Mile 214
South Beach SP, South Jetty Yaquina River
Lincoln County
Longitude: -124.068279538230
- Motor vehicle travel is prohibited from Yaquina Bay (44° 37.0374', Mile 215), southerly to the Lincoln County-Lane County line (44° 16.5774', Mile 190).
2021
We have a roped Snowy Plover nest just 20 feet south of the South Jetty access point. The beach was very crowded on a cold, breezy morning, most of whom accessed at the S. Jetty. I counted 55 cars parked by the jetty, and more were coming in as I...read more
A busy day at mile 214! Low wind and a little sunshine brought families out to play in the sand. Recent storms/ high tides pulled in large wood as well as marine debris (styrofoam, ropes, etc). read more
Spotted beached molting Elephant seal on South Beach just south of the jetty. Reported to Jim Rice (Oregon State University Stranding Program Manager) who identified the seal type from my photos.read more
The past few days of King tides have scoured the build-up of summer sand and made a 5-10 foot "cliff" at the high tide mark from south of the Day Use (61B) to North of 61A. There is a small area of 5-10 feet between the sand cliff and the...read more
Sunshine on a weekend brought more visitors to south beach's mile 214 this past Saturday. Many groups of people walking, playing in the sand, and surfing. The tide was really low so plenty of space for people to spead out at a safe distance. It looks like some of the...read more
2020
A calm day on mile 214 with sporadic people enjoying the beach. The summer crowds have gone and the cool temperatures brought even fewer visitors. Exciting news between the 61A and 61B sign posts -- snowy plovers! They were hiding from the wind behind little sand lumps above the driftline. read more
Mile 214 was overcast and shrouded in fog this afternoon, but that didn't slow any visitors. People enjoyed walking their dogs, flying kites, and even horseback riding on the unseasonably warm/humid fall day. It's obvious that familes of whales are just offhshore as whale burps of all sizes dotted the wrack...read more
It was a busy Friday afternoon at the beach! Lots of groups of people enjoying the warm sun and cool breeze. Not much mask wearing. Unfortunately, I forgot my phone so wasn't able to take photos.read more
Overall not much new at South Beach mile 214. The gradient from teh water to the dunes seem a little less steep and the dunes a little shorter but read more
It was a beautiful, sunny day and a lot of phase 1 visitors hit the beach. Lots of families playing in the sand/surf and just enjoying the sun. read more
High tide surge appears to have cleaned the beach of debris, and took out at least two snowy plover nests that were high on the beach. Small woody debris and some large logs were moved up to the high tide line.read more
I was pleasantly surprised with how many people were out on the beach given the shelter-in-place mandate. I think the weather was too good to miss. I had seen signs indicating snowy plovers are back but didn't see any birds or protective fencing for their nesting grounds as I have...read more
A lot of large wood has washed up with the recent tides and the driftline is almost up to the dunes in places. read more
2019
A beautiful morning on South Beach, with few people, and hundreds of jelly fish washed up with the evening tide from the night before. Counted 31 Snowy Plover hanging out on Mile 214read more
It was a calm sunrise at South Beach this morning. I saw some jellyfish washed up along the drift line from the last high tide as well as strands of bull kelp.read more
It was quiet at sunset on the beach this evening. The beach was relatively clean of debris and the waves were calm. The stream down at the south end of the mile has dried up. I've been noticing more poles erected in random spots on the beach. Is this something people...read more
A beautiful day at the beach. It was great seeing so many peeople out enjoying the coast in a variety of ways. There were a lot of crab molts in the driftline and a few dead birds. Also many visitors on the mile today playing in and out of the...read more
Over 150 people enjoying the Memorial Day weekend, velella in wrack line, no areas of concern....beach clean of trashread more
It was a calm evening on Friday with few visitors at the beach. The Velella velella have started washing up and can be found in high numbers just above the water line. The snowy plover nesting area is still under protection with snowy plovers present. read more
There were a good amount of people out for a late Thursday morning, mostly a few school groups. I noticed more large woody debris than usual including some trees that washed up. Down near the south end of the mile, close to the neighborhood, they've set up a protected area...read more
Mild weather for President's Day brought out the beach-goers of all kinds. We spotted many people walking, (razor)clamming, surfing, and playing around. The tide was the lowest we have seen which is expected during the King tides. An hour before low tide we were able to walk out to the...read more
There weren't many people out at the time of our survey, mostly just a few groups walking dogs. It looked like a fair amount of driftwood washed up recently. Also it looked like some sand was dumped near the 61A marker. read more
I counted at least 47 folks on mile 214 at noon, high 10.3 King Tide, 50 degrees, full sunshine, and little to no wind. Several children were playing in the surf at high tide.....and were chased by small "sneaker waves".
A number of large trees and many large logs had washed...read more
2018
First day of King Tide made for limited beach walking, so only two people and three dogs. The Snowy Plover were feeding and sitting in footprints. They scattered when the dogs came near. Two large flocks of Sanderling feeding and being chased by the incoming tide.read more
2017
November 29th was glorious weather at sunrise, and the birdlife abundant in Mile 214, Sanderling, Dunlin, and Snowy Plover. The high tide line was littered with tunicates. Large and small piles of kelp scattered the beach and provided good cover for the snowy plover. We also saw 5 dead and...read more
We found a seagull on the beach totally wrapped in fishing line with hook and bobber, unable to get free. After covering the bird with a jacket, we were able to cut the line, unravel and free the bird. It quickly flew away, unharmed. A second bird caught in the...read more
Human Activities ~ More people seem to be enjoying South Beach, Mile 214.....we've lived here two years, and see many more people on the beach this year. The beach was remarkably clean.read more
2016
*There are very few left-over signs of summer tourists. Several "structures" have survived the tides. Surfers in the waves many mornings and evenings.
*Eight snowy plover were foraging at the last high tide mark, and dropped into footprints when folks passed close by.
*Summer tides didn't fill in all dune...read more
Our first report as CoastWatch volunteers. We have been watching the plover on our mile since January, 8 snowy plover and 1 mountain plover. As of this date, we think they have all moved on, our last sighting of two snowys April 15th. There is a lot of wood washed...read more
