September 27, 2010

Temperature: 60 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 3.5 feet.

Number of people: 2. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 2. Photography: 1. I found tracks left by humans at various places on the dry sand, mostly up in front of the foredune. Also saw tracks, apparently made by one or more ATVs, in the sand east of the dunes at the south end of mile 93. My wife and dog and I set out for our dinghy and found a pretty large, health looking porcupine in the grass next to our overgrown mown path. It did not appear at all afraid of us. As we crossed the New River we saw no ducks or other fowl. At the beach we found visibility was limited to less than a mile north and south, but we could see the coastal hills to the east, which are between three and four miles away. The tide was coming in and was between three and four feet. The largest waves were about four feet trough to crest. There were numerous jellies on the wet sand, but less than the huge numbers I had seen on mile 94 two days earlier. There were also little white feathers, between one and two inches long as well as larger (around three inches long) darker feathers. But not as many as I had found two days early on mile 94. There were clumps of bull kelp here and there on the dry sand. They were between one and two feet high and perhaps three feet across. I also found a few tiny pieces of a seaweed that looks a bit like red lettuce. The beach sand was evenly sloped from pretty close to the foredune down to the water. We found the BLM post near the south end of the mile. It has been there at least a decade. Further south we found two pieces of wood, one a two-by-two and the other a bit bigger, stuck vertically in the sand and with a ribbon of colored plastic tied around each other them. Could not figure out their purpose. On the wet sand there were no crab casings and few mussel shells, less than ten along the mile. There were no oyster or clam shells on the wet sand. At the south end of the mile there was evidence of water overtopping the dunes. I found tracks of a person there, going from east to west and then back. I also saw tire tracks in the sand to the east. I assume they were made by an ATV or ATVs. In addition to bird tracks in the wet sand, some with and some without webs, I found some small tracks up on the dry sand near the dunes which were too eroded for me to make a certain identification but wondered if they were left by a fox.

Disturbances: Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs

Two flocks of gulls, each numbering between thirty and fifty, one on the wet sand and the other flying south.

Numerous jellies

Seaweeds and seagrass, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Shells. Feathers

None

Evidence of wave overtopping.

None. (Brought back a float and what I think was a ship's fender.)