A relatively large white float discovered during a bird survey on Salmon Creek Beach on 19 June 2012. It was ~21 inches long.
There were a few faded Asian characters visible on one end (see below).
At least two species of barnacles were growing on the float.
The large pink species is probably Megabalanus californicus — a barnacle that is generally rare north of San Francisco (but we think it has been found on buoys as far north as the Oregon border). [We're looking into this further and will report back if it's identified as a different species.]
The smaller gray/white stalked species are pelagic gooseneck barnacles (Lepas sp.).
Some people have asked me if objects like this float could be related to the March 2011 tsunami in Japan. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to identify something that is specifically related to the tsunami as we observe objects with Asian characters on local beaches every year (especially after strong westerly winds).
But don't you wonder about the journey of this float and the animals associated with it?