Southwest Florida had some crazy storms plow through our area in the last few days… so I have so much to tell you! I will start by telling you that there were areas of flooding from downpours of rain, high winds, tornados and washed out roads. But we are all safe and sound…. which leaves us with talking about the shelling. Holy Cowrie. We found some shells, folks. Clark scooped for hours yesterday at the lighthouse and this is one of many very cool shells he found- a huge, empty HORSE CONCH. Shellzam!
But to me, his best find was the perfect ROSE MUREX he scooped in his shelling backhoe. We rarely find these but when we do, the “tail” (SIPHONAL CANAL) is chipped and beach worn and the color is usually really faded.
But not this one…. this one is perfect!
But let back up… There was so much rain that came so fast (we heard reports of 4 inches in 40 minutes) that Friday January 15, the Blind Pass Sanibel parking lot looked like this…
That same day, the road to the Sanibel Lighthouse just passed the fishing pier was eroding away from the waves pounding the side of the road.
By Sunday January 17, that same road was pretty much washed away and the road was closed (that is a police car in the back ground). Most parking lots were closed but by 10am the parking lot on the other side of Lighthouse was re-opened.
The beach was littered with CRAB TRAPS pushed up on shore by the strong winds.
We saw hundreds of live shells (I really think thousands but you’d think I was exaggerating haha ;) ) and probably 25 of those were live HORSE CONCHS washed up on the sand, in the water and stuck to tree roots.
With each wave, there were more shells washing in. Again.. most of these were still alive so everybody oooohhhed and aaahhhed and respectfully left them alone.
Among all of the excitement, we realized there was an injured BROWN PELICAN on the beach that needed help. Local fisherman (and golfer ;)) Jeffrey, Clark and I tried to dislodge an oversized fish from it’s bill and untangle his wings. After letting him recover for about 15 minutes we knew he needed to get to CROW (Clinic for the Rehabilitation Of Wildlife) on the island. The shells could wait… we found an old towel and a box then took him to the clinic where he’s still recovering. If I get word on his progress, I’ll let you know.
After that…. back to the beach!
Oh yeah, baby, Super Sheller Clark was rewarded with a spectacsheller empty LIGHTNING WHELK.
Everybody’s shell buckets were filled with happiness.
It’s so cool when special shells like this double SPINY JEWELBOX washes inn too. We normally don’t see the spines so perfect when they are found on the beach- this one is a-mazing.
I just had to catch you up on an amazing weekend and show you a few of these crazy photos. Clark found most of the shells that we kept- but I also met so many happy people with great find so their own so next post I will show you more fabshellous finds and hopefully I can pull together a video of the madness as well.
Yep, we are living on the SCALLOPED edge of island life.
All I can say is WOW!!! Glad everyone is safe. You all must have had a blast seeing all the sjells!!
And thousands of star fish and pen shells!
I look forward to shelling with you this Thursday!
That Rose Murex absolutely takes the cake!!! Well done Clark!
And I love that last image — I can’t believe you managed to pull that off Pam! The setting sun shining through a calico scallop? Who would have thought that was possible? Gorgeous…
Wow! That’s amazing! If I lived there, I’d have to be retired or have a job where I could just drop everything and head to the beaches anytime I wanted :-) ……
Ooooh my! For every negative like a bad storm there is a positive. The shells found are AMAZING! Counting the days til I get there …
Impressive. How does a person score a huge lightning whelk like that? We are normally on St. Pete beach from KY for our summer vacation, but I’m very interested in visiting Sanibel this summer instead.
The really great shells wash in after winter storms. Summer shelling on Sanibel is not as impressive; there are plenty of shells in the summer, just not the most spectacular ones.
Thanks for answering Susan! ;) Actually the summer storms and hot weather can be fantastic shelling. We’ve had amazing shelling in the summer and we don’t have the crowds at the beach so we don’t have as much competition either. You just never know what Mother Nature is going to have in store. I have a tab on the side of this blog that has an index of “Archives” so just pull up a month and a year so you can see what people are wearing and what they are finding- this was one from this summer- not too shabby Id say, right? http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/2015/06/22/shells-found-on-big-hickory-island-florida/
Yes that’s true! Any storm at any time of year is great for shelling (shellers are the only people who hope for bad weather on their vacation!). Besides Sanibel is gorgeous all year round, no question about that!
Thanks for posting Pam..Its great to see pictures of beautiful Sanibel when we are having single didgets here in West Virginia..
Just came back from Sanibel. I was out on the Sanibel side of Blind Pass. Could not believe all that had washed up. Great time filling up my margarita bucket! But thousands of sea urchins. Very sad to see in a way. I was afraid to pick them up as I could not tell if they were alive or dead or just cold. No one seemed to know. Help Pam. How can you tell? Great find on your shells by the way!
Hi Kathy! I hope to see you out and about this week and hoping your margarita bucket is full ;) I have a post dedicated to identifying live sea urchins. Check it out… http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/2014/04/14/how-can-you-tell-if-a-sea-urchin-is-still-alive/
Hi! I had forgotten about that post so thanks so much for your help. I am glad that I had left them there on the beach as most of them were still alive. The tide was coming in so hopefully they all got washed back into the sea. They are beautiful. 😎
Kathy, Pam did a tutorial on how to tell if the urchins are alive or not. If you look on the right side under “urchins” you should be able to find it. She also talks about how to clean them. It was very helpful the last time I was on Sanibel. Have fun!
Katherine! You are so sweet to send this not to Kathy! Xoxo Thank you :)
I think we were both answering her at the same time – you must type faster than me. :) See you on the Big Hickory trip the end of Feb.
Thanks Katherine. Wish everyone could have been on the beach yesterday. It was quite a site to see.
Kathy, I sure wish I was there now. I’m coming down the end of Feb. but somehow I always miss the after-effects of a good storm. You picked a good time to be there!
Congratulations to Clark! Great finds. Sure wish I was there.
Amazing story, shells and pictures. Love all of your “finds.” Your last pic is the calm after the storm. Love it!
Shellzam Pam – omg – look at the size of that horse conch and the alphies! Some day I hope to be there after a storm. For now, I live shellcariously through you! xo
I left Sanibel the night the storms started :(
We were also at Lighthouse yesterday! Amazing sight. Loved watching all the creatures digging out of the sand. See ya Feb 23 for the shelling trip.
West Gulf Drive was loaded with goodies. Lots of fig shells, fighting conchs, lightning welks, and loads of sea stars or all kinds. Tonight there were thousands of sea urchins and sponges. Fun time but alas still not alphabet cones for me!
The rose murex is lovely! Of course I am jealous of the whopper horse conch that Clark found. Also envious of the big whelks, but my day will come! I had some nice finds on Little Hickory this afternoon. I will post tomorrow. Glad you were safe. I hope the pelican is okay.
We drove down from Lakeland this weekend and were AMAZED at all of the glorious shells we found, especially at the Lighthouse. My children and I found more beautiful shells in a few hours than we do in a week during summer. My husband had to literally drag me out of the water. LOL Thank you for your wonderful posts and pictures, Pam. We always enjoy reading them! Happy Shelling…
Thank you Pam & Clark for always taking care of the wildlife. It’s inspiring to know caring people are out there! Your last picture of the scallop blew me away! Just awesome! Your photography is amazing! Thank you for sharing it with us – what a treat!
Thanks for the wonderful photos
I did make it to Lighthouse beach after you left–didn’t find any big shells like Clark’s, but I found a carrier shell, a paper fig, a baby’s ear, an alternate tellin, and a tulip. Plus bunches of gorgeous scallops, cockles, etc. Needed some hot chocolate when we got back to the cottage! :-)
Great Post Pam !!!
This is So amazing!!! All of your treasures are stunning. The beach in Passagrille {St. Pete Beach} was flooded with fighting conchs, all of which were occupied. I tried to throw as many back into the sea as I could. Do you think there will be good shells all week in Sanibel? I’ve never been down that far shelling but have heard wonderful things!
Wow!! I wish I could have been there (of course after the storm and rain). The horse conch is so cool, as well as the huge welk.
Love your pictures Pam, it’s amazing what wind and water can do. The rose murex is absolutely beautiful, what a great find! So very glad you helped the pelican. Heading down Thursday, very interested in seeing all the changes to the beaches. Thinking it may not be the best week for minis…
Thanks for your web page! I am new to shelling as a snowbird on the gulf coast of Alabama.
Can you address how to store shells, specially delicate ones, so they dont break?
Please do update us on the Pelican. He was so lucky to have you there to help! This has to be one of your most inspiring posts! Such great finds… I so miss Sanibel Island. I especially love your videos of shell hunting…more please! They help satisfy my desire for seashell hunting and helps me feel like I am back on Sanibel…!
Holy buckets!!!!! Those shells are HUGE! What amazing finds! And THANK YOU for rescuing the pelican! There’s a special place in heaven for people like you who help those animals that cannot help themselves.
Pam-what is the water temperature this time of the year? Is it too cold to get into the water? Will be there in Feb. and never have been there in the winter months. Wondering what kind of clothes to pack.
Do you mind if I try to answer? The water temperature will be in the 60s, but maybe the high 60s. That is too cold for most people, but OK if you are the hardy sort.
I would definitely take some light summery clothes (it’s currently 79 degrees on Sanibel) but also some warm layers (like fleece or a nylon shell jacket and some sort of pants) in case a cold front comes though, and in case you want to shell at night.
If a storm comes though it may rain of course.
Thanks for the info Susan. I”m going to start packing tonight! Can’t wait to be there again.
Pam,
We”be just finished our last day of an awesome week on Sanibel. We stayed at Beachview on West Gulf. As we ventured out for our morning shell walk, we saw hundreds, maybe thousands of live sand dollars washing ashore. It was amazing yet sad as there was no way to throw them all back! Any idea what may have brought them to shore?
Hi Danette- isn’t it amazing to see so many? It happens when we have either rough water after high winds and also when we get too much fresh water mixed in the gulf- sand dollars need the salinity. I know it’s brings out mixed emotions but there’s no way to help them all back in the water. Hope you had a great time on Sanibel! :)