Mile 49 - Graveyard Point, Port, Harbor, Battle Rock - October 16, 2020

Report Details

There was a sea lion carcass on the port side of the beach. It has been there long enough to be partly covered over with sand, smell bad and have maggots spilling from a tear in the belly. We did not see a head, so we're not 100% sure it's a sea lion, but the color was right. It was on the small size for sea lions I have seen.There was a lot of fresh kelp in the rack line: stems on the port side and leaves on the Battle Rock side.There's were 19 dead birds and that seems like a lot for such a small section of beach. Could something at the dock be killing them or is it just that dock activity draws so many more birds? (I missed the space to put the number and am afraid to go back because I lost my whole report when I tried to go back before)There was an elaborate drift wood shelter next to Battle Rock.

Conditions

Temperature: 70 F. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: N. Tide Level: 6.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 3. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 2. Sitting: 1.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 3.

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). The land debris was a little pumpkin. The ocean debris was a length of rope.