The COQUINAS are here again! I’ve never seen so many live coquinas in the shoreline all in a bunch like colorful jumping beans. Ok, they weren’t jumping but they were squirming to cover themselves up every time a wave fluffed them up.
I even got them on a short video!
They come in every color of the rainbow it seems. Yet, another tiny treasure.
i love the video. gives me faith in the abundance of this earth…very beautiful and happy
When my kids were little we would scoop up a handful and put them in a bucket with sand and water just to watch them scurry under the sand every time we stirred up the bucket. I still love to find coquina “butterflies” (That’s what I called the joined shells) on the beach.
Now Pam, I would love to have that video as my screen saver. I favorited it on my youtube account, so I can watch it over and over. I love coquinas!
I’d be honored if it was your screen savor!
We find these little guys down the shore in New Jersey. When the waves roll back there are thousands of them some days. My son calls them “diggers” because of the way they dig into the sand. We don’t have the bright colors though.
Yesterday I was shelling on the Gulf side of Sanibel and came upon an ~14″ long area at the shoreline of what I thought was brightly colored gravel. I scooped up a bunch to look more closely & realized they were coquinas. Although I have found hundreds of large ones, I had never seen the magical little guys before. Just another gift from the sea.
This may have been the same place that I saw them! I was off West Gulf Drive. You are right- it looked like a long line of colored gravel or small pebbles right on the shoreline. I tried to take pictures of them in the water but the camera (or the camera user- ha) couldn’t catch it.
They’re so Cute! Mother Nature sure provides quite a show for us doesn’t she? Thanks, Pam for the great video! Counting the days…
Good Lawd! I so wish I was there…coquinas are one of my favorite finds. I have never seen so may live ones in one place, but have spent hours through the years sitting on the beach picking through the sand and exclaiming over and over again ” Look at the color of THIS one!” I wish I could be on Sanibel once a month- I never realized until I found ” I Love Shelling” how the joy and wonder of shelling continues year round. Thanks, Pam!
Pam
I’m on the BOSC forum as RC thats how I found your blog. Great site. “Coquina Coverup” sound like a great name for a beach house on Sanibel or Captiva.
It sure does, doesn’t it! I can already see the sign.
I’ve never seen that many on Sanibel since I was a little girl. The video is amazing!! So many colors too. Thank you for sharing.
Love your website. My family and I have been visiting Beautiful Sanibel for 10 years now. We will be vacationing this year for 2 weeks, July 10-25. We love shelling, we have a great collection but no junonia. We hope to retire in the area one day. Again love your website, having been to the beautiful island one truly can appreciate the photos………
I love these pics/video and shells. I have a dish of them on a table at work and look/play with them all the time (they calm me during tough moments:-). Many people in Maine have never seen them before so mistake them for mints! And once they realize they are shells are just fascinated by them. Hope for more next trip!
Good grief!! That’s an enormous handful of coquinas!!
I love watching the tiny Coquinas slide back under the sand when a departing wave leaves them exposed.