I love werid shells! Keewaydin gave me a fabulous little weirdo!

Hello, beach friends. When you first start shelling, everything feels exciting and just about every shell you pick up goes into the bucket. But after years of walking these beaches, I now notice the things that are unusual, imperfect, and different. And I have a super cool shell to show you. But before we do that, I'd like to talk about pelicans. This is a juvenile brown pelican. I know that because its head is brown. Behind that, yep, that's an adult. In the winter they'll get their breeding colors and they will turn kind of a white color. So I know that cutie right there is a juvenile. Brown pelicans are one of the smaller pelicans in the pelican group of birds. I just love them. I also like dolphins. And so not only did I get to hang out with a pelican for a little bit, I got to experience some of our bottlenose dolphins. Now the dolphin, I know, isn't it awesome? They do that. There's a pressure wave that the boats create and the dolphin kind of just glides along. So it does not take much effort at all. And they can just jump out of the water. And some of this is probably play. They will have been known to kind of jostle for position in the wake. So they're getting a little ride and they're getting to play a little bit too. You can see them just kind of surfing right below the surface. Yeah, that is awesome. So we are making our way over to Key Waden. The tide will be going out the entire time. Once I get there, I'm going to be kind of waiting around, waiting really for the tide to go out. No pun. Well, maybe pun intended. Waiting, waiting. So we're on our way to Key Waden. Once we get there, first thing I'm going to do is start looking and see what all might be there. Now the boats kind of drop you off behind the island and I'm going to walk my way over to the gulf facing part. That's where the creatures are. That's where the shells are going to be. It's kind of how that works. So no shortage of shells, but are they going to be anything good? All right. It looks like I'm going to snag this jingle right off the bat. That happens to be a particularly shiny one. Okay. Yep. Yep. We're going to have fun. Let's see what all is here. Okay. Start off with a worm snail. Fine choice if I had to say. It's going to be a Florida worm snail. Now that colorful moon snail, I've seen them a little bit more colorful. I'm going to pass on that. Maybe someone else needs a starter colorful moon snail. Okay. We have a lettered olive. Delightful. And a mossy arc. Not the nicest one I've ever seen, but still kind of cool. Yep. No shortage today. I see a bunch of Florida prickly cockles. Oh, and a cantherous. So that is a ribbed cantherous. Not to be confused with the tinted cantherous. Right on cue. So that is a tinted cantherous. And so is this one. And we're going to find a lot of really fun things today. They'll be colorful things. They'll be the things I normally find. Things I'm hoping to find. And I will be trying to hunt down those alphabet cons. That's what I'm thinking when I come to Key Waden. But there's one shell I really can't wait to show you. That, that little weirdo. And we'll, we'll talk about that in a little bit. So if you're ready to see what all is out there for us today, let's go to the beach. So I'm here in Key Waden. I've already had my dolphin show. Got to have that, say hi to that pelican. I'm picking up apple Nurex. Isn't it funny? I don't think I picked up any last week at Lover's Key, but here right off the bat, there's two of them. And it's sometimes in different areas, you'll just find different specimens. Now you can tell the tide is going out. It is ripping here in Key Waden when the tide goes in and out. It, I mean, it's not messing around. It, it's really ripping. And right now the tide is going out. Now that's a colorful moon snail I can get behind. That is beautiful. Yeah. I, second favorite shell. I love them. Now look at the first one I picked up. Again, fine. It just didn't have that, yeah, that bling to it. So that there, Oh, this one's nice too. So this is a dusky cone. Really, really good condition. Look at that nice dark with those white spots. That is beautiful. So that is a dusky cone. Would you look at that? Now that is a Sanibel turid. I did once, I found a live one once over on Fort Myers beach. They're actually really pretty here. Let me show you. So this was over on Fort Myers beach. This is a living Sanibel turid. Now it looks black because of the periostracum that we typically see on the shells. It's very, very thick and healthy. Like on the alphabet cone, the periostracum is almost like a black color. So that is a living Sanibel turid. Yeah. I was sad. I couldn't keep it, but I was very happy that I got to at least meet it. So that's what they typically look like. Okay. That is a cardida, the broad ribbed cardida. And yeah, this is the piece of an alphabet, um, alphabet of an apple murix. This, yeah, this looks like summer. The wave just kind of lapping at the edge of the water. Yeah. That, I probably thought that was something different. Sometimes a couple of inches of water will just make really kind of crummy shells look gorgeous. Yeah. It does some things you just, you can't quite tell the visibility, but I do have a tool. I have something for that. And I'm going to talk about that in just a second. Okay. Calico clam. Now it's an okay condition. It's obviously been here for a hot second. Now I'm using this bucket. Now I borrowed this bucket from Allie from SWFL shell guide, because once you cut that top layer of the water, it really, it's like snorkeling except I don't have to get completely submerged. So I will be using that bucket so I can wait. There's an Island out there that I'm waiting for the tide to go down and I'm going to go exploring over there. But in the meantime, I have to wait. So I'm going to using this bucket because I don't want to get in the water. Oh, look at that. So that is a banded tulip, a very nice banded tulip. Cintura hunteria. Lovely. So the bucket is going to come in handy when the water's a little bit deeper. Yep. There's another one, another Cintura hunteria. Great. Okay. I do like the orange ones. Those are my favorite ones to find. That one's an okay, an okay orange banded tulip. All right. Cool. The Texas state shell, the lightning whelk. Yeah, that's swell. I wish they got spiky like the keener whelks do. All right. That is calico scallop. Now they're, yeah, there is a little imperfection on the side, but I'm just learning a little bit. Sometimes those imperfections just kind of make it a little bit more special. That is a common auger. And I actually am a little surprised there's no hermit in there. Hermit crabs do like those augers for some reason, but that one is empty. Yep. Another scallop. Ooh, pretty. Another calico scallop. I like the orange ones probably because it's more rare. I think just with experience, you kind of get used to seeing certain things. There we have a worm snail and a mossy arc. Woo. Now seeing something this deep, rich color is unusual. So no matter what it is, that's going to make it kind of fun. This is a true tulip. It could have been a horse conch. It could have also been a ribbed cantharis. There's a couple of shells that might be that rich, rich color. All right. I wasn't going for a bubble. I was going for one of those juvenile fighting conchs. So that is just like a little bibbiff fighting conch. What is here? That is a, yep, that's a spiny joe box. It's got a little bit of algae on there. Seaweed. All right. Definitely things here. There's a chestnut turban. All right. It's clearly broken, but you can really kind of see how under that top layer of shell, you see the nacre or that mother of pearl. You know how you'll see those other shells when they have that nacre kind of exposed, they're like ground down. So yeah, they're manipulated to look all shiny. Cool. That is another spiny jewel bot. It's alive. Leave it in a little puddle. Wait for the tide to come back in. Well, actually the tide's going out now. I'm just waiting for it to get quite low. That is a ribbed cantharis, not in fabulous shape, but I happen to like them. So I may, I may just keep that anyway. Oh, I can make earrings if I wanted to. So this is another true tulip, that rich brownish red, that red color. Oh, that's great. Very pretty. Another cute little true tulip. Hmm. That is a, I'm going to go with lace. Yes, that is a lace myrix. Kind of reminds me of when way back when I couldn't really tell the difference between an apple and a lace myrix. I mean, they really, if they're worn down, they really do look kind of similar. Now this again, that is a ribbed cantharis. Yeah. Cool. And they can have a morph. So they can be very, very orange. Those are probably like some like favorite shells to find. All right. Bread crumb. We have a little piece of an alphabet cone. Hopefully. Yep. If I come to Key Waden, I'm hoping for cones. That's what one of the shells I really, really hope to find when I come here. So in a little bit, once I can kind of get out into that water, I'll be looking for, I mean, I'm looking for them now, just not technically expecting to find them. All right. Okay. We got a scallop. Yep. Yep. All right. And I'll check out this. So another banded tulip and another calico scallop. Great. What else? Key Waden is pretty good. It has a real nice variety. Now this, isn't that cool? So it's a fighting conch, but look, it's almost like it's wrinkled. So the animal made it like that. If I had to guess, I'm going to say that barnacle had something to do with it on the other side. And so the, the animal just kind of continued to make the shell around it. Oh, isn't that crazy? I love it. I absolutely love it. Now, believe it or not, us shellers call these shells freaks. I did not come up with the term freak. It is just a term that us shellers use when you find a seashell like that. They're actually desirable. So someone had once kind of called me out for using the term freak, but it is a term of endearment. We like those shells. I do like a good shark eye. Yeah, but this is missing quite a bit. So we'll just admire it and put it back. Oh, I see spots. Can you see them? I bet you the next one's going to be an alphabet cone. All right, there we go. Man, I think one of those chimney clams got a hold of it. It looks like somebody was trying to, yep, bury, you know, it's got some chunks missing. Still cool though, especially when you hold it like that. So I'm very, very happy. Yay. Check this osprey out. Check it out. It shakes. Oh, look at that. So it dove for its meal and we got to see that again. Look at this. And you can clearly see the meal in its talons. I thought that was fantastic. So that is an osprey, went down, got its meal, back up in the air, shakes off. Incredible. Okay. Yeah. All right. I'm working my way out into the water. Many things fascinate me, the osprey. There was actually tons of them out hunting today. All right. So in kind of in the key wading cone zone, or I'm trying to get there. All right. We have a smattering here. All right. What does the bucket say? What does the magic bucket reveal for us? Let's see. Don't think any cones. All right. Let's see. We got, all right. Survey says shark eye, a true shark eye. Okay. Definitely worth checking out. At least I got that right. All right. There we go. Now the tide's going out. I'm going to, I'm trying to, okay. Yep. There's still quite a while or ways for me to go to get over to that sandbar that should be getting exposed. And I don't know if you can tell that when I say ripping, yeah, the water is really moving. I'm going to stay upright today. I'm not getting in the water. Not today. Okay. So I noticed on the edge of this sandbar, it's kind of where I like to, shells tend to collect on the, on the edge of the sandbar. So I do like to kind of shell there. Oh, look, a Lace Myricks. All right. Broken Lace Myricks, but a Lace Myricks nonetheless. Yeah. That water is moving. Yep. Yep. Let's see. Okay. Nutmeg. Nutmeg that has been hanging around here for a little bit. Yep. Yep. Definitely. Yeah. Look, it's almost like worn down, like, like sanded smooth. All right. We also have another Banded Tulip. Yep. And a little Apple Myricks. Very long tail. Almost looks like a giant Rose Myricks, but that is an Apple Myricks. Oh, another one of those ribbed Cantharis shells. Some bonus Barnacles. Cool. Have not found all those orange ones in a while, but still swell. Oh, that is lovely. A lovely Apple Myricks. They're Phylonotus palmum. Some kind in the cone zone. Not finding anything. So it's kind of a mix. If the water is shallow enough, I'm able to just see, but if I'm not, I got the old bucket. So that's helpful. Okay. So where that stump is, that's closer to on the little sandbar or little islands that I'm heading towards. All right. So this technically should be a good area, or at least it was when, oh, what do I see? When the tide is super duper low. Yeah. That's what I'm talking about. Oh, that's great. Yay. It's intact. Yeah. It's got some something in the aperture. I'll get that out. I'll be gentle with it. Okay. Yay. Yay. So I do have two. I really only need one. So in theory, I've made my quota, but I'm still going to keep hunting because it's fun. And while I contemplate how I am so lucky to have this much fun, I'm going to be quiet and let you all have some beach time. The lettered olive, a live lettered olive. Now it has this little part of its body. See that like shovel part in the front? That's called the propodium. And that is the front of the animal that literally digs through the sand. So when it's alive, it goes down there and starts digging with that propodium. Here you go, buddy. Okay. Since the tide has been going out so much, in theory, the shine should kind of pick up a little bit. Oh, we haven't found one of these yet today. A buttercup lucine. Lovely. Yep. The butterier the better or they're kind of bulbous. I just like those. Okay. The sambar is kind of looking more like the little island that I was hoping for. Excellent. A bay scallop, another specimen we haven't found yet today. Oh, now here's now that one looks a lot nicer. That is a calico clam. Very nice. Some shells, they can just look dry. So when they've been out in the sun and in the sand and exposed for a long time, the minerals that are in the shells just kind of get leached out. Oh, a sand dollar. Yeah, those are pretty much either intact or not intact. There's not a whole lot of in between with sand dollars. So the five hole keyhole sand dollar, that's the one we have down here. And I've been picking them up for quite a few years. It still entertains me. It is still very, very fun to find sand dollars. So this is a hinged spiny jewel box. A little green, nothing that a little bleach wouldn't take care of. And the juveniles typically will have that pink color. All right. I busted the bucket out. Let's see. What did the bucket reveal? Oh, another alphabet cone. Oh, that's lovely. Now that's a little more orange. I tend to find the more darker like chocolate covered ones. Oh, that is awesome. Yay. Another alphabet cone. Oh, well, hello, shark eye. You're fantastic. So that is a true shark eye. Sorry about that. Yep. Aperture is ever so slightly kind of rough. Beautiful. That is gorgeous. Gorgeous. Thank you. Little sand bar here. So there's nothing like on where it's really, really exposed. It's kind of like on the edges of this little bar. So I'm finding now this was just kind of interesting because you can still see the juvenile shell in there. It just keeps growing and growing. And so in many of the shells, the juvenile version of it is still there. If it breaks a certain way, you can grind it down and find that original kind of juvenile shell. Just just interesting. Yay. It didn't eat the bucket. Oh, gosh, you are so pretty, too. Oh, you're wonderful. Now that blackish, that's kind of what's left of the periostracum. Oh, that's wonderful. That's great. Yeah. And there's nothing I could have done about the tide. The tide was late today. It's just the way it worked out. But better low tide than than high tide, I guess I'm going to say. All right. My yep. My tour is winding down. And that's just the way it worked. By the time the tide got real low, it was time to split. But this Florida cone still shells to be found before we leave. Wonderful. Let's see. We got oh, another. No, no. Very cruel. Yeah. Oh, I thought myself quite smart. Look at me. You find an alphabet. Yeah, no. So I'm going to remove that. I don't want someone to have that experience. I'll just leave the piece of shell up on the beach. Oh, that looks like strawberry lemonade. Oh, it's not pretty with like the little birds in there. And that's going to be the last shell that I get to pick up tonight. My time here on key waiting has run out. But let me go ahead and do a shout out to SWFL shell guide. That is who I use to come out here on key waiting. You can do the guided tours or the unguided tours. I highly recommend Ali. So anytime if you think you need to go see find some shells, get in touch with Ali. Not guaranteed you're going to find that fabulous little freak like I did. And, you know, the more I show, the more I learn. And those imperfections in the shells, it just makes them so much more interesting. And that uniqueness is what makes it so special. Now, there was a high and I mean, tiny bit of garbage point one barely registers. But you know what? Over time, it adds up. I've been able to collect a little over ninety four pounds of garbage from our beaches. Now there is 32 different species here, including those fighting conchs. There is the cantharis, the ribbed cantharis, the tinted cantharis and Gulf oyster drills. There is colorful moon snail, shark eye, buttercup, blue seam, jingles. These are the calico scallops. There's broad ribbed cardidas. There's one laced murix. There's lettered olives. There's a sand dollar, banded tulip, apple murix, augers, kitten paw, calico, clam, giant Atlantic cockle, bay scallop, lightning welks, spiny jewel box, mossy arcs. There's a coquina, Florida cone, worm snail. Yeah, my favorites are those alphabet cones, the dusky cone, the cenobal turid, the two true tulips. But honestly, that little weirdo shell, you can't make them like that. That is just a complete wonderful part of nature. And I think that that is amazing. You know who I think is amazing? I think my Patreons are amazing because they choose to monetarily support me. And I get to go out and find weird shells and do wonderful things out in nature here in Florida. So thank you from the bottom of my heart. You literally make this possible. Couldn't do it without you. Thank you. Now next week, I'm going on a wee little adventure going somewhere to two different I had never been before. I'm going up to shell key and Egmont key. So we're going to check out those keys next week. And until then, I hope you have yourself a fantastic week and I will see you again next Sunday. Transcribed by https://otter.ai