A View From the 2017 Wrack Line Through My Eyes

This year the drift was full of treasures. Some had human origins. Others were from rocky intertidal, subtidal, pelagic, estuarine, and terrestrial sources. Unravelling their stories, or trying to, is an irresistible challenge. Yet, every year there are some that remain mysteries. Below, arranged chronologically, from the distant memories of last winter at the top, to recent scenes from last month at the bottom, are drifted discoveries that caught my attention in 2017.

High tides and big surf mobilize drift logs

Crab buoy #47823

Hagfish trap funnel

Rough keyhole limpet Diodora aspera

Probably from a squid boat

Glow stick, offshore fishing gear

If you know what this is, drop me a line

Rock scallop, Crassadoma gigantea, top view

Sea oats, probably, Nucella lamellosa eggs

Purple-striped jelly, Chrysaora colorata; uncommon on northern Oregon beaches

Rock scallop, Crassadoma gigantea – inner surface

Consensus chum parr, tossed ashore in the surf

Newly beached Velella velella

Delicate epiphytes on a bull kelp stipe

Fish tub

Drift line loaded with Velella

Whitewater helmet

Drift line dominated by spruce needles

Ever seen a sand dollar show?

Drift Macrocystis

Inscrutable Olivella biplicata

Gulls usually find these before I do

Drift surfgrass, Phyllospadix

Beached drifters

Metacarcinus magister, always feisty

Laminaria sinclairii; red epiphytes on the tips

Lost buoy #353

Show, razor clam, Siliqua patula

Common murre

Drift Fucus

A spade without its child

Beach hopper

Fresh feather boa, Egregia menziesii

Beach hoppers love a drift feather boa

Drift line detail

Drift Postelsia palmaeformis

Nuttall’s cockle, Clinocardium nuttallii

Holdfasts are a reliable source of new material on the beach; here other macroalgae and a good-sized barnacle

It’s going to take a high tide and big swell to move this one

Razor clam, Siliqua patula

Drift bull kelp

Lost line, pyrosomes

Material from several ecosystems in the drift line

Pyrosome, surfgrass

That’s a view from the 2017 wrack line though my eyes. It’s just a sample. If you want to see more floats and buoys, drift algae, carcasses, bottles, drift line inhabitants, and other beached drifters, browse through Wrack Line 2017 or any of my Wrack Line pages.