after the Sanibel storm path

Sanibel is still drenched after a big storm ran through here the past few days with 40 mph wind gusts coming from the south.  In the picture above, you can see how far the sand and grasses got pushed up from the gulf waters rising with the high tide to cover the boardwalk.

Sanibel after a storm

Unfortunately, I didn’t collect many shells left in the storm’s wake today. The beach was pretty stripped from any gastropods (OLIVES, MUREXES, WHELKS, CONCHS, etc) and only a scattering of bivalves. No worries, the shells will be coming since we have 12 mph west winds right now (yes!) and we are supposed to get gusts up to 25 mph soon.

beach after storm

So in the meantime, while we wait for the gulf winds to bring our goodies… I’ve been working all summer on another identification page. This page is for all the other SEA LIFE, BIRD AND BEACH BLING that we don’t consider to be seashells but you still want to identify and some times collect. You can see I just added a new tab on top of this post right beside SEASHELL IDENTIFICATION.

Drum roll, please! I am proud to present you with my new page …

SEA LIFE AND BEACH BLING IDENTIFICATION! 

Beach Bling echinoderms

SAND DOLLARS and STARFISH are not technically seashells so I opted not to add them to my Seashell Identification page on the top tab of my blog. But it got me thinking about where I could show all of the other wonderful things that I’ve found washed up on the our beaches of Sanibel, Captiva and the other beaches we have visited… like the EGG CASINGS…

Beach Bling Egg Cases

And all the crabs we see…

Beach Blind Crab ID

We are finding more and more fossils to identify too…

Beach Bling Possils ID

An how could we forget about those beautiful live creatures in or by the sea. Got those too!

Sealife Sanibel ID

Whatever I have find on the islands and in the water, I try to identify so we can learn together…

Beach Bling Stuff ID

So click on any of these images to see all of the information on Sea Life & Beach Bling Identification page. Remember, I did not categorize anything scientifically. This is the way I see them together as a beachcomber. I know I have a few things in the wrong category from a science view but who would look under “Mollusks” for a NUDIBRANCH if you wanted to identify it by remembering what that weird thing was you saw at the beach? Just like the Seashell Identification Page, click on any of the picture IDs and it will take you to more information.

So now we’ll just wait for the goodies to roll in and hopefully you’ll have time to browse through my new page of photos. Maybe you’ll find something this week or your on next visit that this page will help you answer some of your beach combing questions. I’ll keep you posted but for now….. Enjoy!

Beach Bling Sanibel Birds ID