Apple snail. Limpkins (bird) eats them. They snail has a roundish shell door they close to keep predators out. Limpkins stick their pointy bill in there and pop they’re in. The birds leave shells on our dock.
If you see a row of pinkish eggs deposited on a water weed, piling, etc they are likely apple snail eggs.
It isn’t a native Apple Snail nor one of the introduced invasive species of apple snails. It could possibly be the native Campeloma decisum, but it might be the Invasive species Cipangopaludina japonica .Here is a photo of a shell of one found on the Saluda River here in SC.
@castoff , @Overstreet
Thanks for the comments. I just thought it would make a good photo. Now you got me thinking and I’ll be doing some reading to get to know this little guy.
If you want to know about the sex life of slugs, you’re at the right place.
Could be worse…
They could be muskovies. They leaves big messes that stain.
We have a motion detecting sprinkler head that sprinkles them away.
Someone missing a brain?
Wow, wow and WOW! What an incredible world as seen from a small boat! What an incredible experience just to share these pictures.
Looks like a bryozoan colony. Is it in fresh water? Bryozoans are fascinating, “moss animals” somewhat between plant and animal and related to colony corals. I met a marine biologist who studied them shortly after I discovered a similar brain-sized floating mass in an arm of Lake Arthur in Western Pennsylvania about 15 years ago. She said they are filter feeders who are actually a sign of pretty clean water and a healthy environment.
Just remembered, in 2020 I posted a photo of the bryozoan mass I found in post 112 of this long-running thread.
Black Vultures have become more and more common locally in recent years. It is pretty cool when you come across one unexpected.
There were several in a tree, and a few on posts or stumps near the water as we came around a bend. I never have happened upon this close, we simply let the current take us closer and past them.
I do think black vultures are becoming more common in this area. They seem to be gradually shifting their range north. Unfortunately, black vultures seem to like pulling and tearing apart things like boat seats and rubber trim on cars, so can be quite a nuisance. But as a whole vultures are quite fascinating. I have read that they expend less energy gliding on thermals than they do simply perched in a tree. And, we owe them some thanks for cleaning up carcasses…
Thank you for solving this mystery.
This is from fresh water: Robinson Pond, Hudson, NH. First time we have seen so many of these, many twice the size of a softball. I have been paddling here for over 20 years; unfortunately, as of today, the pond is closed to swimming, due to high bacteria count. I hope the bryozoans can help us out.
There are some good articles on them. This one by “Lake Stewards of Maine” praises them for helping to preserve clean water in that adjacent state:
https://www.lakestewardsofmaine.org/programs/other-programs/bryozoans/
