I am currently researching things for my book, so I looked at the available info for Jughandle. All the material talks about the plants, since the Ecological Staircase is the big deal. The Russian Gulch SP brochure mostly talks about history.

Here’s what I know to be in the area: deer, skunks, rabbits, foxes, raccoons, and squirrels. You can find bears and mountain lions further inland, but they don’t come this close to people any more ( or very rarely). There are wild turkeys in the area, and red-tailed hawks, and osprey (there are nests up Caspar Creek a short distance away). Brown pelicans can occasionally be seen, too. You might occasionally see sea lions or harbor seals, but there are no permanent colonies here.

In the winter and early spring, you could easily see migrating whales from the bluff above the beach, although I’m not sure how much you’d see from beach level — the beach is a protected pocket beach, so it’s a relatively small area that’s open to the ocean.

I hope this helps.

Dennis

many thanks
em.