Archive for Turkey Wing
Turkey Wings and Rice, a Cone and Candy
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Don’t get your taste buds all worked up about TURKEY, RICE or CANDY because I’m talking seashells, of course! We found lots of mini “morsels” at the lighthouse over the weekend including these two TURKEY WINGS (the biggest one is only about an inch long) and two TAMPA TURRIDS in the photo above and RICE OLIVES and BABY’S EARS in this next photo.
Along with the usual ANGULATE WENTLETRAPS, I found a BROWN BANDED WENTLETRAP too….
…. And some AUGERS and little FIGHTING CONCHS.
And to top it all off with some sweet candy, we found two HORSE CONCHS and baby ALPHABET CONE.
I met William and Melissa (Jacksonville, FL) filling their shells bags with SCALLOP shells, CONCHS and some MUREXES.
I found out this was their first trip to Sanibel so I showed them how to find WENTLETRAPS too..
I met another Shelling Sister Sanibel Stooper on the beach too…. this little cutie Lucy! She was having a ball with this COCKLE shell on the beach with her parents Jeff and Tammy.
And look what I found again…. a SMOOTH DUCK CLAM. Maybe it isn’t that unusual (?)
Unfortunately, it’s so thin and fragile, it broke when I got it back to the house……oops!
There were so many SAILOR’S EARS, I bunched a few together and that’s when I saw the SMOOTH DUCK CLAM too.
Sailors ears
Just a reminder- If you haven’t entered the Susick Sea Shell Sifter Giveaway yet, CLICK HERE to win!
Full Moon With Two Low Tides For Shelling
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Seashells by Smitty
Smitty told me he found a few good shells like an ALPHABET CONE and then he said “I found a few CANDIES too”. It stopped me in my path. Did you say “Candies”? He sure did! He and his wife Marcia hang out with us here at iLoveShelling!
Smitty (GA) and his shells
Smitty and Marcia (sorry I missed you, Marcia!) have been visiting Sanibel to shell for 23 years and plan their trips around the moon and tides. He chose this week for not only the full moon but because there are also two low tides per day for optimal shelling. Notice in the photo above, the moon is practically sitting on his shoulder.
Smitty with shelling scoop
I had to show you this photo too because he uses the Seashell Sifter scoop to get his shells which Marcia gave him for his birthday. He told me a gal asked him “Is your name Clark?”. That was Barbara whom I met a little while earlier this evening and she thought he was Clark because she recognized the blue scoop that she sees Clark using in some of the blog pictures. Small world!
Ray and Barbara (NJ)
Barbara and Ray did end up finding the right Clark (they hang out with us here at iLS too!) and they also found lots of good shells to brag about. I have to admit that I think that Barbara is the one that found the FLORIDA CONE but it ended up in Ray’s hand. hmmmm. 
As he told Clark “Possession is nine tenths of the law”. HA! They sound like us….just a little competitive, huh?
Ray's (left) and Barbara's hand full of seashells
After I took this photo, she found an ALPHABET CONE too…. Nice!
Alphabet cone with minis
Clark found most of these shells (below) in the water although I added the OPERCULUM, the BLACK JINGLES, CHANNELED DUCK CLAMS (which I call Sailor’s Ears, do you?), the little candy TRUE TULIP and the “CANDY” (little orange HORSE CONCH).
Our seashells
Can you identifiy the rest of them? If not, go to the SEASHELL IDENTIFICATION page to help. I do have to show you another TURKEY WING Clark found too. We mostly find these shells pretty beat up but this one is a beauty.
Clark's Turkey Wing
Look how small this TRUE TULIP is and it has a little white tip like the candies.
Candy true tulip
Live olive shell
Lightning Whelk egg chain in surf
Seashell seeker Clark
Sanibel Moon at sunset
Sanibel Beach Is A Beautiful Canvas
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Sanibel Sunset
Sanibel is the perfect canvas to paint sensational sunsets, beautiful beaches, wonderful wildlife and of course, bountiful beach treasures.
Painting the Sanibel lighthouse
Clark and I walked the beach around the lighthouse late yesterday afternoon in search of some minis. I was looking for KEYHOLE LIMPETS for a picture for my Seashell Identification page. I looked in all of my bags, jars, buckets and drawers of shells and couldn’t believe I couldn’t find a good LIMPET to photograph.
Keyhole Limpet in sand
I found one! …..and another and another. Then Clark joined the hunt and found a few too.
Keyhole Limpets
My eye was focused on the pattern of these LIMPETS but I kept seeing the SPOTTED SLIPPERS so I picked them up too.
Spotted Slipper Shells
Since I was focused on the minis I even found TUSK SHELLS which are only 3/8 of an inch long. I was tickled to find them since I’m just learning to have the eye for them. I found three hanging out with a WENTLETRAP and two DWARF OLIVES.
Miniature seashells
Clark found this teeny tiny TURKEY WING. So to show how small it is, I put it next to the other minis.
Miniatures with turkey wing
I think I’ve been having miniatures shells on the brain because I just can’t believe how sweet this little beautifully framed piece of shell art is I received last week from Sanibel Sister Judith. You have to remember her! She is one of the sisters that uses those giant sized tweezers to pick up the minis at the lighthouse when they come to visit. This is what they make after picking up all those sweet little shells. Talk about a beautiful canvas for those mini shells. I absolutely love it! Thank you Sanibel Sister Judith!
Judith's beautiful shell art
Judith should enter her work into the Sanibel Shell Fair and Show…… which by the way is THIS WEEK!!! I’m so excited! It’s starts this Thursday March 3 and runs through Sunday March 5. So don’t forget and I hope to see you there!
Sanibel Sisters Linda and Judith
Prettiest Speckled Tellin Seashell
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Speckled Tellin
This is the prettiest SPECKLED TELLIN I’ve ever seen! I met a Sanibel local gal Susie on the beach at Sanibel Blind Pass and while we were talking, I saw those stripes through her plastic shelling bag…. Okay, I always nonchalantly sneek a peek at someone’s shell bag while I talk to them (heehee). So I asked her what she had. She pulled out this gorgeous TELLIN! I don’t normally see SPECKLED TELLINS on this beach- especially with those pretty colored “rays”. Nice find Susie!
Susie (Sanibel) and Peg (Cincinnati, OH)
While I was talking to Susie and Peg, I saw our shelling sister Lee and her husband Bill who found the CARRIER SHELL in October. She told me she found an 11″ HORSE CONCH last week north of West Gulf Drive beach access #7. I had to see it!
Lee's 11" horse conch
Wow- that’s a doosie! And such a pretty color! You can’t see really how big it is so the next photo I put a little “candy” horsie conch next to it. Cute, huh?
Baby next to a grandaddy
Lee told me before she left home to come to Sanibel, her grandson Samuel said he would like her to find a big shell for him just like the one she has displayed in her “best shell finds” cabinet ….a big horse conch. Looks like you’ll get your wish Samuel!
Albino fighting conch
Lee also found this ALBINO FIGHTING CONCH. Sometimes it’s hard to tell an albino from a sun-bleached shell but in this case, there is such a glossy shine and all of the tips look so perfect that I am sure this must me an albino. This one will probably make it into Lee’s “best shell finds” cabinet too!
Albino fighting conch aperture
I always enjoy seeing so many different colors and color patterns of the FLORIDA FIGHTING CONCH. Shelling sister Mary Ann captured so many variations in this next photo, I thought you would enjoy this as much as I did. Thanks for posting this great shot on FaceBook, Mary Ann.
Florida Fighting Conch by Mary Ann Ross
Okay, lets get back to Lee and her other finds for the week… I see CHESTNUT TURBANS on a regular basis but I don’t show many pictures of them so here are a few in Lee’s collection this week.
Chestnut Turbans
So now I think I am acquiring a taste for bivalves after seeing this SPECKLED TELLIN and some of the other TELLINS in the last week. No, not to eat them (although I do love oysters at a raw bar) but to admire their beauty as much as the gastropods like the TURBAN or CONCH. I have to thank our blog buddy Bird for suggesting I get a copy of Bivalve Seashells of Florida by Trish Hartman. How did I live without this book before? Thank you, Bird (and Scott R)!
Double Broad-Ribbed Cardita
Turkey Wing
