Mile 202

Every day now for over a week, I and two other U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service volunteers, along with our local State Parks Ranger, have been monitoring three active Western Snowy Plover nests near Alsea Bay as the nests approached hatching time. Nest number BASH15A hatched two chicks a few...read more

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As I entered the beach at access 67D with my fellow CoastWatcher Nancy Thomas, we saw a Bald Eagle sitting on a carcass. We approached the carcass, about 8' long, a marine mammal which we later identified as a female Steller Sea Lion. We didn't see any signs of injury,...read more

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I walked Mile 202 today with fellow CoastWatcher and U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Plover Patrol volunteer Nancy Thomas.  We spent the afternoon zig zagging up and down the beach for about four miles, looking for Western Snowy Plovers and their nests.  We saw about twenty plovers and discovered three...read more

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I have reported before on the problems of erosion and sand accumulation along the southern portion of NW Oceania Drive paralleling Mile 202's Bayshore Beach. Houses on the seaward side of the street, mostly vacation rentals, are not located landward of a relatively stable dune ridge, as are houses further...read more

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The fog and north wind of the past few days eased this morning, and although there was no sun to speak of, plenty of people and their dogs were out enjoying the beach.

This year's Western Snowy Plover breeding season seems to have concluded, with 48 nests located and monitored on...read more

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At the Bayshore Beach Club beach access, I posted a "Snowy Plovers Are Here!" sign, then walked down to where two plover nests had recently been discovered and roped off. There were no birds at either nest, and later in the day another Plover Patrol volunteer confirmed that both nests...read more

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Alsea Bay was fairly calm at noon for today's 8.985' King Tide, but on the ocean side the surf was high and roiled up after last night's rain and 60-plus mph wind gusts. This what it looked like, with surf all the way up to the dunes at times. I...read more

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After the recent storms, I was surprised not to find any marine debris of human origin.  Instead, along the driftline were hundreds of strange little jelly like pods with tiny tails.  After a lot of Googling, these turned out to be dead "burrowing sea cucumbers" (Leptosynapta clarki), which live beneath...read more

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The only known snowy plover nest this year on Mile 202 failed.  Of the fourteen known plover nests located and monitored this year between Seal Rock and Patterson Memorial Recreation Site just south of Waldport, only three nests were successful, producing five chicks.  At failed nest sites, eggs usually disappeared...read more

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The Morning After -- July 5th here in Bayshore, on an otherwise beautiful weekend, means residents spending hours beginning to clean up the fireworks debris left by the few thoughtless holiday visitors who don't believe the "Fireworks Prohibited" signs should restrict their freedom to trash the beach. Attached are photos...read more

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Another beautiful day on Mile 202.  I watched a flock of 18 whimbrels feeding along the shoreline, probably migrants headed north to breed on the tundra.  Someone in the past attached an osprey nest platform atop a utility pole in a parking lot across from the Bayshore Beach Club.  I've...read more

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No snowy plovers today, and very few birds at all.  Plover sightings have declined from 30-40 individuals during my walk on 1/30/2020, to approx 20 on 2/14, to 12-14 on 3/4, to 10 on 3/22, to 6 on 3/31, to none today.  Continuing sand accumulation and smoothing out of beach...read more

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Spring Break Sunday on Mile 202.  I saw only 25 people on my walk south beginning at 11:15 a.m., but more were arriving by the time I ended my walk back at the Bayshore Beach Club beach entrance at 12:45 p.m.  Except for two groups of four people each (children...read more

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Fewer Western Snowy Plovers this walk than on 1/30/2020, approximately 20 total today (30-40 last visit) in two clusters south of beach access 67D (beyond the landmark driftwood in the attached photo and before the steep sand bluffs).  On my previous walk, the plovers were about a quarter of a...read more

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Overall light human activity with 21 people and two dogs. We did not notice any unusual levels of trash or debris, but did pick up about a bag's worth. We found nine dead Common murres, possibly connected to a recent wreck on the Pacific Northwest coast. We spotted a few...read more

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Beautiful President's Day on the Bayshore near Waldport, OR. Enjoyed a very sunny day with record high temps. Noted approximately 20 humans on beach - one family flying kites and playing in the surf, while the rest were walking along the water's edge. Noted lots of driftwood and debris close...read more

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