The wind has died down slightly, and the snow has turned to rain… Emma got creative with painting wooden fish, and we read that Pacific Halibut was called “haly-butte” in Middle English, which means a flatfish to eat on Holy Days.
After lunch we decided to brave the weather for a COASST survey. COASST stands for ‘Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team’, and it’s an impressive citizen science project that coordinates frequent surveys of beaches across Northern California, Washington, Oregon and Alaska to look for dead birds. Together, these surveys can give us information to help assess patterns of seabird mortality due to both natural causes and humans (such as oil spills).
It was wet and windy, and got wetter and windier…. The beach had impressive surf action, and we were all glad to get outside. No dead birds, but lots of driftwood, kelp, old bones from fur seals and sea lions, and too much plastic marine debris. We ended soaked, but still smiling! Feeling thankful for hot showers tonight!
