The Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club was formed to exchange information in the field of conchology and malacology, to foster public education and intelligent conservation, and to encourage and support studies and research activities in those fields.
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Super Snow Moon Feb 2020 at Ten Thousand Islands
On Feb 10, 2020 a dozen Shell Club members participated in a shelling field trip to the Ten Thousand Islands south of Marco in SW FL. Thanks goes out to our Field Trip Chair, Susi Butler, for herding all of us shellers. 🙂
Our hosts were the boat captains and guides of Treasure Seekers Shell Tours. Our large group was divided among three boats headed out for a perfect day of shelling with the low tide (-1.05 ft) following the Super Snow Moon (first of four Super Moons in 2020; a full moon that occurs when the moon is closest to the Earth in its orbit).
The weather was perfect and the tide was indeed low, exposing a muddy shoreline that extended into the trees. Our Shell Club group collectively was lucky enough to explore three of the Ten Thousand Islands that day.
Landing zone for Kice Island shelling field trip. Photo by Dale MooreSetting off with our buckets, our hearts hopeful of finding the elusive “J” as our guide affectionally called the Junonia.
Immediately upon landing on Kice Island, we were thrilled to see abundant and diverse shells. Many were the “usual suspects” but I certainly found larger and more excellent examples of ones that I already had from Sanibel.
Susi Butler, head down, shell sack already bulging. The tree cover near the shoreline made for mostly shady shelling, which we were grateful for on such a beautiful sunny day.Slippery muddy shorelines with exposed tree stumps made for tricky walking. Good closed-toe water shoes were a must!
Besides mollusk shells, other creatures made our trip to the Ten Thousand Islands worthwhile. There were osprey nests, many kinds of crabs, a Glossy Ibis, and luckily not too many No-See-Ums or mosquitoes!
Empty Florida Fighting Conch shells were so abundant that soon they became part of the background. Someone had positioned this dead crab on a log, and it definitely made me jump!Live Periwinkle huddled together on a dead tree trunk. Photo by Dale Moore
After 4 hours of successful shelling, it was time to head back to the boat ramp in Goodland.
If you’ve ever tried to photograph dolphins behind a boat, you’ll know that catching them just right is a feat of luck–which I didn’t seem to have that day.
All in all, we had a fantastic trip. Some lucky shell seekers even found Junonia and Scotch Bonnet. I collected examples of 43 different species and passed over several others that are so common, but alas, no “J” for me. Here are some of the shells we collected that day.
Angie Marsland’s fabulous finds with stunning bright colors of empty shells deposited recently on the shoreline without time to bleach out or get weathered.Suzi Butler’s special shells from Kice Island including prized large Nutmegs, Lace Murex, and Alphabet Cones. A nice Periwinkle shell is in the blue area.Catherine and Dale Moore collected many fine specimens, including several perfect Alphabet Cones, juvenile Horse Conchs, dark Nutmegs, and a large Scotch Bonnet! My haul of newly cleaned shells drying on a towel. Love the variety, colors, and unweathered condition of most of them. I can’t pass up shiny smooth Lettered Olives. They were very abundant on Kice Island, and I left many more for you to find!Here are my “special” shells from Kice, including a white Nutmeg, Rose Murex, True Tulip, Alphabet Cone.
Hope many more shell seekers can attend future Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club field trips. Not a member? Join here!
