Seashells by Millhill

Take Your Camera to The Beach

Along with the towels, chairs, cooler (no glass please) and umbrellas, pack the camera when planning a day at the beach….. Can you tell I wrote this post back when all I had was a camera to use and not an iPhone?

Time for an update to this blog post!

I do think that getting photos at the beach is a good idea and it’s much easier these days when everyone has a camera phone with them. How far we’ve come!

Finding Unexpected Beauty

Aside from photographing the kids or your sweetie, the beach can offer up unexpected beauty. It may treat you to a showy golden sunset, a rainbow, or a space shuttle launch (I see those from my local beach). Some natural occurrences like this are gone in a flash, so be ready for the unexpected.

beach sunset low tide seascape golden — This image is courtesy of Pixabay

Treasures From the Sea

You never know what might wash up on shore either. Empty seashells are okay to collect, but leave the living ones where you find them. That would be a great time for a photo!

There could be dolphin, sharks, or who knows what swimming by. On “my beach” we have ghost crabs and sea turtle nests. Lots of wildlife visit the seashore, and although they will probably stay away when people are around, you never know.

hand full of seashells beach shells — Only take empty shells! (Photo: Pixabay)

Someone may catch a big fish! That is what happened when we were hanging out at the beach near Ponce Inlet. As he carried the big bluefish back toward his car, I asked if I could get a photo.

Photos of Iconic Landmarks

Beaches are usually busy places. The Florida beach near where I live has lots of buildings and some iconic places like The Breakers Restaurant. This pink building has lasted through hurricanes and all the new “upgrades” done in the area. It remains a casual eatery where great burgers and fish sandwiches are served to patrons who have beach front seating.

Breakers restaurant on the beach — Breakers Beachside at the end of Flagler Ave., New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Amazing Plant Life

Along the ocean beaches we find some amazing plant life that we don’t see inland. These plants and trees have special growing needs and have adapted well to a sand and salt environment.

I plan to write about the flora I’ve photographed over the years on my beach visits. Most of it I can’t name, but I’d love to know what’s out there.

dune plants — Dune plants with yellow “flowers”

The mangroves grow along the river beaches and create their own islands. Their strange roots are visible at low tide where oyster beds usually form.

What Happens at Your Beach?

The sightings listed on this page are only a few of the many possibilities of what can be found along the beach. I’d love to hear what you find or enjoy seeing on your beach-going adventures.

Lighting Whelk: The Left-Handed Seashell

two seashells — Aperture comparisons of the crown conch (L) and lightning whelk (R)

On a trip to Sanibel Island, on the Gulf coast of Florida, in 1991, we were able to find many lightning whelk shells. Most of them were inhabited by the mollusk and were easy to spot moving about on the sandy ocean bottom. I had no idea what I was collecting when I picked up the 4 inch long shell, but I knew it was a beauty and I felt lucky to have found it. I lived closer to the east coast of Florida where I’d never seen a shell so lovely. It was long and had beautiful streaks of brown running the length of it and the spiral on top was gorgeous.

I added it to my seashell collection and didn’t think too much about it.

I now know that it is a Florida Lightning Whelk and that it is known as being sinistral, or left-handed. When holding the shell at the pointed end, or bottom, you can see that the opening, or aperture, is on the left side. My photo to the right, shows my lightning whelk next to a crown conch to show what I mean. My reference book, the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Shells says that this shell can be up to 16 inches long.

It’s not difficult to find information and pictures on-line of this popular shell and if you are looking for more just google the name. If you get to visit any of the warm water beaches between North Carolina and Texas, you just might find a living lightning whelk.

Lightning whelks (Busycon contrarium) eat mostly bi-valves (shells with 2 halves) and especially love clams which they pry open using their strong “foot”.

A lady at Flickr has an interesting photo (below) of a lightning whelk egg case. If all of these babies had hatched, that would be a lot of new lightning whelks.

Please click this link to read what “biggertree” has to say about her photo below.