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Mile Reports Browser Include Counties: Clatsop   Tillamook   Lincoln   Lane   Douglas   Coos   Curry   Created or Edited within:  Last 30 days  3 months  Year  All dates REPORTS FOUND: 39 Mile Observer Date Status Summary 57 BobIvey 2/1/12 DISPATCH NEW ONce again a beautful afternoon on n. beach, very few people, few birds, no marine mammal and wide open beach for walking. 14 artist 1/28/12 NEW It was an unusually warm day on the cliffs overlooking the surf, which was very calm. People there were simply enjoying the good weather and views. The trail is well maintained, and there were no negative activities or conditions. 157 bonnie 1/28/12 NEW Stunning winter day; we were totally overdressed, kept shedding clothes to the brink of immodesty. Saw a few flocks of sanderlings, no other birds of note. Driftline was pretty slim pickings, though we did encounter quite a few whole trees/logs and one bent and battered green Old Town plastic (or similar material) canoe--guessing that it, and the trees, were flushed down the Siuslaw or another river during recent floods. The driftline was mostly shredded wood, a few features and shells, and a lot of minute plastic particles. 187 turnstone 2/2/12 NEW Largely cobble beach and well scoured rocks. Lots of big driftwood washed in.Beautiful sunny day in February, 59 degrees. 4 22 Muriah 1/28/12 NEW This "hotspot" for international windsurfing competition in the summertime,the Pistol River Wave Bash is nearly abandoned now and there was no one else to see the sunset from there tonight ... except Snazzy dog. There were plenty of footprints, showing and interest in the decade old two-story driftwood condo that is half gone from Pistol River mouth moving northward, cutting away all of the beach from the west side of Henry Rock and traveling as far north as Windsurfer Rock where the judges and spectators gather to watch the competition, further north than it has been in the lifetime of local residents, it is said. I have seen a photo in an old photobook showing Pistol River mouth coming around the north end of Henry Rock from the east side, but it didn't go as far north as it has lately. It is prevented from returning to that course by a buildup of dunes, secured by sandgrass, against the north end of "The Rock." Right now the appearance is of major change, but by the next windsurfing competition, it may look fairly normalized. Right now there is a sheer cliff of sand where the river cut away and invited in the ocean. A great amount of driftwood has been deposited to the north of Windsurfer Rock, probably mostly from the first batch brought in by the storm just after Thanksgiving, and by the second one just before New Years and the last one that climaxed on Wednesday, January 18, with more than 8", and by the time it stopped had dumped more than 18" here. The driftline today had only woody matter. The motivation for filing this report is something that I had never seen or heard of before, a bird apparently died because it could neither swallow nor eject the spiny rockfish that it had caught. See the posted photo and remark on it, please. Thanks. Mureen 8 154 covelake 1/22/12 NEW Hiked to beach from Tahkenitch Campground. Significant beach lowering and foredune erosion at north end of mile. Very little trash and debris. Trees and brush washed out along Tahkenitch Creek and some carried out to sea and returned to beach. Beautiful winter day. Tide was high when I walked down the beach and I had to be careful not to be caught by waves that were running all the way to the foredune on the north part of the beach. 160 dragonfly 1/28/12 PUB Many more dead crabs and driftwood after the recent storms, but thankfully not much plastic debris. Less wildlife than usual. Evidence that the surf may have gone over the tops of the dune in some places during the recent king tides/hurricane-force wind event 57 BobIvey 1/12/12 PUB Beautiful sunny and warm day on the north beach at Cape Blanco. Zero beached birds for COASST and one river otter. Very few birds, crabbing boat had all of their attention. Walk north to south approx one mile and then walk from Six river put in to mouth of river. Few people out and just great day at beach. 160 Treehugger1 1/13/12 PUB Sunny, calm, quiet day, with few birds other than the sandpipers, and no human visitors. There was little in the way of debris, which I found unusual but for the absence of humans today. The shoreline was flat up to the foredunes. This observation was made the day before the heavy rains began, so it was truly the calm before the storm. 218 Beachbum 1/25/12 PUB The storms of the past week have made significant changes to the northern end of Mile 218, in the area where Agate ‘Beach’ joins Yaquina Head. I say ‘beach’ because there really isn’t one now except at low tide. The entire 5-6 foot-high foredune, escarpment and dune field, which used to extend some 100 yards seaward from the cliffs, is gone. Perigean high tides accompanied by very large surf eroded the popular surfer’s beach back to the cliffs, exposed a cobble beach and many large rocks, and covered the new beach face with hundreds of drift logs (see photo). It has apparently been quite some time since this area was scoured down this deeply. At the wrack line are several shore pines, some up to 10 feet high, which have been eroded out of the cliff faces, roots and all. These could be anywhere from 10 to 20-plus years old, so it has indeed been a while since the area saw this much erosion. And I will add, anecdotally, that a local man about 60 years old I spoke with on the cliff above the beach during Sunday’s powerful storm-lashing, told me flat out: “I’ve lived here all my life and I haven’t seen this cobble beach since I was a kid.” 1 263 connierbruce 1/23/12 PUB Over the past year (reports intended each time) we have walked and observed this and miles to north and south many times. It would be hard to gauge the increase in people using these beach accesses, because the day to day usage varies so greatly. Notable is the ever larger convocation of surf-ski competition in the summer--I estimated 40 cars and a hundred people at the last one. Daily usage varies from a few (6+/-) to many (20+/-) but does not appear to be much greater over the past 3 or 4 years. Also on the 23rd I walked north through miles 264 and 265 to the Sand Lake entrance. Lots of woody debris at the high tide line but very little man-made debris despite the storm surf raging over the past few days. Occasionally cars entering at mile 263 drive south and leave tracks on the Kiwanda dune saddle in violation of posted "No vehicle" sign. 181 J&KRICHARDSON 12/27/11 PUB Was happy to see the beach so clean, no large garbage and very little plastic debris. More driftwood up on shore. Happy to see Mile 181 in such great shape. 6 153 bebdhm 11/1/11 PUB A beautiful late year walk on the beach! No other people or pets seen, very clean intertidal area. Soooo many sanderlings (approximately 500) - we've never seen so many at one time on our mile. They were very busy in low water line and not bothered by us walking by 20 - 25 feet away. 3 174 nhkerr 10/25/11 PUB It was a lovely solitary walk along mile 174, with no major changes observed and no wildlife sightings. 215 Beachbum 8/28/11 DISPATCH PUB Just so you know, those signs are fairly common on the stretch from Yaquina Head to the North Jetty. They're "floaters" that have come from the Cobble Beach tidepool area at Yaquina Head Oustanding Natural Area. I usually take them back to BLM at the Interpretive Center. 218 malachite 10/30/11 DISPATCH PUB As I was leaving the beach at the Agate Beach wayside access, I saw 5-7 wood pallets stacked at the top of one of the paths down to the beach from the small/west side parking lot at Agate Beach wayside. As I went to my car, I noticed a large pickup w/a small open trailer filled w/wood pallets. At least 3 people were carrying these pallets out onto the beach. It's legal to build fires on that beach, but these were pallets, there are already piles of rusting nails, half exposed, sometimes covered by sand over parts of this beach. These heaps of rusting nails are the product of the thoughtless, selfish & just stupid habit of some people using pallets for their fires. They never think to pull the nails before tossing the wood on the fire (and taking the nails w/them, at least as far as one of the many trash cans located in either of the wayside's parking lots) or bringing a magnet to remove all the nails after the fire has died down. Most of the piles are w/in about 100 feet of the small parking lot on the west side of the street. Or where many people w/their dogs & children walk on their way to get closer to the ocean. I telephoned both the state police and the new state parks ranger, Bryan (or Brian) and asked them to speak to these people re: using pallets for firewood because of the hazard the nails pose to beach users. I was able to leave only a message for the ranger, he was probably off duty by around 5:30pm. I called the state police rather than the Newport city police as I have been told on other occasions that because it's a state park area, OSP is responsible for enforcing laws, etc., even though it's located w/Newport city limits. However, I have observed that sometimes the OSP dispatch calls the Newport police & asks them, as a courtesy, to check on whatever problem has been reported. While the OSP dispatcher I spoke to said that he would "notify the troopers in that area" I suspect no one bothered/had more important things to do. I provided the license plate number of the trailer to both the dispatcher & the state parks beach ranger. 198 bahngarten 11/6/11 PUB Noted 1 resting adult common murre 80' above low tide line. Approached and gently picked up bird. No injuries noted, breast fat present, bird vocally protested and tried briefly to bite. Returned past first row of breakers, and did not see the bird 1 hour later on return. 3 C. Murre carcasses at high tide line, not fresh. Mod. amounts of larger razor clam shells on beach. some eel grass strands and wads on S. half of beach mile in high tide line. Removed about 5 lbs of ocean debris- fishing line, plastic, plastic bags. 236 Streets 11/7/11 PUB Nothing of concern to report. A cool, but pleasant afternoon, which drew a surprising number of people to enjoy the beach. Someone constructed a flawless four-sided sand pyramid about 40" at its base, 30" high, with a perfect point at the top. Abandoned to the elements, of course. 161 JCarpenter 10/19/11 PUB There was one ballast container placed by trash bin. Otherwise the beach was clean. 216 Ranger Bug 11/20/11 PUB Sunny day before a series of storms arrives. Lots of people (102) on beach. Major activities were walking (39 people) and dog-walking (37 people w/ 22 dogs). Not much washed up on beach, natural or artificial. 1 dead common loon, and 1 weak but alive western x glaucous-winged gull. Many live western x glaucous-winged gulls, plus some small flying shorebirds I wasn't able to identify. 7 209 bloeffel 12/3/11 PUB The beach from end to end was unusually flat and free - clean - of debris including the usual wrack line material. I was going to include a picture of conditions, but couldn't make things come together. Perhaps another time. 303 L. Lynch 12/1/11 PUB Observed nothing but ordinary recreational activities. 4 198 bahngarten 12/11/11 PUB Quiet calm, overcast morning. No beach activity. 2 gulls, 2 dead adult common murres, 1 crow or raven carcass. Several wracks of bull kelp. Shells and small rocks along beach. Clean beach. 237 JDip237 12/9/11 PUB Observed serious bluff erosion, with many exposed tree roots and uprooted trees. 245 Terry 12/12/11 PUB Clear, cold, and quiet on the beach today. The public beach entrance at about 72nd & Logan (40A) was re-graded recently and covered with crushed rock, making it much easier to walk down. At the same time, just north of this entrance, rip/rap was added to an oceanfront home's seawall. 217 Sea Gypsy 12/18/11 PUB A beautiful morning. Most people were out walking or jogging with their dogs. Sadly, as with every walk on the beach, we filled up a garbage bag with bottle caps, pieces of plastic, rope, packing bands, chip and candy wrappers, etc. If you don't already do this, we would encourage you to bring a bag along each time you visit the beach and pick up marine debris as you walk. It can save the life of a bird or mammal as well as make the shoreline more beautiful. It is fun to make it a contest - see who can pick up the most pieces of trash in a given amount of time or distance of beach. Thanks! The only item of note were the several Chrysaora jellies along with surfgrass along the tide line. 226 George&Sheila 12/21/11 PUB Human activity on the shoreline was nonexistent, but several people were observed at "Cape Foulweather" and along Otter Crest Loop. There were no wildlife observations along the shoreline nor were there any physical changes observed. It was noted that several blown-down trees had been removed and limb cutting and tree removal for power line clearance had been done along Otter Crest Loop. 198 bahngarten 1/8/12 PUB Calm, sunny day 52'. Notable was the carcass of one tufted puffin in driftline, identifiable by beak, dark plumage overall, orange feet. 1 runner with dog. Small amount of large razor clam shells on beach, clean beach. Few Western gulls present at Big Creek. 234 Dick and Colleen 1/7/12 PUB Beautiful day on Mile 234, with many folks using the sandy beaches. We were there after a very high tide and the beach looked freshly scrubbed. Seeing a collection of stumps was surprising. They were all located in a cluster near a natural drainage. We saw evidence of erosion. In November we took a photo of a large in situ rock which had either fallen or was pried out of its resting place. The eroded rock came to rest about 20 feet from its place and was surrounded by sand. Someone had recently placed smaller stones around the rock giving it a head and legs and tail, making it look like a turtle. 3 206 Jenni&Sam 1/21/12 PUB Went out to take pictures of King Tide event. Could only access Seal Rock State park and highway pulloffs due to the extreme high tide. Photos were taken at 10:30-10:40 a.m., high tide was forecast at 10:12 for 9.8 ft. 5 236 Streets 1/15/12 PUB A perfect January day at the beach! Clouds part for bits of blue, occasional bursts of sun, occasional downpours of hail, and major piles of fluffy foam scuttle across the sand and quiver in jello-like fashion until they rip apart and scoot off to oblivion. No drama except for the weather! 206 Jenni&Sam 12/31/11 PUB This was our first mile walk. The beach appears only to be walkable at low tide. There are several small headlands along this mile but all have trails around the back. Beach seemed pretty clean, not much trash. Found a tangle of rope that could be a wildlife hazard and removed it from beach. Was at the low tide mark. Also found a huge piece of bolted together driftwood - possibly a dock? Looked like it had been in the water a while. Normal amount of invertebrates. Saw 4-5 seals and several species of sea birds. This mile is a series of beaches and rocky outcroppings. For the sake of descriptions, I will name them beach 1-3 from north to south. Will get coordinates at next visit. 6 212 philandjan 10/6/11 PUB There were 11 people including 2 babies enjoying the sunny weather, walking and sitting, with 3 dogs running (chasing gulls). There was a beach hut made of driftwood just south of Moore Creek. The driftline included a few jellies, large driftwood, marine plastic debris, kelp and a large broken-up couch and sheets of green foam. A total of 8 dead birds, mostly murres and a rhino auklet, was more than usual. Large rocks, recent sandfalls and a chunk of the cliff have recently fallen, indicating active erosion. The beach was mostly sandy, as the winter storms had not yet exposed the underlying cobbles and bedrock. Except for the erosion, debris and the beach hut nothing unusual was noted. 3 212 philandjan 12/31/11 PUB New Year's Eve, the first nice day after several stormy days, brought out more than the usual number of people (18) walking or jogging and enjoying the beach. It was a good day for raptor sightings, with flyovers by a Red-tailed Hawk, a Cooper's Hawk, and an adult Bald Eagle. The beach is still covered with sand and clean, with only bits of plastic and short pieces of plastic rope in the driftline. Several fairly large sand and rock falls and vegetation undercuts indicate continuing bluff erosion below houses. No trace of the beach hut that was there in October, but someone had written in the sand: I (heart) the Beach! 1 277 Jeanette 1/16/12 PUB Visible retreat of bluff, uprooted trees due to erosion 1 313 Tom&Gretel 1/8/12 PUB while the dogs all seemed to have a grand time, only about a dozen were actually on a leash, and many not even under voice control. This seemed to cause some conflicts among dog owners. also, I barely avoided stepping into a big pile of doo right in my path on the way to Gower access, and from there on kept my eyes glued to the ground, instead of scanning the area and enjoying the scenery. It did keep me from stepping into a second mess. it was also very disturbing to observe the many people climbing on large LIVE rocks, kids collecting in the Marine Garden, and in the 10 minutes we stood and watched 7 people walked up to the closure sign in the saddle area and then proceeded to climb up and over. The sign on the southside is gone, and people were also climbing into the Refuge there. We moved on, because it was about to spoil our otherwise very nice day. 2 125 Beach Lisa 12/17/11 PUB This was an eventful Coast Watch excursion. The 1945 wreck of the George Olsen was still visible, due to little storm activity at the time of my visit on 12/17. Other than two very large tree trunks being deposited on the beach, there was little evidence of the usual winter wave action I have seen in other years. Then a second wreck, the New York, which ran aground after taking on water 10-24-11. I learned a great deal about the cost to the state of clean-up when the boat owner is uninsured. Our local Coast Guard was on the scene within minutes to help the 3 man crew, and to begin cleaning up the pollutants that went into the ocean so close to shore. I found no evidence of oil sheen or globs, no birds that appeared to be oiled. I rode through the wreck area a week later, and it is possible the sea had reclaimed any casualties that were effected by the leakage of gas and oil; however, the Coast Guard pollution investigators' response was immediate, and I'm sure averted a tragedy for wildlife on Mile 125. We are very proud and thankful to have them stationed here in Coos Bay, and all along our coast. State Parks and BLM officials have increased work of all kinds when an uninsured vessel is lost. The second vessel lost in the same area only a month later, is a sad reminder of the power and capriciousness of the ocean we all find so beautiful and restorative. 107 wbailey 1/3/12 PUB Not much to report. Two vehicles drove by (heading north) apparently coming from Cut Creek. No humans or dogs were observed on the beach. Two dead Common Murres were observed towards the southern end of mile 107. No unusual debris was sighted. Some driftwood had washed ashore following the recent rains. There may have been a small landslide at the top of the cliff at the northernmost end of mile 107 (just beneath the Bandon Dunes out of bounds markers). Hard to tell as this area has had slides in the past. The slide only progressed about a third of the way down the cliff. 234 Dick and Colleen 11/1/11 PUB This is our first report on mile 234 and we have nothing to historically compare it to. The entire northern portion of the beach was heavily rip-rapped which was in various condition. Beach grasses gained foothold on the rip-rap in several areas. There were several drainage pipes protruding over the rip-rap. The most remarkable discovery was a dead sea lion, about 4 feet in length at the high tide line. The only damage we could see were two small holes on its lower torso about 3 inches on each side of its spine and its eyes had been eaten away. 2

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