Belated Weekend Sanibel Shelling Report
By
My weekend shelling report is a little belated so let me apologize for not letting you feast you eyes on all of these terrific shells a little sooner. Did you see the ALPHABET CONE? (mine!) Did you see the FLORIDA CONE and the COLORFUL MOON SHELL? (Clark’s) I’m happy to say that we both can claim the rest of them as well as the candies in the SCALLOP .
We scoured the beaches starting at Sanibel’s Blind Pass where I met Lilly, Lyla and Tyler (Ohio) collecting shells in the wrack line and snorkeling in the water.
This whole family visiting from Wisconsin realized they could feel for shells with their toes then dive down to bring up treasures. From let to right… Kathy, Nick, Alex (holding up a nice WORM SHELL!), Ethan, Kurt  and Sydney.
Then we worked our way to Lighthouse Beach where I saw more snorkelers.
Josh and Eli were thrilled with the BANDED TULIPS and COCKLES they were finding. I was very impressed that Eli knew the names of every shell he had in his bucket.
I’ve talked about doing the “Sit N Sift” in a big shell pile but I think it’s just as fun doing the Sit N Sift in the gulf waters to escape the heat in August like most people were doing this past weekend. Either way, you feel like shouting “Eureka!” when find a good shell like you are panning for gold.
I didn’t see this guy in the next photo on the beach but he was just so darn cute I had to share this photo. We didn’t see many RACCOONS on the island for a couple of years because of a distemper breakout but now they are slowly but surely coming back into sight. Welcome back home, Buddy!
PS- I know RACCOONS are really cute, but please don’t feed the wildlife. 
Ahhh… virtual shelling. The next best thing to being there!
What is that large brown shell in the middle of your bounty?
I reckon it’s a paper fig shell, but a bit browner than average?
So many of the shells you and Clark found seem to be very fresh and unfaded. And I love the tiny baby conch you found that is next to the candies, really pretty.
Great mind think alike, my friend…..It’s the NorthEast shellers representin’, lol.
Ha ha, High Five!
Yes! Exactly right! It’s a paper fig that is unusually dark in color. It’s gorgeous but does have a few dead slipper shells cemented on the inside lip that I haven’t tried to pry off yet. I hope they come off easily and don’t break that fragile shell. The olives were incredibly dark in color too with such a brilliant shine. We normally don’t keep a lot of the whelks, fighting conchs, and olives but when they have these colors they are so hard to leave…. And we have the 4th of July parade to think about. Next year we will probably give out 1000 shells!
How cool is that! The colors in this batch were really outrageous.
I guess you could try gently boiling the fig shell in water to see if those slipper shells would come off?
Wow, great shells and a very cute little racoon!
Great picture, maybe the brown one in the center is a paper fig? A guess..
You’ve got a good eye Donna.
Like I said at the AMNH, you are my inspiration… We are going back to sanibel in the winter, I am SO excited!!
You are a “natural” Donna. You’ve got a great eye for unusual shells.
Me too, I am going to Sanibel for my second visit in mid December. What a beautiful place it is!
Rats, we aren’t going until Feb…too bad you and I won’t be there at the same time!
Donna and I could both learn a lot if we were in Sanibel at the same time, but if were shelling together and a Junonia showed up, well, who knows what might happen LOL
I agree that if we found a junonia while shelling together, it may get a little ugly out there on the beach…:) lol
Are all the shells you post vacant? We are on Sanibel this week at Lighthouse Beach but so far everything we’ve found has a resident. We did enjoy finding a whole city of live sand dollars tonight on a sand bar – that was so awesome!! As always, we enjoyed looking and then moved on
Debbie, it is against the law to take any shell that has a living resident inside in Lee County. Okay, that being said, taking live shells is just plain wrong anyway. There are so many empty shells available, why take the live ones…especially for us when we have access to them any time.
I know it is against the law to take live shells – what I meant was…..are the shells (even though alive) collected and photographed ONLY to show what MIGHT be found on Sanibel? I’m just asking because we sure aren’t seeing any like those posted. And I realize it’s only luck but I’d like to find something exciting like in the pictures. Know what I mean?
Hi Debbie, yes, I do know what you mean
. No, none of these shells were alive when photographed or taken. Normally when I post a photo of a live shell, I will note that the mollusk is still alive and that we put it back where he belongs… right where we found it. The shells that we found, as I noted in the post were from all weekend including Friday and we were at lots of different beaches…from Blind Pass to the Lighthouse beach and in between. If we aren’t finding anything at Lighthouse, we’ll move on to another beach… like Gulf Side City Park or Bowmans and then on to both sides of Blind Pass. Each beach is different than the last so we find different shells. Thats part of our hunt! If we dont find anything? We keep moving on.
Nope! I found all of those shells except for the moon shell & paper fig in one day of shelling six hours.. I shelled on both sides of Blind Pass. This is really what you find when the conditions are right. I was there July 2nd to the 14th & we had great luck every day we shelled! None of my collected shells are alive and they are always this pretty! Sanibel is known as the best shelling place in the US! Pam, how can I post my pics of my best finds from my last two trips onto iloveshelling’s facebook page? Thanks! Sherri from MN
That’s cool beans! I love shelling success stories – hope to add mine one of these years
Nice WT! You got a knack for finding those little guys.
I was so excited to go to Sanibel recently but didn’t go to the lighthouse end but rather the other end. I was horrified by the bugs!!!!! We went at sunset and it was intolerable. They were mosquitoes but some other bug and we all leftbwith welts. Any tips on avoiding such an experience in the future? Feel free to email me.
Oh no! We also had tons of bites last August! They were probably noseeums. They love dawn and dusk and nightime.. Also love bushes, etc. i think you need some insect repellent with Deet in it (although it didn’t work for me) or avoid those hours at the beach.. I think they are actually worse than mosquito bites & I’m from MN.. Last year I left with 167 bites (my friend’s daughter counted, lol..)! We took Clarinex (from the doctor) and used Sarna cream (over the counter). The Sarna cream worked so well that I bought some when I got home! It was funny because I had so many welts as did my friend’s daughter, but my friend & her other daughter had only a couple and we were always outside together, so I think some people might react differently to them. Oh well, they won’t keep me away from Sanibel!! Good luck, they might itch for a few days!
Sherri from MN
That was the “no-see-ums” for sure!
They bite only during the “cocktail hour” or perhaps for nearly 2 hours right around sunset, assuming there is no wind blowing. They can’t deal with the wind. They are not a problem the rest of the day, except maybe around sunrise?
For insect repellant I use an essential oil, Citronella, which smells good to people, lemony, but the bugs hate it. However, you have to put it on every inch of exposed skin. Also it is not good to use it if you are pregnant.
Some people’s skin doesn’t seem to react at all to being bitten by no-see-ums, but for those who do react it’s quite unpleasant because there are so many bites!
Not only do not feed the wildlife but give them a wide berth. You do not typically see raccoons during the day so when you do there is a chance that it may be sick. Two of my brothers learned the hard way and were bitten by a rabid raccoon. Getting shots for rabies treatment is an ordeal you do not want to experience.
Tim
Hi Tim, I just want to be sure you and everybody else knows that there has NEVER been a documented case of rabies on Sanibel. I just talked with Dee Serage at the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation to make sure I had my facts straight. She also told me that raccoons spotted during the day is normal for a completely healthy raccoon here on Sanibel but they do roam mostly at night. And yes, as with all wildlife, always give them a wide berth and don’t approach them (this little raccoon was in my back yard so he’s the one that approached me- heehee). Thank you Tim for bringing up this information so we can all enjoy seeing the wildlife without disturbing them (or us!).
Thank you for posting the information on the raccoon. I do wildlife rehab for injured and orphaned raccoons & everyone immediately assumes that if they are out during the day that they have rabies. That is absolutely not the case. You should never approach any wildlife unless you are experienced in dealing with such things. Ms. Dot Lee & Trouper (from C.R.O.W.) would be proud of you for the posting, Pam!
We are doing the countdown now, can’t wait. I love your shelling to keep me getting my shelling fix. Thanks, Pam and Clark
So excited to see so many neat shells. We arrive on Sept. 7 for a week of shelling! Can’t wait! In 2009 we were there but must have missed Blind Pass – how do you get there exactly?
Pam, the moon shell is one of my favorites, but they’re always pretty elusive. I’m always happy if I find one per trip. The sit and sift reminds me of days when I first starting visiting Sanibel. You could literally sit on the beach, shells would wash up into your lap faster than you could grab them. What fun!!
Sorry its off topic, but I was wondering about the ILS lighted cap I just bought…how much light does it throw? If I wear it and walk the beaches before sunrise, will the ground be lit for me to see shells to grab or is the cap more for casting light on something you are holding at arm’s length or so? Thanks!!
OOps, forgot too….is there a place to buy a serious shelling scooper like Super Sheller Clark uses that I see in the youtube video clips….I want to get one! THANK YOU for accommodating all my annoying questions.. HAVE A GREAT DAY!!
I meant to say that I have a shell sifter already, but am afraid that if I get too aggressive with it and try to dig with it, I’ll break it….THANKS AGAIN
Donna, Yolo Watersports in Captiva has the shelling scoopers for sale that SS Clark has. And of course I wear the lighted cap when I go shelling before daylight in the winter months and it works for me.
You are always so helpful .. I LOVE IT! Thanks Pam!!!
I was able to find the sturdy shelling scoop at Bailey’s General store on Sanibel . They had two sizes. I bought the smaller one and my husband bought the larger. I think they look like Clark’s.
Cool, thanks Loree!
Wow! what some great looking shells. We are looking forward to our annual visit from Wisconsin Dec 5-hope there are still some shells left for us!
Happy Shelling
Pam
I love your website. A friend sent us the NY times article. I’m having a field day looking at all the pictures and wishing I was back there again. We were there in late January and there weren’t alot of shells {quanity wise}, but I did find over 60 different shells. Good luck shelling.
Pat
Oh Pam…such beauty for us to feast on!! They are the prettiest little things! I only have 3 1/2 more weeks and I will be there and be able to see all the places you have shown us through your wonderful site. I can’t wait! I can almost taste the salt air. Thank you so much for sharing your life.
Raccoons, sea shells & Sanibel………..Could life get any better?
Pam,
Love the picture of your latest finds. Can you tell me the name of the 2 shells in the picture next to the olive and the banded tulip? They have brownish color stripes on them. I found one last Sept.and I’m not sure of the name. We’re coming back in Sept and everytime I see your new pictures I get excitied.
Is it OK if I tell you what I think? I believe it’s the nutmeg shells you are talking about.
I did not find one during my visit. Actually the day before I left people suddenly started finding several of them on the stretch of beach where we were but I was so busy finishing a little science research project that I could not take the time to go look to see if I could find one myself.
They sure are great shells!
Barbara, sorry for the delayed response.Yes. S.H. Is right. They are nutmegs.
Thanks Susan and Pam
Their such cute little shells.
My wife and I were there over the past weekend and had a great time. We stayed at the Caribe Beach Resort and it was very nice. We did the majority of our shelling right behind our motel. The beach was beautiful and the shells were plentiful. I believe I spent 8 hours in the ocean looking for shells on Saturday and probably almost as many on Sunday. We also went to the lighthouse and to the Sanibel side of Blind Pass. We found quite a few nice shells. The most beautiful in my opinion were the scallop shells with all the varieties of colors and patterns. We also found a few Conchs, Whelks, Olives, a Tulip, a Bubble Shell and several others that I am not sure of. Is there somewhere I can send some photos to help identify some of them. It would have been nice to have met you Pam as my wife and I follow your blog. We have been reading it since the first time we came in Oct 2010. It is one of the reasons that we decided to move to Florida. Thank you so much for all the information and the incredible photos. I only have one request can you do something about the little biting bugs. They ate me and my wife alive. Lol Just asking.
Hi Brent! You can post photos on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/iLoveShelling or twitter at https://twitter.com/iLoveShelling. I’m sure you’ve looked at my i.d. page at http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/seashell-identification/ ?
As for bug spray… I’ve tried soooo many remedies and most work the first couple of minutes but then the scent must wear off quickly because I get attacked again. The other day I tried Smart Shield and it worked for me after being attacked by no-seeums. I was with a friend so she pulled out the Smart Shield spray she got from YOLO on Captiva and told me to use it. It worked! I havent needed it since to know if it works every time. I’ll go get a bottle for myself to make sure.
Brent,
Have you looked at Pam’s Seashell Identification page? It is one of the blue tabs at the top of the page. I’ve been able to identify most of my unknown’s through that.
As far as bites go – like Sherri told Katherine above, you have to have good insect repellent. The noseeums get quite bad sometimes. Bailey’s usually has a good selection of repellents to choose from. Good luck.
Ok Pam, you beat me to it. I guess you type faster than I do. lol