Archive for Limpet
Secret Society of Shellers
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Manatee or seal shaped rock
Do you see the seal or manatee shaped rock in the jetty? Mary Jo Shannon pointed it out to me at Blind Pass. Yes! THE Mary Jo that we get lots of fun comments and feedback from on this blog. I ran into her and shelling buddy Sue on the Pass side of the jetty (since there still isn’t much shelling on the right side…. my old fave).
Sue and Mary Jo (Michigan)
Sue grew up shelling with her family then taught Mary Jo the treasures she could find on the beach. After finding her first shell, she was hooked too. Then she couldn’t believe how nice all the other shellers were and that they all wanted to show off what they found. They laughed and called it the “Secret Society of Shellers”. Yes! It is!
Dead Man's Fingers?
They taught me something too. I told them I had found this dark brown sponge that looked like deer antlers but felt like styrofoam the other day but couldn’t find much info on it. They told me it is called DEAD MAN’S FINGERS.
Live limpets Blind Pass jetty
Live Limpets
Even though I didn’t find many shells, I always love to look at the colors of the jetty rocks when there are STRIPED FALSE LIMPETS on them. So colorful! Do you think members of the Secret Society of Shellers are the only ones that would enjoy this?
Don’t Forget……One More Day To Enter! Pass the word!
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Oh What a Beautiful Boating Day
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Live Limpets on a fallen tree on Cayo Costa
No rain and no work! …. Time to get out on the water. We took the boat out to our fave spots North Captiva and Cayo Costa. We found three BABY’S EARS, a few WHELKS and WORM SHELLS (only a few) and the views were spectacular. Well worth the trip.
Periwinkle on Cayo Costa
Ibis and roots
South tip of Cayo Costa
Limpets in wood grain
Barnacles on tree root ( I know, nothing fancy but I thought it looked very picturesque)
Ibis in a Cayo Costa tree
Ibis enjoying the view
Clark with a Rocksnail
We weren’t really sure what this shell was Clark found but he insisted it was something good. It kinda looks like a worn KINGS CROWN but the opening edge is sort of serrated. It was really slimed with algae and gunk so Clark got it cleaned up and then check again in the books to see if it’s a ROCKSNAIL . That’s what it looks like so far. It’s got some wear and tear but it’s 2 and a half inches long and it’s not something we find every day. I think it’s a good find too, Clark! (Update- 10-7-10: Yes, it’s a rocksnail. We got verification from MurexKen and Dr. Jose Leal from the Shell Museum. Thank you both!)
Rocksnail
Rocksnail
Birds on North Captiva
Christine (Venice FL) finding shells on North Cap
Pelican landing strip
Small Treats at the Lighthouse
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Smaller shells at the Lighthouse
Clark went out this morning at 7am to see if low tide brought anything unusual to the Lighthouse beach. There weren’t any bigger shells so he refocused his eyes to look for the little shells. He found (pictured) a LACE MUREX, 5 PEAR WHELKS, a KEYHOLE LIMPET, 2 PAPER FIGS, 28 WENTLETRAPS, and 2 NASSA.
We’ve got a full moon tonight and there will be a pretty low tide tomorrow morning around 7:30. We hope to see you out there!
High Winds from the South
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Winds From The South
I didnt see any new shelling spots at Blind Pass…. or Algier’s Beach in Sanibel….or the lighthouse today. The waves are kicking up and coming from the south with a cold front on the way so hopefully in another day or two we’ll see some good shelling. I saw the good sign of a few pen shells on Algier’s beach but not anywhere else- so this might be the best spot on Friday (or tomorrow?).
I met Terri and her family on November 11 at Blind Pass when the huge shell pile was coming in from Hurricane Ida. I blogged about them and their finds on “Great Shelling at Blind Pass”. Well, they’re back at Blind Pass and still finding shells from that same pile (since there wasn’t anything new coming in). Terri’s son Bradley found this little LIMPET and a BUTTON to add to their bucket of shells. They said most of their shells today were broken but still very happy to be out on the beach. Aunt Dawn smiled and said “Even if we don’t find any good shells, it’s better being out here than any where else”.
Bradley's Limpet
Shelling family Terri, Bradley, Cheryl (in the back) and Aunt Dawn
Mini Shells On The Causeway
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Mini Shells
I am so disappointed that I didn’t get out for more shelling today because we have a new moon. The pull of the moon is very strong during a new moon or a full moon so the tides are extreme. We had a very low tide today so that means you get to see more on the bed of the gulf. If you get to see and go further out than normal then there is a better chance you’ll find the bigger shells that haven’t made it to the shore yet.
I did get to stop on one of the islands on the causeway today. I mostly find the tiny shells on these islands as I did today. I think these little teeny weeny WHELKS, KEYHOLE LIMPETS, CONCHS and even TOP SHELLS are adorable.
We’ll catch the low, low tide on the next full moon or new moon.
Sister Shellers’ Bounty
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Sister Shellers' Bounty
I’m so excited that Marie and Polly emailed me this picture of what they found their shelling day at Blind Pass that I posted on my November 12 blog post.
Wow! Look at everything they found……… and so colorful! I see tons of pretty purple and orange CALICO SCALLOPS, WHELKS of all sizes- some huge!, FIGHTING CONCHS, COCKLES, BANDED TULIPS, TRUE TULIP, MUREXES, LACE MUREX, WORM SHELLS (love ‘em!), LETTERED OLIVES, a MOONSNAIL, CALICO CLAMS, a HORSE CONCH, and some JINGLES. They said they had such a great time and wished they could have come back the next day.
Blind Pass shells at sunset
The shell mound is still there but the sand is filling in so the beach is almost to the end of the jetty. This picture is at sunset tonight. The mound has been really picked over for the bigger shells but if you still want CALICOS and other SCALLOPS, CLAMS or shell crafting shells you are still in luck.
