Tag: beachcombing

A Scary Walk in the Lagoon Where Alligators Call Home

This time our boat took us south to Mosquito Lagoon. We don’t go to this area often and I forgot that alligators can be in this water.

A few weeks ago my son and I decided to try out a new boat launch down on Merritt Island. We put in at the Biolab boat ramp, which has a good size parking lot and one small ramp. The trouble was that the ramp is in shallow water, with a marked access out to the Lagoon which was also shallow with lots of grass.

Travel Through the Canal

We put the boat in, to begin our boating day, on the East side of Mosquito Lagoon.  Then traveled north and east through the Haulover Canal. Boat ramps charge $10 on Merritt Island. I have yet to see a really good boat ramp in the area.

Haulover canal bridge
Haulover Canal bridge, heading to the West side of Mosquito Lagoon.

It was a beautiful day as we started out and we were looking for some of the Spoil Islands. That is not marked on my map. We headed further south and then backtracked to the railroad bridge. Our deserted island quest fizzled out, for various reasons, at the railroad bridge we veered right and stopped at a beach. This was a shallow area, so I walked in the knee-high water looking for shells while my son went a bit offshore to fish.

My goal was to find some living sea snails, and maybe even a cool empty seashell.  I had my iPhone and did find some nice shells.

As I walked over toward, what looked like, a dark water hole (called Roach Hole on a map), I saw a skull (photo below). As I was getting this photo, I wondered what type of animal it could be.  

animal skull
Animal skull – Gator!

I continued shuffling through the shallow water, which was murky as the depth increased, in search of seashells.  The bottom was muddy and this was obviously a place where few people ever ventured.

The only excuse I can make for my complete ignorance of the fact that alligators lived there is that I have never beach-combed in this area… but… it is part of the Intracoastal Waterway system where I usually beach comb. Except, usually we are far north of the Lagoon area, where I have never seen a gator, nor have I ever heard of one being spotted.

Alligators are known to live around the Kennedy Space Center, Mosquito Lagoon waters, which is where we were, but on the west side. ……. I simply forgot about that.  This water is not as salty as the water in the northern Indian River.  To the North, ocean tides move the water level, whereas the Lagoon water level does not move according to the tides.  I believe that gators prefer less salty water, which would explain this.

Screen Shot 2018-04-19 at 9.55.28 AM

Water was flowing toward me out of that dark blue lagoon.  In fact, it was looked more black than blue.

Alligators Are The Creepiest of Florida’s Wildlife

It wasn’t until later when I began reviewing my photos and saw that skull photo again that I realized I had been strolling casually through water that most likely held gators.  You don’t have to see them to know they are there.  Alligators will sit on the murky water bottom and wait for their next meal to come along.  When they bite, they mean business.  They will drag their prey underwater and roll until it drowns.  

The recent story of the woman who died after a gator pulled her into the water is the type of thing I think about whenever I am near fresh water in Florida.  As the story says, it’s rare, but I can recall many such stories over the years.  They mainly target small prey such as children and dogs that are near the edge of the water.  Or bite when swimmers invade their territory.

Nearly every bit of freshwater in Florida contains alligators.  My son and I just saw a small one alongside the highway, Route 528, on our way home from the airport.  We’ve had a lot of rain so the ditches were full. Although Florida is mainly a swamp, I would not purposely live near any freshwater pond or lake.  And I would never swim in one, except for the springs, which are clear.

Alligator facts you should know:  They are fast.  They may sit still on riverbanks and look lazy and complacent, but they can move when they decide to.  Once a gator chomps down on something he is not willing to let go.  They migrate on land and in water.  They mostly attack in and around water, but can be encountered anywhere.

 

More boating adventures along the Indian River.

Take A Closer Look When Seashell Collecting

Finding unique seashells takes some close scrutiny of the sand around our feet.

If you are not a regular beach-walker and seashell collector, it may seem that the good seashells (usually we think they will be big too) will be easy to find.  If only you find them first.   But heading to the right beach, at the right time, is not all it takes to find unique and wonderful shells.  Often a closer look at the sand beneath your feet will give up surprises.

In my photo below, it seems as if there are few shells here to find.  But that is not true.  All the seashells in my photo (next one down) were collected in one day here.  But I had to look closely, and I picked up a lot of stuff I didn’t want, in order to find them.  I also walked back and forth along the breakers more than once.

Screen Shot 2017-04-14 at 9.56.39 AM
The water was gorgeous, but it was very windy with rough seas

As I walked the beach at Ponce Inlet yesterday afternoon, I didn’t see many people looking down at the sand. Most people were hanging out in chairs, or walking and talking, or in the water fishing. It occured to me that searching for unique shells takes some intense looking. I had to closely scan the sand around me in order to collect some unique, smaller keepers.  It made me wonder if anyone ever looks closely at the shells beneath their feet.  I know they would scramble to pick up a whole starfish or sand dollar, but I doubt many people give much thought to other inconspicuous shells, or the creatures who made them.

arks
Arks – Most commonly found

The beach was full of shells, with more being exposed as the tide went out quickly. Most were the commonly found arks and other types of clams. They are thick bivalves, which make them easy to find in one piece. Don’t get me wrong, they are nice looking, but can be found all over this area. I was looking for something that would be relatively rare to add to my collection.

My sons and I spent nearly three hours on the beach, fishing and beachcombing (they fished), and today my back aches from the constant bending and standing. Who knew that shell collecting could be a workout?

I found many beautiful shells, and a few I have not collected before. Unfortunately the surf is rough and finding whole shells here is difficult. So I collected some pieces of shells, and bits of sand dollars,  knowing that I may never find a perfect specimen.

east coast florida beach shells
The collection, pre-washing

A few of the shells I found were easy to see, just beneath the waves, or stuck in the soft sand. The big, white Angelwings immediately attracted my attention, and although pieces were missing along the tops, I took them home.

I also brought home three Channeled Duckclams, which I see a lot, but are always broken. Usually I only find bits and pieces not worth collecting. Yesterday I did take the big broken ones. Their shells are thin, like the Angelwings, so finding a perfect shell is tough.

Other shells that were fairly easy to find were the black ones. Black stands out against the beach sand, and against the others. Happily, most of the black shells I went for ended up being Jingle Shells! One black shell was a piece of what looks like a whelk of some kind, but I loved finding all those jingle shells.

But some of the most awesome shells I came across were very small and could only be found by looking closely at the sand. They blended in with all those arks, but every now and then something different would catch my eye. It helps to know a little about seashells. They are not all the same, although at first glance they may seem to be.

black jingle shells
Jingle shells with clams, dosinia, and piece of a spiral shell.

I was able to add two Dosinia shells to my bag (lower left in photo above). I love the feel of their smooth flat surface. And I rarely see them. A little gray sharks eye was sitting on the sand, and although it was broken, I collected it. I’ve found big beautiful sharks eye shells while out boating but they are always inhabited by hermit crabs.

lettered olive and mollusk
Tiny olive shell with mollusk inside

Other unique (to me) shells were the Stout tagelus, slipper shells, cross-barred venus, a black scallop, and two lettered olives (one alive, which I left in the sand).  And I found some things that have baffled me.  I’m still researching photos in my seashell book, Florida’s Living Beaches, to discover what they are.

As I write about each of the shells I found, I will link back to this page so you can click to see the photos of the shells.

Shells I Found on New Smyrna Beach

sharks eye seashell on the beach in florida
Sharks Eye Shell with Mollusk

I took advice from the research I’ve done about shelling and pocketed some little seashells from my recent trip to New Smyrna Beach.

I found living mollusks inside their shells, like this little shark’s eye shell, which I photographed and left alone.  There were only a few shells down by the water, so I did my searching up near the dune line where high tide may have deposited some goodies.

We went onto the beach at the Flagler Ave. entrance and headed north to park the car.  I saw a few sea turtle nests roped off with yellow tape, up near the dune area where cars are not allowed.  After swimming and boogie boarding for a bit, I took a break from the water and went in search of treasures at the high tide line. Continue reading “Shells I Found on New Smyrna Beach”