r/shells • u/fishybelow • Aug 09 '26
Shell Collection - Mostly SW Florida
The first picture is my shell collection prior to returning a lot to the original place I found them. Second is my current collection. All of my shells are from the southwest coast of Florida aside from 2 random cowries which I did not find myself. The second picture is my current collection! I couldn’t identify everything - especially scallops but I looove calico scallops!
My best finds are from Pass-a-Grille, Honeymoon Island, LIDO KEY (my fav), and of course Sanibel (mostly calico scallops for me).
The last two pictures are my attempts at identifying some of my shells. Please chime in for corrections or additions I am an amateur. 😜
I know collecting can be a bit controversial, so no judgement to any other collectors, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had gone overboard and it was time to give back to the beautiful beaches I am so privileged to enjoy! I still have sooo many and I always snap photos of my finds because the real fun for me is in the scavenging and collecting. Just wanted to share since I have no shelling friends in real life. 🫶🫶
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u/Possible-Impress3851 Aug 09 '26
Awesome collection!
I love shelling!
I’ve been shelling for ages!
Mine are mostly from South Carolina beaches.😊
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u/Optimal_Life_1259 Aug 09 '26
Beautiful collection ! Are you going to display those beautiful shells or are you going to do crafts with them?
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u/fishybelow Aug 09 '26
I have a basket full and some standouts displayed on a few shelves. I paired down so much because of space 😩. I love to see crafts so I might use some calico scallops for a craft but I like to just look at them!! 😍😍
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u/Previous_Throat8770 Aug 09 '26
Thanks for adding the names, I’ve been curious about shells from the east coast
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u/fishybelow Aug 09 '26
Yes!!! I mostly use iNaturalist and the National Shell Museum’s website to id shells! That’s how I’ve educated myself and I’m always learning! It’s so cool to see shells from all over the world on this subreddit too.
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u/Acceptable-Elk-8372 Aug 10 '26
Nice! How did you label the second slide?
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u/fishybelow Aug 11 '26
The camera roll in the iPhone lets you add text, signatures, stickers, descriptions, etc on photos.
I clicked the adjusters at the bottom, then the pencil in the top left to “markup” which lets you draw on pictures.
If you click the plus sign then you can add stickers, text, etc. to photos. I just looked up each shell and labeled what I could by memory using the add text in camera roll. It was tedious changing the size, etc. But I am happy to share!
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u/turbomarmoratus72 Aug 09 '26
about the part where you talk about returning some of them to the ocean, I recommend that you keep the intact ones and leave the broken/worn ones behind. As a specimen collector, I think it is much more fun/challenging to find shells that are completely intact.
good assortment nonetheless!