Disc Dosinias on Fort Myers Beach

A few weeks ago I was down on Fort Myers Beach, toward the south end, and found tens of thousands of beautiful white clam shells washed up on the beach. Most of them still had both halves connected. I wondered why so many dead clams in one spot? Could they have died from red tide offshore and then washed up with the currents? Perhaps it was a purely natural life-cycle event and no evil organism is to blame. Who knows?

These were small, delicate, white clams called Disc Dosinia (Dosinia discus). It is the first time I've seen these clams, although my reference books say they are common. Perhaps I've seen them before, just not in the thousands.

I have seen mass strandings of Fighting Conchs on Lover's Key and on Clearwater Beach, but I suspect that some mating ritual is involved with that. Below is a photo of the beached Fighting Conchs (Strombus alatus) on Clearwater Beach in 2005.

I couldn't help but pick up the little Dosinia clams; they were so clean and fresh looking. No wear and tear at all. It's always nice to find fresh shells on the beach that aren't worn down by the sand and surf.

Sea Turtles: You Never Know Where They'll Lay an Egg

When we think of sea turtles nesting, we usually think of a turtle crawling out of the surf onto a Gulf or Atlantic beach, digging a hole, and laying her eggs in the soft beach sand. But recently a loggerhead turtle nest was discovered on Bunche Beach, in the Fort Myers, Florida area.

Bunche Beach is actually a small sandy beach in innermost San Carlos Bay, across the way from the north end of Estero Island (aka Ft. Myers Beach). This beach is extremely popular with humans, mainly because you don't have to fight the traffic to get to the islands. It's also popular with kayakers because it's a great place to launch into a quiet bay.




A recent article in the News-Press gives the details about this significant discovery. It seems that Eve Haverfield of Turtle Time Inc. (a nonprofit that helps turtles), fought for years to prevent Bunche Beach from being open to dogs (dogs can disturb the nests). She insisted that this was indeed turtle nesting grounds. Opponents argued that a turtle nest had not been seen there in years. Well now Eve has been proven correct.

You see, loggerhead turtles don't reach egg-laying age until they have reached 10 to 30 years of age. Then they may return to the beach where they were born to lay their eggs. This particular turtle might have hatched from a nest on Bunche Beach back in the 1970's!

Read the article about the Bunche Beach Turtle Nest.

Bunche Beach is located off Summerlin Road, on the way to Sanibel Island. Turn left at the traffic light at John Morris Road and drive south for about a mile. The road dead-ends at the bay and there is a narrow sandy beach. The water is shallow and the bottom is muddy. It's more of a place to hang out and do some sunbathing, fishing, or kayaking. It's not really a swimming beach. And there is definitely no surf there. Last time I visited there were no restroom facilities.

Pets are not allowed.