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MILE 293 on 9/25/11   -   DUCKS73 LOCATION Tillamook  •  Rockaway Beach, State Wayside CONDITIONS Sunday 10:00 AM  •  Cloudy  •  60° F  •  Wind: Moderate from the S  •  Tide: 7 ft HUMANS People: 25  •  Dogs: 7 ACTIVITIES Walking/running: 14  •  Playing in surf: 4  •  Playing in sand: 4  •  3 standing on bluff CONCERNS Kelp/algae collection DISTURBANCES Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs VEHICLES Cars/Trucks parking: 2  •  RVs/Buses parking: 1 ACTIV.COMMENTS Just the usual . . . areas where there had been a bonfire or kids building forts. NOTABLE WILDLIFE Seagulls and two curlew-like birds near the riprap. Seaweed (and lots of it) EVERYWHERE. DEAD BIRDS Total: 1  •  Species/names: murre STRANDED Total: 0 FISH & INVERTS Unusual concentration Between NW 10th and 9th at low tide (9/29/11) around 7:00 pm, there was a huge area of kelp, seaweed, clam shells, crab, wood and trash. I've never seen anything like this on our beach. DRIFTLINE Shells  •  Animal casings  •  Kelp/Algae  •  Small rocks  •  Wood pieces  •  Land-based debris  •  Ocean-based debris Beer and pop cans, plastic cups and bottles, food wrappers NEW DEVELOPMENT Lower portion of steps at the Rockaway Beach Resort were damaged by the high surf on 9/27. MODIFICATIONS New riprap/shoreline protection Near Rock Creek in front of middle complex of condos. It appears that it is being installed in front of the units that did not have riprap installed previously. Just started Monday 9/26. NATURAL CHANGES Lots of sand on portions of the riprap COMMENTS Just picked up cans, wrappers and plastic and put it in the garbage. SUMMARY What a difference a day makes, but then that's the beach. Yesterday it was warm and sunny with at least twice as many people and three times as many dogs taking advantage of the great day. After a stormy, windy, and rainy night, the people and dogs on the beach were taking advantage of the period between rain showers. The ocean has made it all the way up to the riprap on the high tides. Edited on 9/26/11 to report the installation of riprap today. Edited on 9/28/11 to report the destruction of the lower portion of the steps at the Rockaway Beach Resort NW 6th by the high surf and most likely a log. Yesterday and today were as good as it gets at the beach from sun up to sun down . . . absolutely spectacular!!! Edited on 9/29/11 to report something I have never seen in 50 years on Rockaway Beach. At low tide tonight, there was a block long area that looked just like the clam flats in Garibaldi (minus the rock). There was a huge area of kelp, seaweed, wood, trash (bottles, cans, shoes), starfish, clam shells (dead quahogs and live cockles), and a whole lot of stuff I could not identify. It was not there at low tide this morning. OBSERVER ducks73 EMAIL   •  REPORT PUBLISHED 9/25/11 11:09 AM  •  EDITED 9/29/11 7:52 PM PHOTOS  PRINT       BACK TO COASTWATCH HOME