Archive for Bonita Beach
Shelling Day Trip From Sanibel To Bonita Beach
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This past weekend we drove 35 minutes from Sanibel to Little Hickory Beach in Bonita Springs, Florida in search of seashells.
Walking north to the pass from the public parking lot (a bargain price of $2 for 2 hours) only took about 15 minutes to find loads of FIGHTING CONCHS.
After a few minutes more, Clark found a SAND DOLLAR…
I couldn’t get over how many MOSSY ARKS were washed up on the beach mixed in with a few pieces of CORAL and my fave of all faves… WORM SHELLS! They were only tips of WORMIES but any piece is a good piece in my book.
I don’t think I have ever seen so many MOSSY ARKS in one place on any beach before so I gathered a few together to show you exactly what they look like.
I know, I know…. not the prettiest of shells but I don’t see them all that often on Sanibel so I was intrigued with them.
Did I read your mind and know that it reminds you of another shell? It looks like the TURKEY WING! The TURKEY WING and the MOSSY are both ARK shells so they are very similar but unfortunately, I think the MOSSY ARK got the short end of the stick when it comes to looks. ;( Here’s a comparison so you can see them side by side. The TURKEY WING is on the left…
Oops! I switched them in this next exterior photo, the MOSSY ARK is now on the left in this photo. You can now see how similar they are!
We had a wonderful day walking the beach and seeing different shells and the beautiful SANDWICH TERNS and BLACK SKIMMERS…
Along with the SAND DOLLAR, sweet Clark gave me a yellow DAISY that he found on the beach…
We weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the beautiful day in Little Hickory…
Okay, while we are on the subject of Bonita Beach, I have to show you an article about iLoveShelling.com that was published in Coastal Life magazine of the News Press. Weehoo! Click on the logo to read it!
Barefootin’ With Shelling Sistas
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It sure was a roller coaster weekend… literally. Hurricane Irene was rolling along the coast wreaking havoc and causing lots of trouble. My family and friends in Virginia Beach are fine (some with no power still, but fine) and I hope you and yours that were in Irene’s path are okay as well. I spent most of my time glued to the weather channel wrenching my hands so I took a 45 minute drive to Bonita Springs on Saturday to meet my Shelling Sistas Carla and Kelly at Barefoot Beach for some well needed shelling time. The welcome wagon was there to greet us in the form of a GOPHER TORTOISE…
He was even so friendly to hang out with Kelly for a bit. How cute are they!
The tide was pretty high when we started our treasure hunt but there’s always something fun to find on the beach.
Carla spotted a couple of SHARK’S TEETH and fossil piece of a mouth plate to a PUFFER FISH….
I only found one little SHARK’S TOOTH but was happy to find any!
Carla came across this PEN SHELL with such a colorful EGG CASING attached to it. It looks like a beautiful flower blossom!
I am a little confused which egg sacs these are because of the color but I think this maybe a TRUE TULIP EGG CASE that just was formed. Take a look and see what you think. I’d love a positive I.D. so if you can help, please help us learn what it is. Here’s a closer look at this beauty….
Carla walks this beach probably as much as I walk the Sanibel beaches so she has a keen eye to find the goodies like the SHARK’S TEETH, EGG CASES and this perfect empty LACE MUREX …
Did you notice her necklace? Yes! She found that big honkin tooth and made a necklace out of it like she did for the oh-so-cool piece of sea glass she gave me. I love it Carla!
Kelly was soaking in the beauty of the day every second….
I was thrilled when she brought seashells she found from Puerto Penasco, Mexico (aka- Rocky Point) to share. Thank you Kelly! Now remember, these are shells from Mexico NOT Florida…
Seashells from Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco, Mexico)
I didn’t get a picture of all her treasures our day on Barefoot so she sent a photo of her shells from the day…
I know these don’t look like great shells to most, but these were my favorite finds on Saturday- CORAL, WORMIE, SHARKS TOOTH, a piece of a LION’S PAW (!), a tiny OLIVE with beautiful color and pattern and a SEA PEARL.
Since I was so distracted by Hurricane Irene, I didn’t get to show you another shelling sista I met last week on the beach in Sanibel. It was so nice to meet you, Desiree! I love your hat!
She said she bought a cheapy hat and embellished it using hot glue with shells she found on Sanibel. She said it was a snap to make since the ribbon was already there to glue the shells to. It’s the simple things that make life fun, isn’t it?
I have some pictures of Blind Pass from yesterday evening at low tide that I won’t probably get to post until tomorrow but it’s just an FYI…. there are shells there. You have to look in the water right at the edge of the small drop off. Good luck! In the mean time, enjoy a few more pics of Barefoot Beach…
Beachcombing Blogger-Palooza
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Low Tide shelling at Little Hickory
Shelling Bloggers Unite!
Blogger Karen from The Essential Beachcomber organized a low tide shelling expedition at Little Hickory for bloggers Rhonda from Shellbelle’s Tiki Hut, Debbie from Love of the Sea and ME! What a blast!
Bloggers Karen, Rhonda and Debbie
We met at Little Hickory beach in Bonita Springs at 7 am (yep, another early morning) yesterday for low tide shelling…. and gabbing.
Live sand dollar
Rhonda found this live SAND DOLLAR, then another and another. Lots of very healthy ones so even though we didn’t find any to take home, it’s always good to see them happy and healthy.
Bonita Springs Fighting Conchs
On the other hand, there are still hundreds of FIGHTING CONCHS fighting for their lives at low tide and many dead. I posted an article about this last week (Fighting Conchs on Bonita Beach) but haven’t heard an update as to why they think they are dying. As you can see, there are still tons of them.
Debbie's true tulip
Debbie found this gorgeous TRUE TULIP about 4 inches long. I think that was the best find of the day!
Crucifix bone
Another beachcomber, Carol, at Little Hickory found a CRUCIFIX SHELL. It’s actually the head bone of gafftopsail catfish and it is said to bring good luck to the finder. I sure hope that’s true because……
My Crucifix shell from catfish
I found one too! Mine isn’t as perfect as Carol’s but I didn’t read anywhere that it had to be perfect to bring good luck. Woohoo!
Little Hickory beach
I’m already lucky to live in paradise but I feel lucky too for getting to spend such a fun day with 3 other beach bloggers! See? It’s working!
Karen The Essential Beachcomber
Thank you Karen for getting our Beachcombing Blogger-Palooza together!
PS- I now have Google Friend Connect. If you are a member, please join me!
Conch Shell Invasion
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Live Fighting conch photo by Carla Barone
Just in time for Halloween…. The Invasion of the Fighting Conchs! Ooooh. Scary!
I didn’t make it down to Bonita Beach to see the beached FIGHTING CONCH phenomenon that I posted about yesterday (click HERE to go to that post) but our blog buddy Carla took great photos of the beach littered with these seashells. We still don’t know why there are so many dying but they are testing the water so when/if we find out, I’ll keep you posted. I’m hoping the answer is what Dr. Jose Leal quoted in the article yesterday “It could be mating”.
Conchs at Little Hickory photo by Carla Barone
Pile of fighting conchs photo by Carla Barone
Shellers wait for great days when there are piles of shells on the beach… but maybe not like this. It seems so sad. Carla said “They were piled up at the jetty’s today~100′s of them. I have seen days when they were stranded before but not piled up like that~sad…and stinky too.”
Little Hickory conchs photo by Carla Barone
Thank you Carla for showing us your photos. I’m just happy we didn’t have to smell them- no “scratch ‘n sniff” thank goodness.
Fighting conchs photo by Carla Barone
I checked out the beach to see if there was anything like it on Captiva today at Blind Pass. Nothing like Carla saw but there are some shells rolling in and the water is fabulous!
Captiva's Blind Pass sand bar showing
Betsy (Unionville, PA) not disappointed in the shelling
Shelling at Blind Pass
Fighting Conchs On Bonita Beach
Posted by: | CommentsI haven’t seen it myself yet but I wanted to share this news just in case you are near Bonita Beach and want to see this. I clipped this from the News-Press newspaper (click to go to original story).
BY MARK S. KRZOS • MKRZOS@NEWS-PRESS.COM • OCTOBER 27, 2010
Something in the water?
An unusually low tide?
An algal bloom?
Or something as old as time – the sex drive?
Whatever the reason for their appearance, beach walkers in Bonita Springs were treated to an unusual sight Tuesday as thousands of live and dead fighting conchs lined the shore of Barefoot Beach in north Collier County and Bonita Beach in south Lee County.
“All these years we’ve been here, and we’ve never seen anything like it,” said Chris Rossetti, 81, of Bonita Springs, as she bent down to pick up one of the thrashing mollusks. “There’s so many of them.”
No other area beaches have reported such an invasion, and local scientists aren’t sure what caused the amber-colored conchs to appear in such numbers.
“It could be mating,” said Jose Leal, director of the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum on Sanibel.
Unlike most other mollusks, he said, fighting conchs are intimate during sex. With other mollusks mating is more perfunctory: Females lay eggs and males fertilize them.
Leal added that an extremely low tide two nights ago also could be the cause.
“They’re always out there, and you do see more of them during low tides,” said Steve Boutelle, Lee County’s marine operations manager.
Some people on the beach were trying to throw the live conchs back into the Gulf of Mexico, but the sheer numbers would likely require every resident in the city to lend a hand, said Paul Keene, a Lee County Parks & Recreation maintenance specialist.
It is not illegal to pick up or throw the shells back into the water, but it is illegal to take a live shell from the beach.
Keene said the shells appeared to be in larger groups near the north end of Bonita Beach.
Rick Bartleson, a research scientist with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, said the conchs could be engaged in a mating ritual or something else that’s pushing them out of the water.
Over the past two weeks, there have been several algal blooms between Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Beach, Bartleson said.
Last week, Fort Myers Beach experienced a die-off of coquinas, which feed on algae. A depletion of oxygen could have been a reason for that die-off, but oxygen levels are back to normal, he said.
Whatever the reason, Jason and Sandy Wolters, vacationing from of Zeeland, Mich., were enjoying the sight.
Jason Wolters said that he has seen the conchs on the beach before – just not this many. He said the conchs are usually swept back out to sea with high tide.
“I haven’t seen anything like it,” said Jason Wolters. “I don’t know why it’s happening.”
Fighting conchs
Day Trip to Little Hickory
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Little Hickory jetty rocks
Kinda looks like Captiva’s Blind Pass, right? Nope. We took a little day trip down to Little Hickory in Bonita springs for a shelling adventure. Our blog buddy Carla told us about the north end of Little Hickory and posted some pictures on the iLoveShelling facebook page which got us antsy to check it out. It’s only about 40 minutes from Sanibel (if that) going through Fort Myers Beach so it was no problem to find it and the parking is easy (just look for the signs).
Little Hickory beach access
Little Hickory jetties
2 fighting conchs at low tide
Little Hickory seashell collection
We found lots of fighting conchs! We normally don’t pick up or keep FIGHTING CONCHS any more but we collected these for Jesse at The Mucky Duck. We haven’t been finding many shells other than minis (not that there’s anything wrong with that 
)on Sanibel lately and Jesse is low on “stock”. He’ll have plenty for a while and they are absolutely perfect.
Little Hickory low tide
This was obviously low tide, so many shells were just barely covered by sand. It was so much fun seeing a tiny bit of a NUTMEG, TULIP or WORM SHELL peeking out of the sand, digging around it with my toe, seeing it was whole, then reaching down to find a keeper. We found lots of broken CONES but we weren’t lucky enough to find any to bring home but we were still happy with our haul. These were our best finds….
Little Hickory best seashells
From top left to right- SHARK’S EYE, WORM SHELL, NUTMEG, 3 TRUE TULIPS then a JUVENILE HORSE CONCH (candy!), MOON SHELL, the first smaller shell is a baby LACE MUREX (so cute!), baby KINGS’ CROWN, PEAR WHELK, WORM TOP. Then a KING’S CROWN, another MOON then a TOP SHELL. Sorry the picture isn’t that great to see them up close. We only put 2 hours worth of quarters in the meter so our time was running out.
Big Hickory Seafood Grille
We had a really good lunch after working up a big appetite out on the beach. Right across the street from the parking lot is Big Hickory Seafood Grille. Yum!
Thanks, Carla, for giving us this day trip shelling tip. It was well worth the short drive (no traffic this time of year) and we had fun exploring another area.
