Finding a MILK CONCH on Sanibel is not an every day thing… but Robyn (Toronto) seemed to have luck on her side on her vacation on Sanibel last week because she found a pretty perfect one off West Gulf Drive near White Caps cottages.
It is rare that I hear about MILK CONCHS washing up on Sanibel since they are more common in southeast Florida and the Keys. On our trip to the Florida Keys in June, we saw lots of them. I think Hurricane Irene must have had something to do with stirring up those Caribbean waters to push it up here on the west coast of Florida, don’t you? What a find, Robyn! Congrats!
Remember I told you she had luck on her side? Not only did she find this MILK CONCH, but she saw a BOBCAT just a few steps from her cottage to capture this magnificent animal through her camera lens. That’s rare too!
As this lucky girl would have it, A MANATEE surfaced in the water right in front of us as we were standing on the beach looking at her seashell finds and an OSPREY swooped right over our heads. I wasn’t able to get a photo of the MANATEE or OSPREY but here are some of her other treasures…
… and a few JINGLES and other goodies too.
I’m telling you…. this chick is like a coolness magnet. I think it all has to do with the magic of her beautiful seashell tattoo that says “Beach Girl” in Finnish.
She told me she comes to Sanibel twice a year with her boyfriend Rick so I can not wait until next time to hear about what she finds!
I wonder how you say “jealous” in Finnish???
Pretty cool finding! I didn’t realize that Milk Conchs were found that far north.
I’ve only found one small sized milk conch in all my shelling years and I didn’t even know what it was at first! Thought it was some kind of deformed fighting conch! Found it around #2 on West Gulf. Nice find, Robyn!
Just gorgeous!!
Great find, Robyn! That had to be sooo exciting! :)
Milk conch, Love it! How cool is that! Great find! I must say “I am jealous” Beautiful just beautiful. Time to hit the Beach.
Last January I found a Milk conch shell on one of the Middle Gulf Drive beaches. It was immature (thin lip) and long dead, but it was the first time that I had ever found one on Sanibel Island. Robyn’s Milk conch is a nice shell and an excellent find on Sanibel Island. The March 2011 issue of the Shell Museum News, http://shellmuseum.org/docs/articles/350/Shellnews_80.pdf has an article entitled “This shell is not supposed to be here”. Dr. Leal gives a good explanation for why a few “occasional” shells are “occasionally” found on Sanibel Island.
Thanks for the link MK. I always enjoy learning something new about shells. Can you tell me how to sign up for the newsletter? It looks like a great source for additional information.
Katherine, your question is a good one. The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum (aka BMSM or the Sanibel Shell Museum) automatically sends its quarterly newsletter (Shell Museum News) by snail mail to its members. Murex Alice and I are long time members/supporters of the Sanibel Shell Museum. As with many charitable organizations, there are various levels of membership, http://shellmuseum.org/membership.cfm Although we have contributed at various levels during the past 16 + years, whatever level a person and/or family is able to contribute is helpful to the Shell Museum. The cost/benefit of membership may be viewed in many ways. Although this may not be the appropriate forum to discuss financial support of the Sanibel Shell Museum, I believe that this museum promotes education/understanding about mollusks, their shells and many related topics. As such, Murex Alice and I consider the Sanibel Shell Museum a worthwhile endeavor to support with our finances, time, etc.
For anyone not comfortable in becoming a member of the Shell Museum, there is another means to obtain the Shell Museum News. The BSMC website, http://shellmuseum.org/ has a section containing the archived newsletters in PDF format, http://shellmuseum.org/archives.cfm We just received the September issue (#82) of the Shell Museum News. So, it usually takes a month or two for the current issue to be archived and available on the BMSM website. On Pam’s excellent shelling blog, there was a recent (August 7, 2011) discussion (in comments) concerning micro mollusks, http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/2011/08/07/seashells-at-your-fingertips/ . Of note, in the June 2011 issue of Shell Museum News ((#81), http://shellmuseum.org/docs/articles/351/Shellnews_81.pdf and continued in the September 2011 issue (#82), Dr. Leal talks about micro mollusks, especially related to Sanibel Island, southwest Florida and biodiversity.
One or two additional comments may be appropriate. For many of the people who read and post to this blog, seashells and shell collecting are important parts of our lives. For those of us who do not permanently live in southwest Florida, we vicariously enjoy looking at Pam’s beautiful pictures and reading her cleverly worded posts. Some of us may even secretly think that we could be just as clever, but that is unlikely, especially week after week. The BMSM is a valuable resource for all of us. For those who have not yet visited the Sanibel Shell Museum, I encourage you to do so. For those who have visited the museum in the past, I encourage you to consider going there again to see some of the new exhibits or to meet/talk with some of the volunteers, who share our love of seashells and who can probably help with the ID of some of your “unknown” shells. If you do want some help with shell ID, calling ahead of time would probably be helpful. Around noon on Wednesdays is often the best time to find some very knowledgeable volunteers who are always interested in seeing what “unknown” shells other shell collectors have been finding. As for the Milk conch that Robyn has just found, I am sure that Dr. Leal would be pleased to photograph it and include it in the on-line pictorial list of Southwest Florida Shells, http://shellmuseum.org/shells.cfm
Hi Ken, thank you so much for your post! I wish it was posted while I was in Sanibel, I would have brought the milk conch to the museum FOR SURE!!I will bring the shell on my next trip. I visited the museum last summer and was so glad I did. I found it so informative, escpecially the video presention. And I have to agree with you Pam does a FANTASTIC job with this website :))
Cheers!
Robyn
Wow, I’m jealous! A milk conch, a bobcat, AND a manatee on the same trip?! Not to mention a killer tattoo!! Someone is living right!!! :)
I definitely need to think about getting a tattoo! The elusive bobcat, never seen him, never really want to, at least up close!
wow, what a lucky beach girl… LOVE her tattoo, really cute!!
Pam-I looooove the post!! I had so much fun meeting with you-YOU ROCK!!! You are right, I was a lucky girl that week!! We didn’t have great weather that week, too many rain days, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing!! As much as I love shells and shelling (which I have to say I am slightly obsessed) I equally love nature and wildlife. I think this is a huge draw to Sanibel, the untouched beauty and the endless possibilities. We had a few other surprises that trip~a bald eagle flew over us on the beach (being chased by an osprey) and we got to see buckets of baby sea turtles (93 to be exact) that the ‘Turtle Rescue’ jeep collected. I may have a pic of the osprey and I have a video of the turtles that I will try and post to tomorrow. Sanibel is truly heaven on earth, you are so fortunate to live there~I hope to one day too!! I can’t wait to return, we are already planning our next visit!!!!!