Shelling on Sanibel Island. Lighthouse Beach had so many jellyfish!

Hello Beach Friends! Today we're visiting Sanibel and we're going to explore the iconic lighthouse beach during low tide. I got here nice and early and I'm hoping the low tide will help my chances of finding some goodies. I honestly do not normally have very good luck here, but so many other people have told me what great shells they found and I was also told that snorkeling might help, so I have arrived with a good attitude, a shell bag, and a snorkel mask. It is a gorgeous beach and we'll have plenty of beautiful scenery and we're going to say hi to a couple critters, including a jellyfish that I have never seen before. So if you're ready to check out Lighthouse Beach with me, let's go to the beach. So the first thing I typically do when I get to the beach is head straight for the water just to kind of check out and see what the conditions look like in anticipation of what kind of day I might have. So the water is very, very clear, which is awesome. Let's see if we can find anything. Oh, all right, it is Sanibel and that means scallops and that is a calico scallop. Oh cool! We have ourselves a short-spined sea star and I typically pick these up, kind of check them out, but I figured this time I'm going to put my camera underwater. Now, this is a different one that I found, another one that I decided not to pick up, and I want to put the camera in. Oh, there's a fish. Okay, they hang out just to kind of see what happens, what do they look like. Turns out it's not that interesting. Most of the stuff going on with this critter is underneath its legs, its mouth, and everything else. So, all right, lesson learned. Not terribly interesting, but I'll keep trying. Keep trying to find these cool critters and see what I can find. Oh, speaking of things to find, here's a lettered olive. It's got its top and everything. That's kind of cool. I spy something else. All right, that is a juvenile Florida fighting conch. Nice little shell. So, just to give you an idea where at the lighthouse I am. There, there's the lighthouse. I'm just kind of creeping my way around checking out the water. I did come here today specifically for low tide, and let's, for a minute, we're going to talk about the low tides. So, here we have the times of the day, and then here, this wave is when you see the height of the ocean. So, it's going to be low tide in these areas, high tide here, and then sometimes in the winter you can even get a negative low tide, and so the will be all the way down here, which is super fun. Can't wait for that. This app is called Tides. This is what it looks like on the Apple Store. I don't know about Android because I have an iPhone, but that is how I check the tides, and here I found a little tulip, and I was going to pick it up. So, this is a live banded tulip, and I changed my mind and decided let's go underneath. Let's go check out what this critter is doing, because typically when you pick them up, they really just recede into their shell. So, this little fella or gal is cruising along, but when I repositioned the camera, I think it noticed me. It's always fun to see the fish in the background. So, it stopped really moving, and I was bummed because I like to see them doing their thing, and they're in their natural environment. So, I think it detected I was there. I don't know if it's peeking out from under its shell, but it's not going to do so much too much more. So, we're just going to keep it moving. All right. Awesome. A terribly beat up Florida Fighting Conch. Not keeping that. All sorts of covered with stuff. Oh, here we have a shark eye complete with another drill hole. Somebody drilled a hole in that. Another critter did, and an Apple Murex. Okay. Nice color. It's intact. All right. That's a pretty good find. All right. I spy something else. Another lettered olive. All right. This is pretty typical how you find them. Missing its top. A little beat up, but a lettered olive nonetheless. And then here, looks like I found myself a Florida Cone. It is a little beat up. It's not real pointy. It's a little bit chipped, but it's a cone, so I'm going to keep it. Oh, another critter. That is another live Banded Tulip. So, see if I can be a little more careful with this one. I can see he or she cruising around down there. That little piece, that little black thing sticking all the way out of the front of the shell, that's called a proboscis, and it kind of acts like a trunk as it's foraging. Now, Banded Tulips are carnivores. They will eat each other. They will eat other tulips, and they'll also eat things like clams. So, it looks like this little critter is on the hunt. Glad I was able to see it kind of move around. What else we got here? Okay. A paper fig. I do tend to find these over at Lighthouse Beach for some reason, and that's, you know, pretty good shape. Relatively thin and delicate, so I'll probably put that in my little delicate box, but that is a paper fig and a piece of a Banded Tulip. Just a piece. All right, another Calico Scallop, although it's a little beat up. Yeah, it's got some holes and whatnot. Sanibel, if you like scallops, definitely head over to Sanibel. Never leave Sanibel without finding a scallop or two. Okay, this is a top of a lightning whelk. A little discolored. Interesting. Too bad it wasn't whole. So, that's the kind of stuff I'm finding here, and again, where I am in position to the lighthouse, so I'm kind of like right off the point at this point. I'm off the point at this point, and the water's relatively, I mean, the water's very clear. I know it looks kind of looks a little green, and all those white things are just beat up shells, the stuff you kind of find on the beach. So, looks like the water isn't giving me quite the goodies I was hoping. There are some other people here. I do have to share Lighthouse Beach. It is very popular. This is another calico scallop, and here we have a yellow prickly cockle. All right, so we're finding something. It's not like ice, I'll tell you that, and other people have told me they have really great luck here. Okay, here we have a common nutmeg. It is not in perfect condition, but if you have something that kind of looks like that, a little bit of brown with that whorl on the other side, that is a common nutmeg, and another banded tulip. Yeah, aperture's broken. They usually are, but that's okay. It's got its point. Nice banded tulip, and another. Oh, dang it. All right, that one's a little bit more chipped, but I'm trying to see. Can I kind of hide it? Maybe. Maybe if I just hold it a certain way. I think I found a lettered olive. Oh, it's gorgeous. Gorgeous lettered olive. Nice and big. Beautiful markings on it. Well, looks like I'm picking up a couple things. Okay. Yep, the water sure makes it look a lot better. So that beat up lightning welk I'm going to leave, but I'm going to go ahead and keep that. Let me keep that little lightning welk. Cool, and that. It almost looked like it was an albino under the water. I'm telling you, the water definitely changes the way it looks. It looks perfect until you pick it up. Now, these guys were so funny. So there were some people snorkeling here, and we'll talk about that in a minute, and here we have a snowy egret, and they're just kind of hanging out looking for fish and whatnot, and this one guy, he was just kind of bullying everybody around. He wasn't happy where anybody was. Another guy just kind of gave up. So this is something I saw over here. Now, this is an Atlantic sea nettle jellyfish. These can be found all the way up from Cape Cod down into the Caribbean into the Gulf of Mexico. They sting their prey. They are poisonous, so I'm trying to videotape it and keep away from those tentacles because there are thousands of microscopic venom-filled little things in there that sting their prey. So that is poisonous, and the crazy thing, where you find most of those is in the Chesapeake Bay. Go figure, but I do think it's beautiful. As long as you don't get stinged, take a peek and keep moving. So I kept finding jellyfish, and so I decided I'm probably going to keep my snorkel mask in my backpack because I just really didn't want to get stung. I do have vinegar in my trunk just in case, but you know, I'll keep walking around. We'll walk and hunt and search. That's another piece of a tulip. You can see the current. The current, the water is rushing out. All right, we got here an apple murex, and there is a little critter in there. So you do have to be very careful when you're shelling in the water because it is possible that there will be somebody home. So there you can see just the little claws of a long-wristed hermit crab all tucked up in there. They can really, really hide. So just make sure you're careful. I'm gonna leave that guy where we found him. Off they go. Okay, there's a keeper moon snail shark eye. Oh, that's a Paul Newman one. The ones that are blue that have at the very center of the spiral, they call that a Paul Newman shark eye. So pretty. You can see the current tide is still going out at this point. I'm not alone. Lighthouse Beach is very, very popular. I think you pretty much have to come here at three in the morning to get the place to yourself, and that's fine. But there are other people here doing the same thing I'm doing, hunting for seashells. All right, this is a channeled duck clam. Also, it has a couple names, a staler's ear, an elephant ear. It's kind of a fun shell. And I'm bummed. This was an area I was told might be good for snorkeling. I already kind of took that off the table. So I'm thinking maybe, hey, people have found traps over here, but it's just not looking good for that either for me. So I have to at least check it out, show you what's up on the beach. Pieces, little pieces of shells, not piles, just little this, little that, but nothing we're really going to spend a lot of time with and go through. Oh, found a crab. He wanted no, he or she wanted no part of me. So we'll just say, hey, and keep it moving. Now this shell, I didn't realize there was a critter in it, and it startled me. Very feisty, little, long-wristed hermit crab. So this is the same hermit crab that we picked up in the other apple myrics, but this one's quite annoyed at me, not hiding, desperately wants me to put him down, or her, and I will. I just want to say hi, put you back where I found you, and check this out, he just takes off, there, off and running. So I'm over by the pier at Lighthouse Beach, and again, it's beautiful, not a whole lot on the beach, but let's just take a look exactly where I am. So here is the island of Sanibel. Now I'm at Lighthouse Beach, which is here. Now if we zoom into that, this is, this is the beach, lots of green you'll see, so it does feel very tropical, very lush, and I'm in this area. Right here is the pier, but this is the area that I'm really going to be walking around and hunting for goodies. Oh, speaking of goodies, got a beat-up banded tulip, not a keeper, but there is stuff here. There's a lot of people here. Oh, and these guys. Now again, I'm not a fish expert, but I think those are little sheep's head, which have the creepiest teeth ever, and since I was doing so much underwater filming, I just wanted to see, I want to see what that looked like from underneath the water, and frankly, it looks like they're having fun. So that, and look at that current, I mean it is ripping, and it's interesting that all the way on the bottom where that tulip was we saw earlier, it wasn't as fast, but as you go at the top of the water, there was quite a current. So it looks like these guys are just, I don't know, having fun, trying not to get eaten, I guess. Okay, this is a hinged disc docenia. If you're going to find a hinged shell, I'm betting it's going to be a disc docenia. You find them hinged all the time, and they have a cool like record pattern texture to them. So that is a hinged disc docenia. All right, I think I found a couple of things. Yep, some scallops. You have some calico scallops. Quite lovely. I don't know that I'm going to keep that one on the bottom. It's a little bit chipped, but there are a couple of goodies here. Another lightning whelk. I'm going to tell you, those are probably the most common after the Florida fighting conchs. I just recently noticed, I mean I pick every single time I go to the beach, I find a lightning whelk. So even though they're really, really cool, they're really, really common. Speaking of common, that is a slipper shell, and those drive me bananas because they look like so many other like really great shells, and you pick it up and it's a slipper. Okay, here we have another banded tulip. The aperture is not broken, but it's missing its top. I'm still going to keep it though. Banded tulip. All right, and here again is a whole bunch of common stuff. Oh, I see something with a little bit of color. Another calico scallop. Let's take a look. Oh, it's kind of pretty if I do say so myself. I'm scanning. Water's nice and clear, nice and shallow. So actually there's really no reason, at least at this point, to put that snorkel mask on and brave the waters. There were actually a lot of jellyfish. We're going to see a couple more. Pretty day. And there's the lighthouse. So I'm still kind of at the point. Just about time though to do a little exploring. Oh, here we have another calico scallop. at this point. And here we have a juvenile Florida fighting conch. I was rewarded for walking a little bit up the beach. And then here we have, look at that on the bottom is a little tiny apomurix. And then on top we have some sort of drill shell, but that's not what's interesting me. It's the weird little critter that's in it. I don't know what that is. It, it, I, I got, I tried to look it up. It looks really strange. I mean, the feet are in the back there and it, maybe it's a baby hermit crab. And those, those front claws grow, but I really don't know. It was weird. So I just wanted to videotape it and share it with you. Here we have a calico scallop. Yet again, another calico scallop. So I'm walking up the beach at this point. And just to give you any indication, I've been walking a bit and I found maybe two or three shells. So it is a little bit slower today, but it sure is pretty. Probably spent all that time walking in the water. Figured let's just take a peek. What is going on up at the beach here? Other than a coconut. All right. We've got some seaweed. We got some, you know, stuff kind of smattered all over. Probably your commons. Yep. You're going to find those guaranteed. That is a cross-barred venus. So is that one. That one's a little bit worn down. That is a ponderous arc. So there are certain shells guaranteed. You absolutely will find them. But we're looking for things that are just a little bit more interesting. I mean, they're fine. They're very interesting, but there's the coconut. Looking for some gastropods or, uh-oh. No, it looks okay. Looks like a little bit of weather coming in. Okay, here we go. So I'm talking about a spiny jewel box, although it's just a little bit lumpy. It doesn't really have any spines, but they're here, depending on what you're looking for. And that is another jellyfish. And I do tend to see those a lot. That is a moon jelly. And I did happen to spy one in the water. So of course, we're going to take a look and see what that looks like. So there you see it, the moon jelly. I don't normally find them in the water. Normally, I honestly find them washed up on the beach. So this is the first time I've ever seen one really kind of swimming around. They are not poisonous, venomous. They do sting their prey, but humans don't really have to worry about these. Their stingers aren't strong enough to really bother our skin. So we don't have to worry about them. It's actually kind of pretty. It's too bad the lighting isn't better, but they are rather pretty. So that is a moon jellyfish. It's about the size of a plate. I mean, they're on the bigger side. And jellyfish are 95% water. They have no brain, blood or heart. They just kind of do their jellyfish thing. And then this one, this is yet another jellyfish. This one, I could not figure out what kind it was. It was a little more compact. It was almost like a little bubble. So it didn't have those long, pretty tentacles. And again, since I don't want to get close enough to get a good look, but not that close. So I'm still walking north at this point. Beautiful, giant clouds. We get those in the summer a lot because it can rain pretty much at any time. But in the winter, you'll notice. Stick with me. You see, as the winter comes, the clouds disappear. They're gone and it doesn't rain for months. It's actually really nice. So we are walking north, see what else, cover more beach, try to increase my chances of finding stuff. All right, here's something. Here's a giant Atlantic cockle. Very cool. Because it's a little bit of a slow day, I'm going to keep it. So back up on the beach, there's little stuff. Let's see. You know, your ponderous arcs. Okay, there's a couple scallops. Just that they're discolored. All right, that one's broken. Probably a discolored calico scalp. Oh, that one's a little broken too. And a ponderous arc. Maybe that's a cut ribbed arc, actually. It's an arc of some sort. And a piece of a kitten paw. And a piece of a slipper snail. A little cross-barred venus. So, you know, again, depending on what you're looking for, I tend to look for the things that are a little bit bigger. I'm not going to go tiny hunting today. Maybe another time in the future. And this, frankly, I was really quick to say I thought this was a calico scallop. But I really don't think it is. To me, that's kind of a mystery scallop. I'm not really sure what kind that is. And an olive just rolling around in the water. Awesome lettered olive. Very cool. All right, looks like some weather is coming in. That's to the south of me. But that's what's going on in the north. So it's hard because I've always got my head down. And I try to peek up just in case there's a dolphin or something. But the weather can sneak up on you a little bit. So it's always a good idea to kind of know what to expect. Here is another calico scallop. And here's the beach. I walked up pretty, not too far, I don't know, maybe a mile up the beach. And let's check out what it looks like here. Again, lots of the common stuff. The arcs, I see a kitten paw. So there are, like I said, there are shells here. And then look at this, another jellyfish. I don't know what kind that is. I wonder if that's one of those that can kind of inflate themselves and kind of float. I don't know. But they really were everywhere. Here is a chestnut turban. Someone was asking me recently about these. And I don't find them very often. I don't think that they're necessarily rare, but I don't really find them that often. Look at this gorgeous lightning whelk. It's alive. I did not find it. Someone else did. I was chatting with her. And she let me shoot this beautiful lightning whelk she found. She was just hanging out in a bucket. So she's going to return it back to the water to let it do its thing. And this is odd because that is a land snail. That is a Cuban land snail. Wait, a brown, Cuban brown snail. That's what that guy is. That shouldn't be here, but I'm going to keep it anyway. And that beautiful leopard printed little critter, that is a calico box crab. And I was kind of thinking I was going to try to pick it up, but it was a little bit more active and feisty than some of the other ones I've encountered. So I kind of got behind. Yeah. And it was like, yeah, no, not picking me up. Isn't it pretty? Gorgeous. So that is a little calico box crab doing its box crab thing. And at this point, just about time to leave the beach. It looks like some weather might be coming in anyway. So just as well, my time here is done. Oh, what's so pretty. And look at the height of those clouds. I don't know how you guys feel about the weather, but it fascinates me too. I love thunderstorms. I love lightning storms, as long as I'm not out in the weather with the lightning. And these clouds were gorgeous. Beautiful, big, white, puffy clouds. Beautiful day at the beach. Here is a little calico clam. Just a wee little one. And it's a slipper snail. They usually drive me a little bananas, but I thought that one was kind of pretty. So that is a spotted slipper snail. Now, if you remember from the view from on top, it is a very lush, lots of greenery here at this particular beach. So it's very, it's beautiful. It's just peaceful. There are not a lot of trails, but you can definitely walk around a little bit. There's some exploring to do. And what I want to check out is that the trailhead looking sign up there, because I don't know that I've ever seen that before. So if you happen to come here and you want to quickly reference and check what you might have found, there is this cool seashell poster or display of sorts. So this is what I found. I was going to say haul. It's not exactly a haul. We did find a bunch of scallops, the chestnut turban, the spotted slipper snail, the olives, the paper fig, the banded tulips, the apple muric, some shark eyes, the lightning whelks, Florida fighting conchs, the land snail, the Atlantic cockle, and the dystocenia and the channel duck clam. So guys, that's Lighthouse Beach. I'm telling you, I don't know if it doesn't like me. I hope whoever goes there continues to have wonderful luck. My luck was okay. Well, we're just, I'm just going to leave it at that. I will go back. We'll try snorkeling maybe another time when there wasn't jellyfish all over the place. So thank you. Thank you, Patreons. Thank everybody for viewing. Thank you for the love. Thank you for your tips, your tricks. Send it my way because I love sharing. Next week, we're going low tide, Fort Myers Beach. Can't wait. Lots of cool stuff. I'll see you then. Have a great week.