In April we were in Plymouth for an educational beach walk with the Beach Ambassadors from the Goldenrod Foundation. It turned out to be a really great field trip with lots of seashells found! We met in the parking lot at Long Beach and there I was able to show and talk about my seashell collection so that everyone was primed before we set out to comb the beach. We then carpooled in 4-wheel drives out to the field station house and from there set out on the beach to search for seashells. It was a beautiful day, a bit windy, but not too cold. The Ambassadors are in training to help with educational efforts to preserve and protect this rich environment. For more information check out their website and blog: http://www.goldenrod.org/blog/become-a-beach-ambassador-in-2015 

Here are a few pics from the field trip...

I'm in front with Dorie Stolley, Program Manager for the Goldenrod Foundation and behind us the wonderful Beach Ambassadors.

Dorie found this beautiful Sea Scallop. It's not something you usually see; never mind one with so much color! This was found on the harbor side. (Plymouth Harbor)

A European Oyster and a Stimpson's Whelk. This is the second time we have found a European Oyster here on the harbor side.

In November, on our way home from Maine we stopped at Sandy Point on Plum Island. Last time we visited Plum Island we walked the middle section of this lovely barrier island and found many beautiful shells including the Chestnut Astarte. This time we drove out Refuge Road to the southern tip called Sandy Point. It is also part of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. 
It was such a beautiful spot and we did not have much time to comb the beach so I cannot wait to go back and really explore. Till' we get back again- enjoy this little video. (Watch it till' the end for a little surprise.)
I also want to clarify that the Northern Moon Snail has a large foot that it holds the clam with while it tunnels through the shell with it's radula. The radula is like a ribbon with little teeth and the snail uses it like a file. Kinda scary if your a clam or another Moon snail - because they can be cannibals! 
Still - they have one of the most beautiful shells on the Northeast coast.

Not long ago I was invited by Dorie Stolley of the Goldenrod Foundation to be a guest leader on a field trip to discover the mollusks of Long Beach in Plymouth, Ma. I was thrilled to accept the invitation.
On Sunday, April 27th Dorie, my husband and I, the Beach Ambassadors, and PACTV (Plymouth Area Community Television) reporter Brian braved the rather chilly temperatures for a beach combing afternoon.
At first many of the finds were pieces of shells -some hard to distinguish - except for the iridescent bits of blue mussel. But as we made our way down the beach we were rewarded with many wonderful finds.
We found HUGE periwinkles, slipper shells, surf clams, blue mussels, quahogs, black clams, soft shell clams, gould’s pandoras, northern moon snails, bay scallops, waved whelks, a stimpson whelk, a sweet little new england whelk and one gorgeous specimen of a New England Neptune (also called a ten-ridged whelk)!
It was a wonderful afternoon and I was so pleased to meet and be in the company of so many environmentally conscious people. I was able to talk about the seashells I love and the creatures that inhabit them. It was a great day - one that we enjoyed immensely!
My thanks to everyone who participated and special thanks to Dorie for the invitation! I’m especially pleased with the work that the Goldenrod Foundation is doing to protect and preserve the nature of Long Beach. I was honored to be a part of their mission.

On the vernal equinox (March 20, 2014), my husband and I walked the spit of Plymouth Long Beach along the harbor channel. It was a good hike and we were happy to find lots of shells. I picked up a few as you can see from the photo - The top shells are the two halves (or valves) of an oyster, many Moon snail tops (I think there is a craft for them in the future), Periwinkles, two Gould's Pandora shells, one Flat Slipper Shell, a False Angel Wing, a huge Operculum from a Moon Snail, a broken New England Dog Whelk, three Bay Scallops, a neat rock, two pieces of beach glass and a fish bone vertebra. We also found the carcass of a dolphin and later we found two of it's ribs on the shoreline.
The shell that surprised me the most is the oyster shell. It looks more like a European Oyster Shell and I'm curious if anyone knows if this is possible. (I have read that they are farming them in Maine?)
But the big treasure of the day - is that large Operculum - it is the "door" to the Moon Snail - it covers it's aperture - the opening of the shell.
We also saw some Brant geese, Common Eider ducks and Sanderlings - sweet!

European Oyster?

The dead dolphin : (

The Operculum. (door to opening of Moon Snail)

Brant Geese & Sanderling.

Dolphin ribs.

Eider ducks.