4732 Pelicans and gulls at rest and grooming themselves along the shoreline near the tip of Leadbetter Point looking across the mouth of Willapa Bay towards the Grayland shoreline.
To all: What a difference it can be from one day to the next. Yesterday wasa great day to be out gathering trash along the shoreline with plenty ofsunshine, light winds and a few little puffy clouds drifting over head fromthe south. Not much trash being found, just a bag of plastic bottles, a fewcans, rags, plastic bags being rounded up over 7.5 miles being covered on upto Leadbetter Point. I didn't cover the last half mile not wanting todisturb that big flock at rest shown in photo 4731. Well, today beginning at5am and for much of the day were passing thunderstorms on the move from thesouth rumbling away, brief downpours, and plenty of lightning to be seen,some of which were cloud to ground/water strikes. Timing is everything andI'm kind of tall, so I don't want to be a lightning rod out on any beach...
Russ
4643 Sometimes you'll find a strange looking woody growth that has washed ashore such as this object that is a woody shelf-like fungal fruiting body that grow on diseased conifers indicating internal wood decay caused by a fungal infection within a tree bole. It likely got knocked off an ocean bound log at some point in time.
4654 Yellow sand verbenas, (Abronia latifolia), have been in full bloom for the past month and can be observed along the dune base facing and adjacent to the beach.
4731 Yesterday was mostly sunny and pleasant along the beach, so this vista is showing the size of the flock at rest shown in photo 4732 and the surrounding environs.
4683 Typical defunct crab buoy that commonly wash ashore, especially noticeable during the summer months which likely indicates that there are plenty of abandoned commercial crab pots along the nearshore line. The rope gets old and rots off thus releasing the buoy to drift away, maybe to a beach near you.
4723 This log drifted over the ocean for a long period of time which in turn became home for hundreds of attached filter-feeding pelagic gooseneck barnacles, (Lepas sp. surrounding environs.
Protecting Critical Coastal Habitat Marine debris threatens wildlife long after it washes ashore. Each week, Russ patrols eight miles of coastline, removing debris that threatens western snowy plover nesting habitat and other sensitive coastal ecosystems.
His commitment extends far beyond weekly beach patrols. From working before dawn with Pacific County Fire District 1 to locate hazardous smoldering beach fires after the Fourth of July, to partnering with conservation agencies on marine debris monitoring and data collection, Russ's volunteer efforts help protect both wildlife and the people who enjoy our beaches.
Scan or click the QR code to support this important work. Please note your donation for Russ's Beach Cleanup.
To contact Russ directly regarding the content of this report, email him at [email protected]
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