Coral and a Touch of Cobalt

I enjoyed a couple more trips to the beach this week…good thing I go in the morning, because the 3 pm summer showers are hitting like clockwork these days…

I'm starting to find several disc dosinia shells each visit…but so far this is the only rusty colored one I've found…the rust color is from prolonged exposure to the air...

The sunrise on Mon. wasn't overly "fancy" but they're still always impressive to see…

This is the largest piece of coral I've found so far…it's approx. 1 1/2" wide, and it's Northern cup coral.

A heart from nature…a well worn piece of shell...

Cobalt blue sea glass is supposed to be "rare" (red, orange, and yellow are "very rare")…

this piece is small (½" wide), but I was thrilled all the same!

I find a few whelk "bones" -- as I call them -- usually, but only 1-2 have a more lovely, graceful shape overall...

…On the inlet side of the beach, a lone snowy egret seemed to be meditating…

While nearby, this large, battered knobbed whelk "bone" silently rested its weary soul.

A Changing Sunrise and Other Treasures

Another pleasant beach therapy session was procured on Tues. I arrived a bit earlier than usual, and it was a little too dark to see what was under foot very well…at first. But then, I was on a mission to reach the shell "hot spots" before anyone else did. It's summer now, and the tourists are showing up at the condos just north of my favorite beach-combing beach. I was first in line this day, however . . .

The pre-sunrise skyline was awe-inspiring, as usual . . .

I actually didn't find hardly anything on my way down the beach along the water's edge,

but on my way back, I walked the high tide line and found this lightning venus shell (a first!)

I've found several favored tellin shells, but not like this beige-ringed one.

Normally they're white. So, another first of sorts!

Once the sun was above the horizon, the colors changed notably . . .

I never tire of finding Atlantic calico scallop shells…esp. ones with barnacles attached…

Look closely, the two barnacles on the left are striped acorn barnacles (white with purple
stripes), and the one on the right is a rock acorn barnacle (solid purplish-reddish).

I found two very nice, good-sized shark's eye shells . . . this one was covered in sand

and I almost didn't see it . . .

At one point I did go back to the water's edge on my way back up the beach . . . and found two little hermit crabs cruising along near one another . . . this little guy stopped and went into his shell when I neared for a photo . . . I didn't realize until I cropped the photo, that I'd had two beady little crab eyes keeping a close eye on me!

A Pen and a Jingle

I realize I haven't shared bird photos in a bit…mainly because I'm not taking my SLR camera to the beach with me…mainly because there isn't the right light…either it's dark or I'd have to be standing in the ocean and the bird would have to be W of me, cooperating…ha! And then there's the fact that it's heavy when carried on my back…we're having a very hot early summer and I'm hot and sweaty enough as it is, just carrying the backpack and a bottle of water…so for now I just have the pocket camera in my shorts pocket...

…I realized I hadn't actually shared this photo of a willet in summer breeding plumage, which I took about a month or so ago. The significance of this shot, is the fact that it's the first one I've taken of a willet that isn't in winter plumage. This is the first year in the three years I've been here, that I've spent any noteable time at a beach in May (through mid Oct.) due to the heat index. Did I mention, today the heat index was 108?! Yikes. And it's only mid June.

This week, when I landed on the beach just before sunrise, it was already "quite warm", ugh. But I trudged on, my first time trying an abbreviated version of my previous visits…a shorter visit, about two hours, instead of the 3 to 3.5 hours I'd mostly been spending….anywho, the sunrise continues to be deep orange…this one, I captured the peli patrol cruising by...

I found a whole penshell (bi-valve, empty), hadn't seen one in awhile…usually they're in pieces.

For some reason, we get a lot of black scallop shells…you can barely see the original white with red markings below the black. I've mentioned it before ~ the black is caused by the shell being buried in sediment for a long time.

This is a good-sized jingle shell, about 2", in gold.  :)

…I usually find at least one shark's eye shell each time I go to the beach…Thurs. I found four; this was the largest one…

A mottled purse crab, deceased…it's fairly common to find a few crab carcasses each beach visit, but seeing them always makes me a little sad...

Sunrise and Scallops

I've continued to stroll the beach at sunrise this past week, arriving a few minutes before the sun breaks above the horizon. Each sunrise I've witnessed, since starting my weekly beach-combing, has been unique and breath-taking. Getting up so early and driving for about 30 minutes would be worth it if I didn't find a single sea treasure on the shore, just to see the sunrises. Fortunately, most times there are nifty things to find as well…

…Other shellers don't seem to care for the curly partial whelk shells, but I think they have their own artistic beauty…

…I found a whole lightning whelk, it needs a good cleaning...

…I continue to find a few scallops on each sandy stroll...

…and cockles, which come in sizes very small to quite big…

…and white baby's ears, this one decorated with seaweed lace...

…I found my 2nd turtle carapace bone...

…this was actually 30 or more minutes after sunrise…a lone black-bellied plover, with non-breeding plumage, contemplates the liquid gold panorama.

Shell-Shocked

One of this week's visits to the beach proved to be really exciting…it was truly one of those magical moments (well, three hours) as I found awesome sea treasures one after another...

I could see this large piece of whelk shell from 40-50 yards away…the early sunrise light was hitting it just right, so that it really stood out..

…I found some more hermit crabs…it wasn't easy letting this little green shell go!

I also found my first sea beans! Above, a sea heart bean with goose barnacles attached…this bean is from a monkey ladder vine's bean pod, which is the largest bean pod in the world!

I was esp. excited to find my first hamburger sea bean! This is a brown hamburger bean, which can be from American tropics, the West Indies, or W. Africa. There is also a red hamburger bean ~ these beans contain an alkaloid called L-Dopa, used to treat the tremors from Parkinson's disease.

…I finally found another whole whelk! These are a lot harder to come by on the E coast of Florida than they are on the W. coast. This is a lightning whelk, approx. 4" long.

I found 3 royal starfish that day...

…I always find a small handful of scallops, and once in awhile I'll find one with barnacles on it…which I think gives them a nice added design...

At least half of the cockles I find, don't have the pretty contrast pattern they're noted for…esp. the larger cockles…but this one was nicely patterned...

…Besides the 4" whelk, I also found 2 very small whelks...

And one set of coquina shells with the radial rays, which are pretty scarce here…this pattern, that is. The coquina shells are very common, in shades of white, purple, and yellow. They're quite small, 1" max. Mostly smaller.

Blue for the Blues

On the home front…I was lucky to get one shot of papa bluebird fairly close-up, as he was checking out the tray feeder…nothing in there he wants, unfortunately. Don't think he and the Mrs. ate any of the mealworms I put out, but maybe I just never witnessed it. The past few days I had the feeling they were gone, and I finally got up the nerve to open the birdhouse door…empty. No egg shells, in there or on the ground, not a single downy feather. Just a perfect, neat grassy nest. So I'm feeling blue over the fact that if there were babies and they've fledged, I never got to see a thing.  :(  I do hear a lot of squeaky bird chirping in the trees around the house, so maybe they're out there nearby.

…On the beach front, I've been continuing my early morning visits to the beach, in time to see the sunrise, 3 times a week lately…

…I was recently thrilled to find this hermit crab, heading into the surf…it appears to be toting a tatty shark's eye shell, with an anemone on the back of it! This was my first hermit crab sighting…I just love how the beach is always changing, like a magical playground, displaying the sea's endless treasures at its whim….

Even though they're somewhat "plain", I really like the cross-barred venus shells…they're normally white, but this one had a cream color and looks nice on the orange shell hash…the criss-crossing lines make a lovely pattern…lately I've been finding several Venuses per visit...

…Besides the venus shells, I also find a few scallops and a few lettered olive shells at each visit to one particular beach, so there can be some consistencies on the beach as well as the surprises.

Scotch and Nutmeg

Yesterday was amazing, filled with several firsts. Once again I hit the beach just before sunrise, trudging past a few surf fishermen that had planted their rods and themselves not far from the beach access stairs. I moved north first, stopping to admire the red and orange sunrise...

After strolling near the surf, I made my way up to the high tide line once, then twice…the 2nd time I found this gorgeous Scotch bonnet shell!  It's in pristine condition, and I was thrilled silly!

Not long after that, another awesome 1st find…a common nutmeg, which wasn't common for me at all.

Eventually, I headed back south, past the fishermen…and found my first lined sea star...

There were a lot of small thorny starfish as well...

…And one royal starfish, which was alive, so I tossed it back into the surf, though I know it was probably pointless...

This wasn't the first green mussel I'd found…I'd found a single shell once, but it wasn't in as good of shape, plus this is a whole (open, empty) bi-valve. The green mussel is an invasive clam from Asia, unfortunately. According to the U of Florida, "In Florida, green mussels have already caused problems for some coastal industries. These dense assemblages of mussels can be costly problems when they clog seawater intakes, weigh down navigation buoys and foul the hulls and engines of boats. Green mussels can also have serious effects on Florida's native fauna. In Tampa Bay, some native oyster reefs have died off after being smothered by green mussels."

…Later on, at home, I saw my first great crested flycatcher perched on top of the bird feeder pole…they don't eat at feeders, so it was just checking out what all the other birds were up to, and left…before I could get a photo. Ugh. But hey, I was thrilled to see it, a lifer!