Yellow Prickly Cockle
Ponderous Ark
See? I even gave this PONDEROUS ARK a second look when I normally would have passed right by it. Since the names are somewhat new to me (I would have normally named it an “ARK” shell but now I’m trying to learn the different categories too), we can learn these things together. So that means if I misidentify a shell, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Alan (Maine)
I think Alan favors the univalves (or gastropods) too since he is showing off a FLORIDA CONE and some OLIVES. Check out his home made shelling rake!
Sanibel Anne (Sanibel… of course!)
I found Sanibel Anne working that same pile and watched her pull out that beautiful HORSE CONCHÂ that she’s holding in her left hand. She makes shell mirrors and candlesticks from the shells she finds. Fun!
Over 20 mph north west winds washed up this pile of STONE CRAB pots on the beach two weeks ago. No wonder there are so many PIG’S FEET on the beach. These were the same winds that blew in the excellent shelling last month. We are expecting some good north west winds today “they” say about 16 mph (I’m not seeing anything yet) but maybe that’s enough for my JUNONIA to wash up. (?)
We had a little NW wind yesterday so I ran up to Blind Pass to see the shells were washing up on the Sanibel side. You can see in this picture how close that point of the sand bar on the Captiva side is to Sanibel now. Maybe we should do a pool on who gets to the closest date that when the Captiva exposed sand touches Sanibel exposed sand.
Yesterday there were more shells on the Sanibel side than on the Captiva side. Like I always say ….the beach changes by the day. You never know where the shells will show up.
Snowy Egret shelling
I took this next picture as I walked the entrance to the beach where there are sea grape trees lining the walkway. I had to stop to take in the beautiful palette of colors the leaves painted on the path.
Sanibel is such a shell paradise! The last photo looks like confetti.
Happy New Year!
Pam, do the sea grape leaves always turn those beautiful colors or is it because the weather has been so cold? Happy shelling, looking good!
In the summer, the leaves seem to turn brown quickly when they hit the ground. In the fall and winter months they do have noticeable beautiful colors but this scattering of leaves was so brilliant it made me stop in my tracks. Maybe because of the shade/cold/rain …. dunno… but just happy I ran across it.
I love the Snowy Egret photo! He’s so cute! Great pics as usual.
The picture of those leaves is just beautiful. I totally understand why you stopped and tthe photo. I love the snowy egret too. Sanibel and Captiva are amazing!!
I have a favor to ask – does anyone know anything about what to see, if there are shells and where to find them on Virginia Beach? Will be going in April (not to Sanibel… sniff, sniff…sob)….Will be planning a trip for sometime this year to the best place on earth however, just not this spring trip.
Thanks Everybody!!!
Roxanne,
Pam and I are from Va Beach and your best chance at shells is around Fort Story which is at the North end. Pam and I ran into an artist that does shell art on our last trip and she showed us welks and baby’s ears that she had found there. If your on the Chesapeake Bay side there is also sea glass. Good luck.
Clark
Sea Glass – I would love to find it. I love me some welks too.
I thought that you guys were from there. I really appreciate the suggestions!!
Roxanne,
I lived in Va Beach for over 13 years, never had much luck shelling. However, they do have a really nice Aquarium on General Booth Blvd not too far from the beach. Go there, you will like it…..
Thank you. I know there is no place like Sanibel and captiva, but hoped to find a shell or two.
My wife and I love to look for shells and Va Beach is …… not always the best for shelling. When we do find shells they are usually sharks-eye moon snails, baby ears, slipper shells, scallops, clams, and on rare occasions weathered whelks. We find our shells at Croatan Beach south of the boardwalk across Rudee Inlet. We have heard that if you can get a kayak and launch from the eastern shore (across the chesapeake bay) that the beaches (that are unreachable by foot) are loaded with large shells but we have not ventured out yet. As for other things to do/see the Virginia Aqauarium and the Norfolk Zoo are good if you like animals and sealife. The Virginia Beach Convention Center is nice if you like great architecture.
Thank you for the info. I do not know if I am familiar with slipper shells. I will have to look them up so I will recognize if I am lucky enough to find one. I love sea life and animals. I will have my two year old niece (my heart and soul) and I think she would love both.
Those leaves look like scallop shells on the beach. I’ll take 2/11/11 as my pick for the sand bar.
Pam,
What happens to the Stone Crab pots that wash up? Are they left there to wash back in to the sea? Are they labeled so that they may be identified by the owner?
Love all of your photos as always, but I have to say my favorite one this time is the Sea Grape leaves. Beautiful!
We have seen Sanibel City pickup trucks being driven down the beach with city workers picking up the washed up crab pots and putting them in the trucks. Don’t know where they go from there. Maybe someone else knows. I would think owners might be able to identify them and salvage them.
I Love all your pictures Pam! Look at those piles of shells!! Can’t wait to get down to Sanibel and leave all this New England snow behind!
Pam
What book do you recommend for shell identification?
Any shell book written or contributed to by the late conchologist R. Tucker Abbott are super good. His books cover shells world-wide but he has several that zone in on Florida shells. I also like” Florida’s Fabulous Seashells” by Winston Williams. I purchased mine at Barnes & Noble. The pictures are very beautiful – not so scientific. I am constantly scouring Goodwill’s & thrift stores for shell books of any kind. I just love them.
Love the leaves and I thought we had that cornered in Indiana.
Roxanne,
Clark’s and Lori’s suggestions are great and my suggestion would be (if it’s warm enough) to rent bikes or a surrey to ride the boardwalk down to Waterman’s restaurant near 4th street. We did that from 31st on our visit in July of last year and had a blast. Just be careful…. since pedestrians will walk right in front of you at any time…. weird.
RottenMom, The city normally picks those traps up with a pickup truck they drive along the beach. Hmmm. Not sure why they haven’t gotten them yet. Clark had taken a picture of them on Dec 27th with his phone…. but the photo didn’t make the cut from “quality control” … so that’s why I knew they were there for that long.
Sally, I have about 7 different books that I cross reference with but my best resource is the Shell Museum website. My favorite book is called Florida’s Fabulous Seashells. It not only has shells but it has so much of the beach treasures too…. so it’s just fun to look through. Most of the time when I mention a new shell or a shell I haven’t talked about in a while I highlight and bold that shell name and put a link to the shell museum so you can see learn the details about the shell and if you are interested in the scientific stuff.
JudyO- date noted :)
Everybody else….. THANK YOU for your comments!!!!
Thank you.
Ps- we never got that wind today “they” told us we were going to get. ;(
Love the yellow prickly cockle. Looks so vibrant. Hope all is well with you!!!
I have to say, I am saddened by the growing sandbar at Blind Pass. The sound was ‘returning to health’ with the tides flowing better. Do the authorities have a plan for removing the sandbar? Or wait for Mother Nature to take care of it?
Yes, it is VERY sad. Not just because there was soooo much money spent to open the pass but like you said it was done for the health of the bays. I thought they had a contract to maintain the flow through the pass. Anybody know the details?
Lived on Captiva for 19 years and have never seen the sea grape leaves those colors – they are beautiful!!
good news—the traps have been picked up, and the beach has almost no debris at all as of yesterday afternoon—it was beautiful.
Yes- good news. Thanks for the update!
Love the photo of the sea grape leaves, would make a wonderful jigsaw puzzle. See you soon will be there in a week.
Wow those are really cool leaves…the color is unbelievable…and I live here and can’t remember such bright colors….
looks amazing! We arrive tomorrow and I am so excited
I saw the city trucks collecting the crab traps, and we saw sooooo many pig’s feet strewn about the beach over Christmas. Pam you have a good eye in photography, especially with the simple things in life, like the leaves! They are beautiful. I have used a number of your photos as my desktop background by the way.
Thanks, Pam, for another grand virtual visit to Sanibel… My 93 year old Mom and 2 of my sisters will be there for the real thing! in just 2 more weeks.
I’ll venture to guess that sand bar will be “outta there” by then. My fav of these photos are the snowy egret and the leaves…they make my heart sing!
Oh, and I’ll be there too!
Wow, wow and wow!!! We just got here today and went for a quick walk down to the beach just outside our hotel. I cannot believe it! It is just as amazing as you have described and we were only down there for a few minutes before the sun set.I think I stood there for five minutes with my jaw dropped before I even stooped down! Can’t wait for what the
Next couple of days hold
That’s the biggest pile of traps I’ve seen! Wow! I love the Snowy Egret photo.
I bought an old wooden Lobster trap for my daughter when she went to college. We put a piece of glass on top of it and she used it as a coffee table. I loved it!