Mile 49 - Graveyard Point, Port, Harbor, Battle Rock - August 18, 2023

Report Details

Signs of fairly recent bonfires, about 4-6 different piles. All a safe distance from the grassy dunes. Some possibly as old as from the 4th of July. All in all, the beach was in good shape, not much to report other than the high-ish number of dead birds. I couldn't tell how they died. Did not see any leg bands or signs of oiling or other "fowl play" (sorry, couldn't help myself) other than the decapitated one, which was over by the dock. Not much activity due to the time of day I'm sure. I only took a couple photos--one of a live hermit crab, and others wide shots of the beach.

Conditions

Temperature: 66 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 2.5 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 6. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 5. Other Activities: One young fella was exercising, like crunches, push-ups, etc, in the sand.. Arrived rather late in the evening, about 45 min before sunset. Everyone was behaving.

Concerns

Apparent violations: None noted..

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 2.

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 20. All but one were, I believe, common Muirs. White breast, dark wing tips. Final one was possibly a crow or a dark seagull, bit larger than the Muirs. One fresh death was a decapitation, found head only. Fairly large number of dead birds, but seem to have been washed up or otherwise deposited at different times, as some were partially covered in sand while others were less so.

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces. Beach was relatively clean. Only picked up two pieces of trash. The "usual" number of dead crabs and a minimal amount of kelp. Wood pieces were high on the shore.