Tiny black... eggs?

[MacDracor]

Today, I noticed a couple hundred tiny black/brown specks in one area of my tank. At firt I thought "Whoah! I'm way overfeeding the sinking pellets!" until I realized that these were less than 1/4 the size of those pellets even before they soak up water!
I've been scouring the ID threads hoping to find someone with the same question, with no luck. I found one single vague reference to feather dusters producing tiny black/brown eggs, but no picture so not very helpful. I do have a small pink feather duster who is MIA since last night. I think it abandoned it's tube and moved in the night.
Attaching a picture. Best I can do. These are really tiny. Under 1 mm. Peppermint shrimp kindly provided scale.

 

[MacDracor]

Please ignore the diatoms. Clean up crew hasn't been to this area of the tank recently. LOL

 

[amorin]

better picture please

 

[AquaRick]

Looks like maybe snail poop. Can't be certain with that picture though.

 

[MacDracor]

Unfortunately, wheen dealing with objects about a half of a millimeter in diameter, it can be difficult to get any better. I could zoom, but at a loss of clarity. The peppermint shrimp (I assume it was him) ate most of them. There are very few left, so a new picture is unlikely. And if it was snail poop, why nothing for the month and a half the tank has been going, then overnight hundreds of them?
You see my confusion? LOL

 

[AquaRick]

Have you checked that spot in the last month? It could have collected there over time.

 

[MacDracor]

Yeah... I'm one of those obsessive always staring at the tank from every angle looking for anything and everything going on types... This is the area nearest my recliner, so it's the most visible spot, and I'm looking in this tank dozens of times a day, every day. This was an overnight phenomenon.