Haystack Rock Awareness Program Nature Blog

Daily Low Tides Monday, May 19th -0.5' @ 11:01 AM Tuesday, May 20th 0.0' @ 11:56 AM Wednesday, May 21st 0.4' @ 12:55P M Thursday, May 22nd; shift extended due to exposure and visitors 0.9' @ 1:57 PM Friday, May 23rd; shift ended early due to bad weather 1.2' @ 2:57 PM Saturday, May 24th 1.5' @ 3:53 PM Sunday, May 25th 1.7' @ 4:45 PM Notes from the week Black Oystercatchers took center stage this week; establishing a nest is the saddle and were observed sitting on their nest. Now that the nest is established one of the biggest tasks is to limit the disturbance to the nesting birds by the hundreds of people visiting the intertidal. A volunteer or two is being stationed in front of the saddle to limit interference with the oystercatchers. They are particularly vulnerable to human disturbance; even speaking too loudly can cause them to flush, leaving their nest and chicks vulnerable or causing them to abandon the nest site. Check...

Daily Low Tides Monday, May 12th 2.1' @ 5:39 PM Tuesday, May 13th -0.2' @ 6:33 AM Wednesday, May 14th -0.6' @ 7:15 AM Thursday, May 15th -0.9' @ 7:56 AM Friday, May 16th -1.1' @ 8:39 AM Saturday, May 17th -1.1' @ 9.24 AM Sunday, May 18th -0.9' @ 10:10 AM Notes from the week Monday was an evening low tide; the rest of the week featured great negative tides in the morning, with the lowest of -1.1' on both Friday and Saturday. The weather was great for most of the week, with lots of sun during the week and some overcast skies during the weekend. It was an active week for bird watching, with lots of mating and nest building! The bald eagles were busy hunting ... successfully, with multiple appearances on multiple days. Guillemots and Gulls were mating and nest building! A Bald Eagle snags it's prey! (Photo by Susan Glarum) Pigeon Guillemots make an appearance (Photo by Susan Glarum) Brown Pelicans - O...

Daily Low Tides Monday, May 5th 0.9' @ 11:46 AM Tuesday, May 6th 1.3' @ 12:38 PM Wednesday, May 7th 1.6' @ 1:34 PM Thursday, May 8th, cancelled due to bad weather 1.7' @ 2:31 PM Friday, May 9th, heavy rain; Shift ended after 45 minutes 1.8' @ 3:24 PM Saturday, May 10th 1.9' @ 4:12 PM Sunday, May 11th 2.0' @ 4:57 PM Notes From The Week HRAP was on the beach on Saturday and Sunday for International Migratory Bird Day and Mother's Day. The sun was shining on the weekend, drawing lots of visitors to the beach to view the nesting seabirds at Haystack Rock on Mother's Day weekend. Visitors were treated to lots of hermit crabs feeding on barnacles in the intertidal! A visitor provided sand art for all the visiting (and nesting) mothers; Staff Interpreter Nadine Nordquist snapped the pic! On Tuesday, an uncommon creature in the tidepools, a Red Rock crab, was spotted hiding amongst the sea lettuce by a visitor. As the tide cam...

Daily Low Tides Monday, April 28th -0.6 @ 6:49 AM Tuesday, April 29th - Shift canceled due to truck being in the shop -0.8 @ 7:34 AM Wednesday, April 30th -0.8 @ 8:17 AM Thursday, May 1st -0.7 @ 8:58 AM Friday, May 2nd -0.4 @ 9:38 AM Saturday, May 3rd 0.0' @ 10:18 AM Sunday, May 4th 0.4' @ 11:00 AM Notes from the week Good negative low tides in the early morning usually means lots of school groups scheduled to visit Haystack Rock, and this week was no exception. Staff and volunteers provided educational programs on tide pool ecology, biodiversity, adaptations, bird life, and much more for six groups throughout the week. Thankfully the weather on those days was sunny with little wind, but as the end of the week approached the clouds, rain and wind returned. We and our highest visitor count on Friday, with 56 people in the intertidal at one time during the shift The Twelve Days of Earth Day celebration wrapped-up Monday eve...

Daily Low Tides Monday, April 21st 0.3' @ 12:15 PM Tuesday, April 22nd 0.5' @ 1:23 PM Wednesday, April 23rd - Shift canceled due to weather 0.7' @ 2:31 PM Thursday, April 24th - Shift canceled due to truck battery dying 0.7' @ 3:33 PM Friday, April 25th 0.8' @ 4:28 PM Saturday, April 26th 0.9' @ 5:18 PM Sunday, April 27th -0.1 @ 6:02 AM Notes from the week It was another week of spring weather, with sun one day, clouds and wind the next, heavy rain throughout the week, and even a little hail storm to wrap things up. A school group visit kicked the week off for us, and we had out highest visitor count of 59 people in the intertidal at one time during Friday's shifts, luckily that was a sunny and nice day! The 12 Days of Earth Day celebration in Cannon Beach continued throughout the week with lectures and events in town. HRAP was on the beach providing educational opportunities and interpretation for visitors and festival goers, exce...