying.

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 6. 6 birds. Recent: one fledgling (?) and one full grown Common Murre floating in the surf. Older: One Brown pelican, 2 Common Murres, and 1 seagull.

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces. Very small amount. Also seagrass.