Sunny blue skies, aqua water and warm breezes have filled our beach days in Southwest Florida this week- it’s been absolutely gorgeous!
But last week, we had some dark skies, rain and a cool (60s) weather front from the west move through to bring some unusual shells. Susan from Wisconsin found what looked to be an AMERICAN STAR-SHELL at Lighthouse Beach. That is a common shell in Caribbean waters but not often on Sanibel or Captiva. UPDATE: MurexKen notified me that this is most likely a MACULATED TOP SHELL which is from IndoPacific region…. NOT an AMERICAN STAR-SHELL. Oops!
Check out my post from our Road Trip To The Florida Keys to see our AMERICAN STAR-SHELLS we found there to compare this…
Then compare it to the MACULATED TOP SHELL at http://www.gastropods.com/4/Shell_244.shtml . Yes, he’s absolutely right- it’s not a shell that is found in our area… it’s what I call a “Wedding Shell”. Folks who decorate for weddings and parties on our beaches buy bags of shells (which originate in the Philippines or other IndoPacific areas)  then spread them on the beach for decoration. Then they get washed out by the tide or thrown in and the shell gets washed up again to have a collector like  Susan pick it up. I will do a post on these “Wedding Shells” very soon- I promise since this happens way too often. Thank you MurexKen for pointing it out to me!
Okay- lets get back to the beach….
I saw the Shellucky Luckett Ladies again at the beach last week too when that cold front came through. Cuties!
Martha (far right in the Shellucky Luckett Ladies photo) found this amazing LIONS PAW! Shellzam! See? Thats why they are called “Shellucky”!
When the sun came out and the weather warmed up, I headed to Captiva to do my favorite type of beach combing and experience the art of shelling…. SMELL the salt in the air, FEEL the sand between your toes, LISTEN to Beach Sounds by Mother Nature, LOOK at the seascapes and seashells, and RELAX.
On my journey, I saw this…
Such a gift. Thank you Mother Nature for this beautiful ZIG ZAG FLAT SCALLOP!
But even better, I found a STRAWBERRY COCKLE! I know it doesn’t look like much and these are more common in the Caribbean as well, but they just aren’t common here so it’s always a happy day to find one (I think this makes only 4 in our collection from Sanibel or Captiva.
This is exactly how I found this sweet SAND DOLLAR.
I love calm days after a “storm” of busy days to slow stroll along the beach to see it lined with shellions of treasures like KITTENS PAWS, DARK CERITHS, CHESTNUT TURBANS, PAINTED EGG COCKLES and LADY-IN-WAITING CLAMS like these.
Thanks for the beautiful pictures and unusual shells. Wish I was sitting in one of those colorful beach chairs!!!
It looks so beautiful there (and I love the seashells). We just had another round of snow here in Chicagoland last night but it looks like the sun is coming out. Wish we were in FL though.
love the great LIONs Paw..&flat scallop! wow.good to see the water so blue&clear!!
I have been reading your posts for the last couple months, trying to find an escape from the cold here in Illinois. I love all your pictures :) Next Wednesday we will be in Sanibel for the first time. Were gonna start at Blind pass, visit the Shell museum and then the lighthouse beach. I hope I see you around!
Pam – your post was so soothing today! Love all of the shells that were found! :D
I love all the smells, sounds and sights of the ocean. First thing I do when I get there is close my eyes and take many deep breaths to drink in those wonderful ocean smells. Then I am tuned in to the sounds and sights that I love.
Being at the ocean brings the majesty of God closer to me. How can it not?
What nice finds. I wonder if the american star-shell is a wedding shell? The edge looks like it was cut. In the picture of the flat on the sand it almost looks like another flat is to the left at about 8 o’clock. I also think I spotted a couple of comb bittersweets. What is the shell in the upper left of the sand dollar picture? Is it a calico clam? Love the strawberry cockle-would love to find one. I was happy to find a dove one. Enjoy the beach. Pat
you are right pat- its a wedding shell. MK just let me know- I’m going to update it. thank you too!
Pam it’s so exciting to find those wedding shells! Lol I know you can’t forget will William found his :)
Just have to give you my Caribbean sheller opinion on the American Star vs. Maculated Top shell…my take is that it is neither but is instead an Imbricate Star Shell. Looking in my Caribbean Seashells book (Warmke and Abbott) it sure looks like the Imbricate – we have found several that look same as the one found by Susan from Wisconsin. So…if it is an Imbricate Star Shell which is found in the Caribbean, including by us Gtmo shellers, maybe it isn’t a wedding shell and instead just wandered it’s way up to Sanibel. Maybe you will just have to get Clark to find you one if you happen to make it back down this way.
That zig zag calico flat is beautiful! I am adding that to my wish list of finds. Lucky lady who found the lion’s paw, too! Were you on the Captiva side of Blind Pass or somewhere else on Captiva when you found the flat scallop?
I am learning so much about shells. Thank you, thank you. Can’t wait to get there.
The combination of a great cup of coffee, I love shelling daily updates and the fireplace on this cold morning is so nice..
Pam, We are looking at coming for the month of November or the month of December, 2014. Any suggestions? Also we would be there for your Caya Costa trip in Nov. or Dec.
Thanks!!
Lynne
Pam – I’ve been following you for exactly 1 year and its been heaven. I was just in Sanibel for 3 days – I sat in the shell pile just north of Sundial Resort on Monday for hours and hours and hours finding about 100 minis. As I talked to others, I asked them if they knew about your site and I informed those that didn’t – I could use some of your waterproof business cards. Finding you and your shelling site is my BEST SHELL FIND EVER! Thank you so much for your time in keeping the rest of us informed and relaxed and warm (in a suburb of the windy city Chicago). Sorry that I didn’t see you but I was looking……maybe next time. Thank you and SHELL ON!
Can one be homesick for a place that isn’t one’s home? I miss Sanibel. My husband and I are talking about when we can come back and what we’d do there…and we aren’t normally vacation-taking people!
Oh, to be there now.
I am so envious of those lovely blue skies.
Ah yes… the strawberry cockles in the Caribbean are really quite common, but they are a different species than the one you find, so rarely, on Sanibel.
I will bring you some of the Caribbean ones and you with your artist’s eye will immediately notice the difference in shape, in sculpture, and in color. I hope to find one of the Florida kind one day…
I had no idea the strawberry cockle was so rare. I have found many of them. Threw many back. I think I really do have a right handed welk. Capt Brian agrees from the pics I sent him. I will see send you pics soon. Really busy right now with bizz. I tried to send them earlier this year, but I think I forgot while I was filling up with gas when it was 2 degrees and left the envelope on the trunk of my car. Poof, gone. I will resend, I really think I have a right/wrong handed welk for real.
i believe its a knobbed whelk not a right handed whelk- sorry! Oh and the strawberry cockle is not a rare shell in most places- i just don’t see them often on sanibel and captiva. they are everywhere and very common in the bahamas and caribbean.