It’s wild how many colors and patterns of COQUINA shells my friend Celeste and I found last week on Sanibel.
Combing the beach to look for beautiful treasures is the best place in the world to catch up with a dear friend like Celeste- especially finding COQUINAS as colorful as she is.
Oh yes, she is very colorful, wild and very talented. She was one of my first friends I met when we moved to Sanibel and she has kept me laughing ever since. She makes clay art that is as colorful as any COQUINA and she makes sealife for most of her pieces. I just have to show off one of her pieces to you… it has SEAHORSES, FISH, OCTOPUSES and even STINGRAYS. You can see some of her other sealife inspired pieces at ABohemeLife.com .
There was a lot of other wildlife happening on Sanibel this past week (other than hanging out with Celeste- heehee). DOLPHINS were racing up and down near the Sanibel pier.
I also had another dear friend and wild woman in town… Lizbeth. All in one day on Sanibel, she and her family witnessed SCCF (Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation) count LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE nest eggs (photo by Lizbeth)…
And… They they witnessed a rescued of two baby LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLES (photo by Lizbeth)…
And then… she and her sister saw a BOBCAT cross a beach path (photo by Lizbeth) …
Then they saw a mother LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE laying eggs on the beach… and I got to see this one too! This photo is very dark and slightly pink because you can only have a red filtered light on the beach in SEA TURTLE nesting season (May through September) on Sanibel. We wanted to be very careful and respectful while in the presence of this incredible creature in a moment like this. It’s a memory I will never forget. So cool!
During daylight hours, SCCF marked the nest and reminded us of the full circle of SEA TURTLE EGGS of the weeks events.
Then the rain started. It has been raining and raining for days and it’s hardly stopped. I should record the crickets, frogs and croaking alligators that are loving it. My back yard is filled with water so our yard shells look like they’ve gone back to the ocean… covered with water. It’s actually a beautiful sight with everything so green and lush with the symphony of nature in the background. It’s been a wild week.
Sanibel is a great place for wildlife!
Thanks Pam for continuing to share she wonders of Sanibel with us!! You are simply SHELLTASTIC!
Great post; thanks Pam.
The best part of our two weeks was hanging out with old friends. I swear, there is nothing better than to pick up exactly where we left off and laugh and laugh and laugh. The beach, wildlife and everything else is just an added bonus.
xxxooo
Your photo of the bobcat…. what PURR~FECT composition !!
And enjoying his pause…. permitting you to capture that CAT PAW,
held “just so” :)
And to realize that you had your camera out and ready for action !!
Mine’s always packed away as I race towards the shells…
Lucky us…. thank you and Pam for posting.
Shellotte
Amazing photo of the bobcat. I would love to use it in a talk I am giving to a local (NJ) nature club on Creatures of Sanibel. I can get one off the internet but having one from Sanibel would be wonderful. I have seen three bobcats on Sanibel and every time have had a camera in hand but was too awestruck to use it.
WOW! That bobcat looks pretty BIG!!!! Awesome picture of it and a little bit scary, too!!!
Coguina – when I opened the page it looked like a swarm of butterflies has been
let loose – So beautiful Hey, you can send some of that rain to Arizona, we sure could use it.
As always “You make my day” Janet/Az
I love the wildlife as much as the shells in Sanibel! Thank you Pam for sharing these amazing photos! It’s been my mission for years now to see a bobcat – either here in PA or better yet – in Sanibel! How lucky for Lizbeth and her friends!
Love love love the coquinas. I always think of snowflakes when I see so many coquinas on the beach. Each one is different in color and design! We see a lot of them on Manasota Key. Feel lucky when I come upon a slew of coquinas!!
Just looked back on your posts!! Kind of confused because I get some and not others without going back through the archives!! The Portsmouth boat trips I was referring to were through Austin Boat Tours out of Ocracoke in the Outer Banks of North Carolina!! They do a fabulous job and cost $20 for around a 4 hour trip!! Well worth it and loads of fun!! Also found many different very large scallops and the muratic acid worked wonders to bring out their colors!! Is there any way I can send out a picture of a “fish skeleton” because it’s amazing but I’m still unable to identify it after hours of investigating!! Pam, would love for you to look at it because we all know that you are a “shell-world book” of knowledge!!!
I think you can post a picture on ILoveshelling Facebook page.
Hi! Was so happy to see my friend Celeste visiting with you! well, she’s not really my “friend” but, I do collect her pottery which should count for something! I guess the same way I refer to you as “my friend Pam”..because we L-O-V-E shelling! :)
The turtle photos are just great! And how wonderful is it that there are organizations that protect the turtle eggs? So grateful for that. And the bobcat is just beautiful! But I must admit, I never thought there would be alligators on Sanibel since it is an island. Those things just terrify me!
Hi Pam! I love the wildlife here on Sanibel and the near islands. It’s awe inspiring to see such variety. I’m an avid traveler, and Sanibel is the one place in the world I have returned to for the 3rd time, and love coming back.
That being said, I’m taken aback by the increase in rudeness. Every day this week, some zealous person comes to our shell pile and not only demands to know if everything is dead, but then proceeds to lecture us even when we tell them there are no critters! We try to be as dilligent as possible to not collect live animals. We are on vacation trying to de-stress, but EVERY DAY someone has to be a jerk to promote wildlife conservation!
You have the right way to do it. I wish everyone we’re as kind, and fascinating, when it comes to our passions.
Andrea, I’m sorry to say I’ve witnessed that too. Yes, education about conservation is very important and, as you know, I like to educate and promote wildlife conservation for our future generations… but I’m not sure what to say or how to deal with the rudeness. I’m just sorry that it happened to you.
I am sorry that you had such a bad experience no one should be rude to another human even to promote wildlife conservation.
Hi Pam , tanks a lot for all the work you do for us,,,we can see what happens on the island ! Did you know where the picture of the bobcat came from…this is around the lighthouse…The picutre is perfect …this bobcat is very nice,,,he look very healty !!
Awesome bobcat pic! He looks huge! What a cool thing to see.