Here's an obscure bit of intel: two great times to collect shells at Corona Del Mar, California, and at nearby beaches. In particular, sea urchin skeletons and top shells. Corona Del Mar is a lovely beach with a mile of sand between the cliffs and the jetty and a winding path down to the beach or a parking lot for those who can't take the climb. A lot of people don't realize that on the east side of the beach where the water comes up to the cliffs, there's actually sea caves, not to mention tidepools full of hermit crabs and anemones.
There's a huge spine of rock that sticks up over on that side, which takes some clambering over rocks to reach. On the backside of it is a shell bank. You can usually find olive shells, mussels, pretty little red and green snail shells, and a lot of rather knobbly whelks there.
However, I've discovered two times of the year when something a little special floats in. Not every year, but most years!
Valentine's Day is one time -- I know because I happened to be there that day. It's probably still good today. What washed in that week was huge, huge top shells; conical white shells that are a bit knobby on the outside but with a lot of pearly color on the inside. They're not the prettiest shells in the world, but the big ones get as big as your hand.
The other time is about the second week of December, when I happened to be going down to collect fragments of shell from the shell bank to put on the outside of homemade candles. To my surprise, there were HUNDREDS of sea urchin skeletons washed in. They're beautiful and fragile, and at other times of the year it's rare to find any intact. They're green, banded, little round mushroom-shaped knobs, a bit like puffed-up sand dollars.
Note: while I do collect shells on Corona Del Mar Beach, it seems only polite to give something back to the beach as well. And the best thing you can give it is a clean-up. People leave SO much trash. Take a couple plastic bags with you -- one for recycling, one for junk -- and leave the beach cleaner than when you found it.
Also, please remember that Little Corona Del Mar, about a mile and a half further east (distinguished by the big natural stone arch out in the water), is a tidewater preserve where a freshwater marsh empties, so you should NOT collect any shells or other items there, because that's a delicate ecosystem. Besides, it just makes sense to have some beaches with no collecting allowed, to make sure we're not taking all the goodies. Likewise Crystal Cove, about two miles east of Corona Del Mar, is a preserve -- bleak, beautiful, a few miles of cliffs with no lifeguards or tourists in sight -- so treat it gently.
Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, on the other hand, are public beaches, so keep your eyes out for shells there too.
California beaches are some of our most important treasures. Treasure 'em and teach your children how to love and use them without abusing them, and they'll be able to teach their children the same thing.
