Thursday January 5th 2017

Today was a sunny day a little cooler than the last few. I used the good weather to return to Sanibel Island near Fort Meyers FL.

Back in November I went to Sanibel Island to find shells. The island is known for its shells, but I didn’t find anything remarkable. I wrote about it in the blog entry “Visit to Sanibel Island”. I heard from several people that thought I missed an opportunity. Today I went to a bigger beach further north on the island.

Crowd on Bowman’s Beach Sanibel Island Florida.

The number of people on the beach was much greater than in November. The beach was full of sunbathers, a few swimmers and shell hunters. Most of the shells I found were the same run of the mill shells I found on my first trip in November. There is no question that there are lots of shells. The high water line is several inches thick and a foot wide with shells. As a poked through the piles of shells a few little more unique shells came to me attention. They are about three quarters of an inch in size, brownish and fluted. Once I knew what to look for, I could find these shells mixed with the others in all the shell collection areas.

Some small more unique shells.

I tried to gather shells from the waterline, but you really need a basket with a long handle. My attempts just got me wet as the water splashed up onto my shorts and even my shirt. Thankfully, my shoes and socks were high and dry on the beach. At least the water wasn’t cold and the sun dried out my cloths in short order.

Seagull watching the beach goers at play.

Even with all the people on the beach, the shore birds were there too. The seagulls stood at the back of the beach and watched the human’s antics. I think they were puzzled by the behaviors they were watching. For example, why would anybody carefully sculpt a 20 foot Alligator out of the sand only to watch the incoming tide wash it away. Seagulls have no appreciation for art. I, on the other hand, was impressed with the sand sculptor. It even had shells for teeth and eyes.

Wading bird waiting for food from the surf.

The wading birds were not having much success with finding food in the breaking waves. For the most part, they stood patiently watching and waiting while the water broke around them and the people walked by behind them. It was easy to get within three or four feet of them before they showed any sign of concern.

I enjoyed the trip to Sanibel Island. I got a chance to see more of the island, but I still hold the same opinion about the shell hunting. There is a high volume of shells, just not a high variety. Maybe it’s different at different times of year or associated with storms. I doubt that I’ll ever know. I don’t plan to return again.