I’ve never seen so many glossy PAINTED EGG COCKLES wash up together as much as I have on the new sand bar at Blind Pass Captiva. Gail Carr (Maryland) collected of these beauties and much more sweet gems she sorted in this fab tackle box…
That nice little organized box had another side too she filled with sweet treasures…
I love to talk to people who get so much enjoyment at collecting so many different varieties of shells… as I do. Gail said “Each shell has it’s own unique beauty.” I agree! That’s why I got so thrilled when she showed me she found a couple of my new fave shell… the CROSS-HATCHED LUCINE.
She found a TEXAS LONGHORN too!
She even found a few SHIVA SHELLS … which are the OPERCULUM to the CHESTNUT TURBAN. Gail happen to find a few bright orange CHESTNUT TURBANS as well so I wanted you to see what they looked like together.
Looking in the same area where I found my SCOTCH BONNET last week, I found 6 more CROSS-HATCHED LUCINES.
I was thrilled to have shared the excitement with Gail since she had found a few and didn’t think I wasn’t crazy for feeling so excited about finding “just another silly plain white clam shell”. LOL
In less than a month, this whole sandy beach on the pass side of the jetty rocks has formed and if you look closely, here are some hidden gems in there. Seriously… twenty days ago, I took this next photo of the shelling on the Sanibel side and it shows in the background the Captiva jetty rocks…no sand bar.
Over the weekend (on my way to find my precious LUCINES) I took this photo of my view as I stood on the bridge that connects Sanibel to Captiva looking over to the Captiva side. Wild, huh? This is what keeps me shelling day after day… the beaches change every single day and you never know what you will find until you get there!
Wow Pam! Blind Pass is so different!! I wish I was there! We are freezing here again ;(
Pam that sand bar is CRAZY! Excited to see more of those cross hatched lucines washing up!
Each shell is definitely beautiful in its own way!
So why did they put down all that sand when it appears that the sand is moving to close up the pass again? Is the sandbar coming from sand inside the pass or from the Captiva side?
Janet, I was wondering that too. I thought they worried that the pass would fill in again and need dredging, but then they added sand. I do realize that there was beach erosion they were trying to fix but these sand shifts are crazy. Very interesting to watch and see what happens. I’m sure Pam will keep us posted.
Oh, I see Pam types faster than I do. LOL
LOL Ha! i knew you guys that were here in December or early January would be so surprised to see that sand bar!
Soooooo… JanetfIL, hmmmmm I sincerely appreciate your concern and wish I could answer that question of “why” but I cant- and yes it drives me crazy too. But yes, they filled in so much sand that of course it is shifting into the pass. Its really not “my thing” to get into the whole issue of dredging and renourishment here on the blog unless it results in some shelling news. ;) I enjoy staying focused on what I do best… shelling…. AND getting the best dang shells/shelling info to you that I possibly can! :)
For any other questions, you can go to http://mycepd.com
OK, Pam, SHELLING it is!!!! Thanks for keeping us informed up to the minute! It looks like a blast.
heehee thank YOU Janet! xo
Question: Are you as excited finding beautiful shells that are probably a result of the beach re-nourishment as you would be finding shells that are a result of Mother Nature? I found unbelievable shells in Orange Beach as a result of re-nourishment project. I thought I had discovered gold!
Yes! Jeanne, I get very excited to find shells from renourishment/dredging but I’m not a big fan of hanging out near the equipment when it’s in the process…. Or all the politics that goes with it. The shells we find after a project are just brought in from deeper waters- they r still local shells…. So I think it’s so interesting to find such nice specimens and different ones that we don’t get to see regularly. I love shells but I really can’t compare it to my love for shelling.
Thank you. I agree!
Thanks so much for posting about the Shiva’s eye shells! I own jewelry that includes them and just love them – it is great to see where (the chestnut turban snail shell) those operculum come from! Very informative and enjoyable to share in your discoveries : )
Someday I hope to join you at Captiva!
Thanks for your wonderful blog, Joanne Evans
It looks as if Gail found a couple of the “boring turritellas”, second image lower left compartment — of course I think they are not boring at all but very interesting!
Ha! You spotted them! Susan, I am going to write another post on the boring turritellas. I didn’t want to pass them by too quickly so I thought they need their own post. heehee
Susan, the name made me smile. I brought one to Dr. Leal at the Shell ID clinic because I thought it was some type of auger that I didn’t recognize. He identified it for me; I found a few more later because I was paying attention. I had been mostly ignoring the augers.
I can believe that last picture of Blind Pass! How long did that take to build up that hook???? OMG!
Should have been can’t not can sorry
Pam, I had so much FUN! And I never would have realized that the “silly white shell” could be something special if I hadn’t seen your post. If any of you are heading to Sanibel soon–the Shell Museum has a Shell ID clinic on Thursdays, 2:00-2:30 p.m. Last Thursday there were 3 of us who attended, and Dr. Leal met with us himself. I was pretty star-struck, and I was afraid that he would think my shells weren’t exotic enough. But he was kind and patient, identifying a Purplish Semele, a Boring Turret, the piece of Texas Longhorn, a Speckled Tellin, an Alternate Tellin, and a Dusky Cone (I thought maybe it was a juvenile of some other species–didn’t realize it was a different kind of cone!) Then I showed him the 2 cross-hatched lucines, and he told me about Pam bringing one in recently. I told him I had read her post, but didn’t know for sure this was the same shell. He said they were in very good shape. Pam had donated hers for the museum’s collection; I asked if he would like to have mine, and he was pleased to accept them. So I am a proud contributor to the Shell Museum collection, thanks to I Love Shelling and Pam! The chance to meet with Pam to look for more of these lovely shells was another celebrity experience for me! Pam had great luck; I managed to find one. But I have to admit that later that day I went back on my own; I ended up coming home with 3. :-) So thanks, Pam, for the education and the excitement! My best Sanibel trip so far.
I was at Blind Pass last Monday and Friday. How it changed. The shells were coming up like CRAZY on Monday (unfortunately I didn’t have a shell net). When we went back on Friday (and I had a net) the shells were hard to find.
I envy you that you get to shell all the time. Wish I was there!!! It’s -2 degrees here today and all the schools are closed!
re that cross hatched lucine…interesting distribution…occurs all the way north to the south shore of massachusetts, almost always as single valves but i have heard of the occasional fresh pair. Halves rarely stay together when found on the beach because the hinge is so fragile.
Best place for them: .Bird Shoal North Carolina. You get a water taxi at Beaufort, get dropped off on the island, walk all the way to the end to the actual shoal….they are everywhere on the beautiful clean sand before the shoal…… If you are ever in the neighborhood….been there twice and found plenty each time.
I find them on Nevis fairly often, and the species also supposedly occurs all the way south to Brazil. Although honestly I wonder if it could really be all one species with a distribution from Massachusetts to Brazil; perhaps it is two or more cryptic species.