We decided to go shelling as a team! We haven’t been able to host any “events” for obvious reasons, so we were all excited about the idea of a social-distant-friendly event, ie. shelling on the beach!
Locals Taking Time To Shell
It sounds silly, but sometimes we get so busy with our daily “happenings” that we locals forget to visit the beach. So, we put it on the calendar to enjoy a shelling excursion and we’re so glad we did.
We invited the Sanibel Shell Club to help us identify our beach finds and they hooked us up with Joyce Matthys who is probably the most knowledgeable shelling expert in Southwest Florida! She brought with her a display of shells that are found on Sanibel and Captiva Island, seen below.
Let’s Go Shelling
After an introduction at Lighthouse Beach, we hit the sand scouring for seashells. Check out our live video stream on Facebook by clicking here.
Joyce immediately found a starfish and sea urchin, explaining WAY more than we ever knew about them. Kate found a Lightning Whelk that had two slipper snail shells attached and hermit crab inside! A great display of just how many organisms rely on these shells in our ecosystem.
We continued our walk, finding a number of common (and even some rare) shells for Sanibel Island. It was a real pleasure to have Joyce there to talk about each shell and provide a wealth of information.
Captain Brian On The Water Charters joined us with his wife Melonie, and they had quite the eye for finding interesting shells to talk about. He even found a “Devil’s Purse” as Joyce called it. An egg capsule with an egg of a ray or skate inside!
Shelling on Sanibel Island
For those who couldn’t make it… we put together this fun, 8-minute video highlight of our shelling excursion!
More on Sanibel Shelling
Click here to read our blog about 7 Common and 7 Rare Shells on Sanibel.
Click here to read our other blogs on shelling.
