Mile 49 - Graveyard Point, Port, Harbor, Battle Rock - July 31, 2021

Report Details

Was a very nice day, but very few people on the main beach. The largest concentration was a family of 7 chatting up the 3 men fishing in the surf on the little beach to the north of Battle Rock. Some of the kids were playing in the sand, there. We did not try to go out very far onto the rocks around the headland. The beach was free from much in the way of litter, and the main beach really only had one person and dog besides the three of us. Not much to see and report on, other than the signs of the beach fires, especially one that looked like it was a giant bonfire. See photo.

Conditions

Temperature: 70 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 2.5 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 15. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 4. Playing in sand: 2. Sitting: 1. Photography: 3. Fishing: 3. Other Activities: 12 of the people were on the bit of the mile just north of Battle Rock - 3 of whom were fishing in the surf. The pickup was just leaving - they had pulled up the holders for surf fishing. The other woman that was there besides us three had a dog who was chewing on some part of the seal carcass we found up the beach.

Concerns

Fire, Litter

Apparent violations: Not sure they were violations, but there were signs of several fires - probably leftover from the holiday weekend. One looked like a giant bonfire..

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 4. Cars/trucks on beach, allowed: 1.

Notable Wildlife

Nothing of note

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 4. Couldn't tell cause of death. Might have been murres, or oystercatchers?

Stranded Marine Mammals

Total stranded mammals: 1. Saw the carcass of what might have been a dead seal. Very flat, very old - but with the 2 found on Battle Rock Beach, that makes 3. :-(

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Unusual concentration. There was a line of what looked like small shrimp casings, or even barnacles, on the southern end of the beach, near the rocks.

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea). Found a few bits of fireworks debris, but for the most part the beach was pretty clean.

New Development

Didn't notice anything unusual - no big changes.

Man-made Modifications

n/a

Natural Changes

n/a