Only the seventh Mottled Petrel found on COASST surveys was spotted on January 19th at Oregon Mile 196. This bird is a small, tubenose bird that breeds all the way in New Zealand. On the bird’s right foot a mysterious glob, possibly a tumor, was found. Another possibility–a piece of marine debris that the bird became entangled in. A very interesting find by some COASSTers. Keep up the good work!
We are continuing to receive lots of interesting marine debris images for our photo project. We’re up to 1,856 photos and counting! We’d love to see that number reach 2,000 this month, so keep the photos coming. As you know, we are trying to amass a large database of images of debris items that wash ashore Pacific Northwest and Alaska beaches.
We’ve noticed a lot of folks have been grouping their items together into one photo. This may save you some time, but unfortunately we can’t use those images. We need individual pictures of debris so they can be classified based on their unique characteristics. You do not need to photograph every piece of debris you find on the beach; just select a few pieces and photograph them individually.
Here are some of our interesting finds from December:
