Finding Seashells on an Island. Kayaking to the 10K Islands for Beach Treasures!

Hello beach friends. Well, we're at a marina and that means we're heading to an island. Today we'll be checking out one of my favorite islands, Kais Island. I know it might come as a shock, we're going to be looking for some seashells, probably going to find a few, and just checking out the beauty of Kais Island. Being out on an island looking for seashells is always really a treat. Now, summer is coming and that means rainy season and the weather on this particular day was going to be clear so I figured this was the time to go check out Kais, even if the tide was going to be high the entire time. Will the tide make a difference? Well, there's only one way to find out. Let's go to the beach. So it is a lovely day to be out on a kayak. I do know this time of year, this is when the summer storms are going to start popping up, but like I said in the intro, the weather was going to be fine so I figured I better get out here while the getting's good. Now, the only little drawback was that the tide was going to be high the entire time and I generally like to go shelling when it's low tide, but let's just see if it makes a difference. So I finally, or almost, here we are, finally made it over to Kais. I was kind of happy the tide was high in the sense that I knew my kayak was still going to be there when I went back. Now, I always recommend wearing shoes if you're going to come to Kais. This is not the kind of island you're going to want to traverse in flip-flops, so plan on wearing something rather sturdy if you do plan on coming to Kais. So the first thing that I'm going to pick up is an angel wing. It looks a little on the discolored side, but that'll clean up no problem. So we got ourselves an angel wing. So far, so good. So that's what the tide is going to look like for the next couple of hours. It's going to be pretty high. However, Kais is always fantastic for shells. I'm doing a quick scan here. Is there anything good? Why, yes, yes there is. So that is a colorful moon snail. That is a very colorful moon snail in the moon snail family, so pretty happy with that. Shell also called a gaudinotica. I'm going to hold on to that. I know it's a little chipped, but that's okay. And this is another moon snail. This is called a shark eye, and it looks, it's this, their cousins look a little different. The coloring is a little different. That one is actually a false shark eye, but a moon snail nonetheless. Here we have one of many murixes. This is the apple murix. Sure, it's got a little beach stuff on it, but that'll pick off no problem. Oh, and we have a little drill. So this is a moth-mouthed drill. Starting to get a little bit better with these guys. I just got to keep picking them up. So that's a moth-mouthed drill. Oh, and this was a bummer. I kind of had to get over some stumps to kind of get at this alphabet cone, and it wouldn't bother me with all the beach stuff on it or the green, but it is a little pitted. It is, you know, it's kind of beat up, and the aperture is a little broken. So that's what I'm doing when I pick up these shells, is really what kind of condition is it in? I'm checking out what is it? Can I appreciate any other kind of colors in it? Am I going to keep it? So that one I'm probably not going to keep. This one, on the other hand, this paper fig, I will hold on to that. Yeah, it's got a couple barnacles on it and a tiny little chip, but I still think it's pretty. So I'm going to hold on to that paper fig. And then this very, very common. This is an Atlantic slipper snail. It just happened to have kind of cool coloring on it. So I thought that was a little interesting. I figured I'd hold on to that. Oh, and a piece of a true tulip. Yep, that is what that is. It is a piece of a true tulip. No mind. Here we have a lace murex. Excellent. And the juvenile ones, the little ones will have a little bit of that pink on top, which is always kind of cool. Now shelling is typically better in the winter. So I am really, really curious. Every time I've been to Kais, it has been outstanding. And I really am curious if it's going to be like this all year long. So hopefully at some point I will be able to kayak over here again in the summer, you know, avoiding those rains. But for now, we'll see. We'll see what the May June time period is going to have for us. Lovely, lovely moon snail. So this is another shell in the moon snail family. That is the shark eye. That's a nice one. And it is a false shark eye. Terrific little find. And then here we have some critters. So these are cloudy periwinkle. They are not true marine snails. They hang out, you know, like near the water. They call it the splash zone. So you will very often see these on trees, stumps, woody type structures that might be by the beach. And this shell, I know it don't look like all that much, but it's kind of cool because Kais is the only place I find these. This is a thick leucine. So first time I found one was here on Kais, and it seems to be the only place I see these thick leucines. And here we have a critter that is just chilling. This is a sea star called a short spined sea star. Doesn't seem to be doing all that much, but let's take a closer peek. Oh, so pretty. All right. So that is a live critter. They can, as you can see, tolerate being out of the water for a short period of time. It is not super, super sunny. So this little critter will be just fine. The tide is right there. Yep. Critter will be fine. All right. The next interesting thing looks like a banded tulip. And for whatever reason, this area, they're everywhere. It's pretty awesome. So that is a banded tulip. And then sometimes if the shell was big enough, the operculum from the animal will also come loose. So that is just a little trapdoor of a lightning welk. So that is called an operculum. And this shell I was really excited about. I thought that that was a different shell. It was so big and so orange, but that is one big, beautiful Florida cone. Oh, very, very happy with that gorgeous shell. Okay. Another one of those colorful moon snails, quite colorful. It's almost even a little bit purple. And that's what I like. I might find 20 of those and I still like checking them out just to see the different colors, different patterns. All right. Now this was actually really, really cool. This is a broad paper cockle. I suspect that this shell is a little on the rare side because I've only found two. This is only the second one I've ever found. And it is impossible to find the name of this shell. I really had to dig. So that is a broad paper cockle. There is no lack of shells here. Now I do tend to spend a lot of time on the North end of the Island. When I get there, you know, I just start shelling right away. I'm kind of trying to make it a little more South to kind of check out that area as well. We'll see how that goes, but that was the plan. Do a little bit of scanning, check out what I can and kind of hit a little more of the interior of the Island. So that is a top snail. Pretty run of the mill, typical, that color and size top snail. And then this was just unusual. Very, very, very common. That is a ponderous arc, but to see it hinged like that. And with all that black periostricum, I thought that was kind of unusual. So I know it's really common, but I'm going to hold on to that hinged ponderous arc. Oh, we have a lettered olive, nice, big, fat, shiny, pointy, awesome lettered olive. So here we have an angel wing. This is a false angel wing though. You'll notice that the pattern starts at the top and does not go all the way across the shell. Kind of starts to get a little flat toward the end. And then this is also an angel wing. This is known as a fallen angel wing. It is a little broken on the bottom, but it's got kind of a weird little flat side to it. So that is a fallen angel wing. Exciting to find it here. I've only ever found those down at Fort Myers Beach. And then here is your classic angel wing with, again, with that pattern going all the way down the shell. So that is a couple of different types of angel wings. Oh, so many goodies. Okay, another banded tulip. I do really like them. Really, really like them. And I really like those to the juvenile fighting cock. So couple of more terrific shells. Here is a clam that is a calico clam. I think they are quite fancy for just a clam shell. So I kind of tend to collect those as well. All right, another colorful moon snail. Yeah, that's, that's colorful. Kind of got a nice yellow base color. Not real dark markings, but still, that is a pretty shell. And, oh, I saw that orange. Another, okay, so that is another Florida cone. It's in decent shape. I'll take that. And another, that is a lace myrix. And those are the two shells that I just really, really like. And they seem to be in abundance here. The lace myrix and those colorful moon snails. Definitely not going to complain about it, though. More sure. Oh, and a purple tegalus. Usually those have that periostracum, so they look a little on the brown side. But for whatever reason, this purple tegalus actually looks purple. So that is what that little shell looks like. Kind of neat. All right, a little orange. Yep, just one. Little orange horse conch. Those are just great little shells. I love the little white tip on them. Little horse conch. And another Florida cone. It, that is in fantastic shape. Lovely lemon yellow color. Another Florida cone. And a pear whelk. Now, I know it looks like a channeled whelk. I actually thought it was when I first started collecting. We don't get channeled whelks down here, but we do get the pear whelks. Okay, another. Let's check out the pattern on this. All right, it's not too patterny. That is another one of those colorful moon snails. Still pretty, though. I'll hold on to that. And a jasper cone. All right, kind of neat. For whatever reason, I only find them like that size. They do get up to about one inch. Check that out. So that is another one of those moth mouth drills, and it's like a lavender color. Oh, I thought that was so pretty. Pretty psyched with my little purple and my little cone. And that is another top snail, but this one is much more dark. We had talked about the abundance of melanin in some of the shells. It's probably, perhaps, what's going on with that one. And a decent lightning whelk. Okay, yep. We're definitely going to hold on to that as well. And then this is a lettered olive. I was kind of hoping it was on the light side, but this is not an albino. I really am trying to hunt down an albino lettered olive. I've seen photos of them. I know they exist. I'll find one one of these days. And that is a calico scallop that just happened to be very bright purple. Very pretty. And another lace murix. More on the juvenile side. It's relatively lacy. Yep, that is a terrific little lace murix. Oh yeah, I knew I was going for the glowing shell. So that is just one of those little calico clams. Oh, it's got like a little top of a heart on the bottom. Yep, just a real pretty bright orange scallop. Okay, another moon snail. That is very light, if I had to say. Oh, and another. All right, let's compare. Yeah, that first one was really, looks kind of washed out, but I suspect it's really just the nature of the color of that particular shell. There's no lack of those shells here. All right, so this is an apple murix. I did used to confuse those quite often with the lace murix. The apples are just like a little more squat. They kind of have like a fat part in the middle. Oh, there's so many shells. So I don't know. So far, so good. I am definitely going to keep hunting. I'm going to be quiet for a minute though and let you guys enjoy looking down because I always am looking down for things like this apple murix. I know it has like beach stuff all over it, but that'll come off no problem. No problem. All right, another colorful moon snail. Pretty colorful. I like the bands when you can, just when you can see really deliberate bands on the color, a little bit of purple on the inside. Very nice. Lovely, lovely shell. And one of the best things I think is that I don't have to worry about somebody else taking my shell. I'm here by myself. I can take my time. Yep. There's tide still quite high, but so far, in my opinion, it really hasn't affected the quality or the quantity of shells you can find here. Oh, gorgeous angel wing. Fantastic. Wow. Fantastic angel wing. And look at that lightning welk. I like the little horns on it. So nice dark lightning welk along with this beautiful angel wing. Yeah. And then I do put my delicates in a little hard container. So anything that I'm afraid is going to break or is kind of special and I want to be able to have quick access to it or is very tiny, all those kinds of things are going to go in my little container. Very pretty calico scallop. Gorgeous color on that. Yep. Got some good scallops here on Kais as well. This little talon looks like a giant white rose petal talon, but it is an alternate talon. Kind of fun. Yep. Big old white alternate talon. And this little apple murrex was so red. It just had like a really pink color, like a pink undertone to the shell, which I wasn't really used to seeing on, at least not on the apple murrex. I know that they are pink when they start out as little, so maybe it's just hanging on to that pink color. Kind of cool. Apple murrex. Little banded tulip. That's decent. Yeah, I'm going to hang on to that. Oh, this is even more exciting. It is a spiny jewel box and it's hinged. So I always enjoy finding one very spiny jewel boxes and two if they're hinged. Well, that is a bonus. Fantastic hinged spiny jewel box. And one and the two apple murrex in fantastic shape. That is, I can rinse and go with those nice clean apple murrex. Fantastic. And a common nutmeg. If that's what you were going to guess, you were right. So that is a common nutmeg. Do love the pattern on that, like the beading. I like these two. Actually, I kind of, if I pick up a shell, I probably like it. So that is a ribbed acanthurus. These I happen to like because they're kind of boxy looking, just like those ribbed acanthurus shells. I'm hoping it's not broken. Oh, yay. It's tiny bit bendy, maybe just a little bit. Fantastic colored lightning whelk. And while I'm here, might as well grab this top snail. If you look real close, those almost have like a beaded surface as well. So the top snail and lightning whelk. All right. Not surprised. Ooh. Okay. I was gonna say not surprising to lace murrex, but this one is really pretty. It's super pretty. It's really lacy with its little frills on the end. Gorgeous lace murrex. And like I said, no shortage of banded tulips here on Kais. You're not going to find me complaining, believe me. And I spy, oh, a little pear whelk. Fantastic. It's a little banded tulip and a little pear whelk. What else do we got? All right. Here is another moon snail, a shark eye moon snail. Appears to be a true shark eye. A little green. No problem. That's what bleach is for. Oh, so that is a live banded tulip. You can see it's operculum. We had found one of the lightning whelk operculums earlier. We'll get it into the frame. There we go. So that is a live critter. There's the operculum there. It's like critters just doing its banded tulip thing. We'll just say hi and leave it be. Keep on looking for seashells and whatever else we might find. Wow. So that is a true tulip and they come in the most gorgeous colors. That is absolutely beautiful. Great condition. I've said it before. I'll say it again. They are much harder to find than the banded tulips. Oh, well, we have a very green pear whelk. Green doesn't scare me at all. I'm going to go ahead and take that home. And then here is an apple murix and this is more on the light side. Sometimes they'll have real dark brown coloring and this one is still an apple murix. The coloring is a little bit different just to make, just to keep things interesting. Shake it up for you. Now, I know, I know how lucky I am to live here and this kind of thing I wouldn't say I see on a regular basis, but it's not necessarily uncommon and I definitely don't ever want to be a shell snob. I know that shells, even if they're a little beat up or like the banded tulip, as a matter of fact, I was shelling, um, when I first started shelling, I picked up a banded tulip and I had run into another sheller and we were exchanging pleasantries. What did you get? What did you get? And I said, Oh, I got, you know, I was all excited. I got some banded tulips and he kind of stops and says, Oh, that's a rookie shell. And I, I was like, well, but they're so pretty. So you know what? Like if there's a shell that you really like, I don't care if it's really common or if you just find it all the time, maybe it's just something that you particularly like. I say, just go for it. You, you just keep that shell. And I don't, I've told the story before about the, the rookie banded tulip, and I don't ever want to be like that. I want to always enjoy and find these things just absolutely beautiful like this and interesting. That is a Florida fighting conch with a little drill jammed into the aperture there. So as many of these nutmegs I pick up, I'm going to appreciate every single one. So that is a common nutmeg with really great dark coloring on it. Fantastic. Okay. Let's check out the coloring on this colorful moon snail. Okay, nice. You can kind of see the differentiation and the different bands on it. Very nice. Oh, look at that. All right. So that is a crown conch and that is something that is a little unusual to find down here. The color is a little, it looks washed out, but I think it's just a little bit faded. So that is a crowned conch. Very nice. This is a bay scallop and those come also in pure white, but this one happens to have that lovely orange coloration on it. Terrific little bay scallop. Wow. Look at that one. So bay scallops, so they say, get up to about four inches. Now that one's definitely not quite four inches, but it's much bigger than some of the ones that I usually find. So I'm pretty tickled with that bay scallop. Not so tickled with the glass because technically it's garbage. So I did find, believe it or not, on this island, I did find a little bit of garbage. So I am, since it's small enough and I can physically carry it, I am going to remove it from the island. And we have another ribbed cantherous with a bonus little barnacle. It's empty, so perfectly safe to collect. And then we have this pointed, I mean, really pointed, lettered olive. Just unusual. So that's another thing that's just a little bit different about the shells. When you look at this olive, the top on it, it's, it's pointed barely. It's kind of like stunted. So it's just one of those things, one of the attributes, always something different to kind of check out with these shells. And that's one of the things with those lettered olives. Ooh, okay. So I made it to kind of this spot. I don't normally make it all the way over here. So I was excited. Yay! I kind of made it to the interior of the island a little bit. Of course, I'm going to creep around just to see, because the water will come up. You can see the shells all the way up on the left side. So shells could be anywhere in here. The tides will, when they're real high, come up and push the stuff even more. And I did spy something. So I had to kind of make my way over there. Again, wear good shoes. And looky here. So we're looking at a pretty decent alphabet cone here. Nice size. Now it does look like the animal like went on a couple growth spurts. You can kind of see those lines where it's a little bit different. Nice aperture. It's fine. It's not broken. Decent color. Nice size. So I'm going to be pretty happy. I'm definitely taking that alphabet cone home. And just to kind of give you a view of what's going on on the ocean side, because most of the time I'm kind of looking down, because I do like finding things like this. Beautiful! All right, so that is a Florida Fighting Conch. And it has a beautiful natural shine to it. Nice and clean, gorgeous color. So I'm gonna go ahead and probably hold on to that. This one's nice and light. I'll definitely hold on to that as well. So we have a calico scallop. Excellent. So yeah, this is what Kais looks like. Not too shabby. So it's always, it really is. It's always exciting to be out here by myself, just enjoying the island and the shells and nature. And once again, happy to share with you. Now this is something else that happens all the time. So I came, I'm going to check out. So this is a buttercup lucine. I'm like, all right, you know, it's kind of colorful. And so then I pick up this docinia and I'm like, wait, wait a minute. Look at the way that those ridges are raised. I think that is an elegant docinia, not the disc docinia that I typically find. Now you're probably rolling your eyes. Okay, shell nerd. But for me, this is kind of exciting. So I quick found a disc docinia. They are relatively common and you'll see the lines in them there. You can't really see them with your eyes. They're there. But when you look, so there's the disc docinia. You can barely see those lines. And then on the elegant docinia on the right, they're very, very evident. So I was actually really kind of excited because I have been going through my shell book and I had come upon the elegant docinia, realized I'd never found one. And I can knock that shell off my list too. So I know it's not, hopefully that didn't bore you. Well, I would hope this doesn't because that is another true tulip. I know it's a little broken, but I really, really have a hard time finding them. So I'm still going to hold on. Look how wonderful it looks. You hold it just so. But look at that one. Now I did think I was pulling out a Florida fighting conch. And when that beautiful brown shell came out, I was super psyched. Look at that. Oh, I'm very, very happy with that. I do have a hard time finding those true tulips, especially that size in good condition. So pretty happy with that. Now this, I just found interesting. So I suspect a turtle probably snacked on this Florida fighting conch. And it just was interesting to me because the colors go all the way on the inside as well. And it's just kind of broken in such a way. Yeah. I'm going to keep that too. And look, there's going to be a good lightning whelk there. You might as well grab it. So this is another real nice dark lightning whelk. Fantastic. And another bay scallop. Yeah. Nice and pretty. I do tend to gravitate toward the gastropods, which are more like the banded tulips and the horse conchs, but the scallops, they come in such a great variety of colors. So those are another shell that I do like to admire. All right. Now what do we get? All right. We're going to scan. We see anything. And I actually had to go back twice. One, I did not miss the gaudy nautica. We are going to go back and get that. And there was another little shell that did look like that broad paper cockle, but it wasn't. It was just a juvenile giant Atlantic cockle, but I did not miss the gaudy. I do miss shells sometimes, but not that time. And then here, I did want to show you, I had a little bit of technical difficulties. I did change the camera for a little bit. And then I was admiring this Florida fighting conch. And that's one of the things I don't really like about this camera because it's a little fuzzy, but there is like an indentation in the row of ribs there. And then this one, the coloration, what is going on with those like white bands? That is so weird, but I am going to show you a little bit better. We're going to do a little more shelling. And then before we leave the island, I'll show you a little bit better of a view. So that just kind of, that really kind of opens it up so you can kind of see all the piles of shells that are here. And I suspect that, you know, there's always some piles of shells here on Kais. It's going to be older stuff. It's going to be bleached out, but there's always something going on here. But again, it'll be interesting to see as the summer progresses, if I'm going to find anything really kind of collectible, if there's going to be those pretty banded tulips and all those other good shells. And then I'm always happy when I go back to the boat and it's still there, but I wasn't worried this time. I knew that there is my kayak. Yay, still have my trip home. So we're going to go from here all the way back to the marina, but the wind was at my back. So that was good. So that is that weird wonky looking Florida fighting conch. So that, you know, the animals either injured, made the shell a little wacky, and then that other one with the bands on it. And so I'm into my weirdo shells, definitely going to hold on to those. And I just continued to collect shells. Nah, he didn't miss much. It was more of the same little horse conchs, banded tulips, your Florida fighting conchs and whatnot. So just, you know, do a quick little paddle and that's it. We're off the island and we did manage to grab a couple shells and a little bit of garbage too, which is good. I didn't remove much today, only 0.1 pounds, but in total since March, I've removed over five pounds. And this is all the goodies we got. Of course, the banded tulips. They're always going to be there on Kais, kind of like, like a friend, you can depend on them. And then some augers, that pair of angel wings, which looks real nice paired like that. There's the Florida fighting conchs. And then of course we got tons of those gaudies. There was a whole bunch of those. We did get some clams, the Sunray Venus clam, the Calico clam. We got that hinged spiny jewel box, the hinged ponderous arc, the lightning welks, couple of cockles, the top snails, the drills, the mauve mouth drill. We have some ribbed cantherous. We have the nutmegs, little horse conchs. I did the jingles and the Atlantic slipper snail. The scallops are really cool. And I went ahead and put those docenias in with the other bivalves. We found a bunch of those lace muric shells, a couple of Jasper cones, the olives, the Florida cones, the apple murics. And now we're kind of moving into my favorite stuff, the moon snails, the crown conch, that one orange Florida cone, the broad paper cockle, the true tulips, which was awesome. The alphabet cone, that little purple tagalus. I don't know, thought it was cool. All in all, I mean, it was a nice variety of shells. So I'm really, really glad that I went when I did because I don't know how it's going to be in the next couple of months, but we're going to find out. Patreons, thank you so, so very much for supporting me, especially these days. I really do appreciate it. And everybody else who comes along, thank you so, so very much. Next week, we're going to find out what was left on the beach after that little storm came through. So until then, I hope you have a fantastic week and I will see you next Sunday.