Mile 336 - Columbia Beach, Peter Iredale wreck, Fort Stevens SP - September 20, 2023

Report Details

Beach looked really nice not a lot of people or litter. The microplastics from last January seemed quite absent along the mile the bluffs looked great with lots of plant growth. Beach birds, including a loon, were reported to COASST and the marine mammals, a sea otter and a Stellar sea lion, were reported to the Oregon Marine Science Center. I am not assigned to this beach, but I did a survey here in January 2023. Kind of neat of some of the differences. Cassin's Aukelet's were the dominant beached bird in January and this month it was the Common Murre. Very little microcplastics this month and a huge amount in January.

Conditions

Temperature: 61 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 6.3 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 44. Number of dogs: 7. Playing in sand: 2. Sitting: 3.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 35. Cars/trucks on beach, allowed: 6.

Notable Wildlife

6 gulls flying

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 9. 1 Loon 7 Common Murres

Stranded Marine Mammals

Total stranded mammals: 2. 1 Steller sea lion 1 sea otter

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt). The sea lion and sea otter were quite decomposed, and I reported to Oregon Marine Science Center possible finds from August