Shelling at Tigertail Beach on Marco Island

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 

Hi Blog!

After several kayak outings, we were eager to get out and stretch our legs. A good long beach walk would do the trick. We are camped only a few miles from Marco Island. There are several public beaches on Marco Island, but the description of Tigertail Beach sounded interesting. This pristine beach offers some of the best shelling on the Gulf Coast. The area is a remarkably unspoiled haven for nesting shorebird dubbed the “best all-around birding location” by the Great Florida Birding Trail guide. 

Tigertail Beach is a Collier County park, and thus not widely known outside the region. It’s also “new.” Fifteen years ago, it was an off-shore sandbar. The winds of Hurricane Wilma piled sand on the southern end, and today Sand Dollar Island, as it is called, is connected to the mainland.

Here is a drone image from their website:

Everyone assumes Tigertail Beach was named because of the shape of the sandbars that curve around to the inlet. However, it was called Tigertail because the entrance was near Tigertail Street. The street was named “Tigertail” by James Vensel, Deltona’s chief land planner who named all of the streets on the Island. As a longer street, it received a longer name (so that the names would fit on the maps), and the street fits the name “Tigertail” as it runs northwest and then loops to the right. 

We started our walk near the concession stand and walked south in order to go around the lagoon. A number of beachgoers just waded right across. That might have been fun, but we wanted to log a few miles. We would eventually have to wade across the outflow of the lagoon, so we put our valuables in dry bags in our packs. We ended up not taking any photos of our adventure.

We did come home with shells:

Lots of shells:

Some we haven't seen before:

These blue mussel shells have an iridescent glow.

After four miles of fun in the sun, we built up a powerful thirst. The Dolphin Tiki Bar specialized in frozen concoctions. Dave's go-to is the classic pina colada. Kathy picked the Blue Hawaiian. 

Tomorrow, we head to Everglades National Park. We may not have any cell or internet, so don't worry if you don't hear from us. Just keep on keeping on!