I have no idea what I'm doing

[Dragonlover]

First step to wisdom right?

 

So the two most likely sites I'll be hitting first will be Burnham-on-Crouch and East Mersea. Reading those two profiles, looks like a non-zero amount of sieving will be required to find anything, so I guess my first question is whats a good sieve to get? I'm assuming your basic  kitchen equipment is not whats being referred to here.

 

Secondly, in terms of identification, what are some good resources? Preferably books since I absorb printed info much more readily than something from a document online, but I'll take online if that's all there is. A sub-section of this is I need a good resource for what all the words mean and why something being Eocene and not Miocene is relevant, to pick a random example out of the hat. I absolutely appreciate that some of this comes from reading a bunch of stuff, but somewhere to start would be handy.

 

Thirdly... I don't have a specific third question, so whats the thing you wish you'd known when you first started collecting?

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Dragonlover 

[Fossildude19]

11 minutes ago, Dragonlover said:

... so whats the thing you wish you'd known when you first started collecting?

 

They call it FOSSIL HUNTING for a reason. Note that it isn't called FOSSIL FINDING!

Keep your expectations low, and if you find something, that's awesome! But be prepared for those days where you will find nothing, or very little. Nothing is guaranteed, and sometimes, the Fossil Gods do not smile upon you.

 

Don't be afraid to bring home things you do not recognize. You never know when something could be a rock, concretion, or a cool fossil.

 

Familiarize yourself with the fossils that are found in these areas. Spotting things is a matter of finding order amongst the disorder - and bilateral symmetry.

If you learn what the fossils look like, you have a head start to finding them, and recognizing them when you do come across them.

 

Join a local club if you can, to meet similarly interested people in your area.

It's a great way to meet people and learn what they have to teach you about the area.

 

Don't be discouraged. It took me about a year to start finding fossils in my area, and then, much longer, to find anything complete or identifiable.

Sometimes, patience is your best tool.

Good luck.

 

 

[grandpa]

My paternal heritage is in the British Isles:  Ireland, Scotland, Wales.  However, I've never had the honor of visiting the home of my patriarchs (albeit, this tops my "bucket list"), so I can be of no help in response to your inquiry.  Nevertheless, that does not stop me from extending a warm welcome to the forum.  Hopefully someone with local knowledge of the area will come along soon and point you in the right direction for further exploration.  Per Tim's guidance, the joy is in the hunt.  Don't let anyone deny you that thrill.  (Warning - it is addictive.)

[R0b]

I have used kitchen utensils to successfully separate fractions that contained fossils. But building your own sieve could be a good idea. But as mentioned familiarise yourself with the site your visiting, which fossils are common and choose your equipment accordingly.

Edited January 1, 2022 by R0b

[thelivingdead531]

I never had the pleasure of hunting those two locations, but if it’s within reasonable distance I would try Walton-on-the-Naze, depending on if you’re looking for anything specific. Walton had tons of nice invertebrates from the Red Crag, as well as exposures of London Clay that you can find shark teeth and pyritized wood. Also, Bawdsey is great for shark teeth, though it can be hit or miss. 

[DPS Ammonite]

Find a geology map of your area. Search for literature on the paleontology of each geologic layer. Find an experienced hunting partner; local clubs are are great resource.

 

Online research certainly beats the old fashioned library card catalogue and the periodical guide at the library. Although, talking to a local librarian to help you with online resources is always a good idea.

 

Welcome to the Forum from Scottsdale, Arizona.

[FossilNerd]

Since you are already here on The Fossil Forum, I’d suggest giving some of our sub-forums a look over.  

 

Especially the “Fossil Hunting Trips” section. Pay attention to the pinned topics at the top. There are a few there that can give you an idea on getting started in hunting.

 

I’d also suggest hanging around TFF and being an active member. I learned more here in just a month of asking specific questions, searching the forum, and researching, than I did in a whole year trying to give it a go on my own.

[Dragonlover]

First off, thankyou for the input so far. Especially the reminder to keep expectations low about if I'll actually find anything.

 

Second, did a bit of Googling and found this book: London Clay Fossils of Kent and Essex. Blurb makes it sound pretty good, and 25 quid is not the most I've ever spent on a speculative hobby purchase, anyone got any experience with it?

 

Dragonlover

[thelivingdead531]

4 hours ago, Dragonlover said:

First off, thankyou for the input so far. Especially the reminder to keep expectations low about if I'll actually find anything.

 

Second, did a bit of Googling and found this book: London Clay Fossils of Kent and Essex. Blurb makes it sound pretty good, and 25 quid is not the most I've ever spent on a speculative hobby purchase, anyone got any experience with it?

 

Dragonlover

I just recently bought a copy from @will stevenson, I think he might have another. It’s a very detailed book with lots of pictures of all kinds of fossils that can be found in the London Clay. It’s a nice reference to have. 

[Mark Kmiecik]

On 12/31/2021 at 5:02 PM, Dragonlover said:

Thirdly... I don't have a specific third question, so whats the thing you wish you'd known when you first started collecting?

 

Take your time. The slower you go, the more you see. The more you see, the more you find. Many times I have passed over something in a rush and the collector behind me said, "Hey, look what you missed."

[FranzBernhard]

5 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

Many times I have passed over something in a rush and the collector behind me said, "Hey, look what you missed."

How true! Luckily, I am that collector passing over some spots again and again and I am really often surprised what I have missed in the first (or fifth and so on) place. It so much depends on weather, dampness, lighting conditions, vegetation, viewpoint, mental state etc.

Franz Bernhard

[Calli99]

Funny, I was considering going to East Mersea today myself!

 

With these locations it’s important to be patient and as others have said, set your expectations low. You will have little luck strolling along the beach looking down, rather you have to find a spot, crouch down and look around for a minute or two, if you find nothing, walk on a few more steps and repeat.

 

A kitchen sieve/colander is a fine place to start, just have a designated utensil that doesn’t go back in the kitchen!

 

I don’t own the book you mentioned but by all accounts it’s very good. Whenever I head to a new location I like to search for it on this forum, to see if anyone else has been there and posted useful information. At first you may be picking up all sorts of non-fossil things but when you find something decent you’ll know it. Pick up whatever looks interesting and bring it home for a closer look.

 

Additionally, a lot of Essex coast locations are very weather dependant and we’ve had relatively pleasant weather recently which is not ideal for fossil hunting. Storms and rough seas turn over the beach and erode fossil bearing cliffs. This is just something to bear in mind when planning trips or if you find that fossils are scarce right now.

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by Calli99

[Dragonlover]

5 minutes ago, Calli99 said:

Funny, I was considering going to East Mersea today myself!

 

I'm waiting until the caravan park opens back up so I can use my Mum's as a base of operations, maybe make a weekend of it.

 

6 minutes ago, Calli99 said:

Additionally, a lot of Essex coast locations are very weather dependant and we’ve had relatively pleasant weather recently which is not ideal for fossil hunting. Storms and rough seas turn over the beach and erode fossil bearing cliffs. This is just something to bear in mind when planning trips or if you find that fossils are scarce right now.

 

This is fair, and a good thing for me to bear in mind. I mostly want to get used to things like the rough layout of places and how to actually get there in the first place, along with distinguishing things from other things at the kind of scale we're talking about.

 

13 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

Take your time. The slower you go, the more you see. The more you see, the more you find.

 

Makes sense, works the same when digging through my 40K bits for that one specific arm I want.

 

More questions!

 

GPS tagging, is that just done on an app?

 

Storage and display. My wife just asked the very pertinent question of 'When we find stuff, where are we gonna put it' and I didn't have an answer beyond 'Some sort of display box with like, small compartments?'. I don't need to worry about anything more than about a centimetre at this time as far as I can tell, so I figure there must be some kind of rock collection display case or similar that would be fine?

 

Dragonlover

[Calli99]

2 minutes ago, Dragonlover said:

 

I'm waiting until the caravan park opens back up so I can use my Mum's as a base of operations, maybe make a weekend of it.

 

 

This is fair, and a good thing for me to bear in mind. I mostly want to get used to things like the rough layout of places and how to actually get there in the first place, along with distinguishing things from other things at the kind of scale we're talking about.

 

 

Makes sense, works the same when digging through my 40K bits for that one specific arm I want.

 

More questions!

 

GPS tagging, is that just done on an app?

 

Storage and display. My wife just asked the very pertinent question of 'When we find stuff, where are we gonna put it' and I didn't have an answer beyond 'Some sort of display box with like, small compartments?'. I don't need to worry about anything more than about a centimetre at this time as far as I can tell, so I figure there must be some kind of rock collection display case or similar that would be fine?

 

Dragonlover

 

I have no clue about GPS tagging. I just record location and allow my phone to record location data for photos I take if need more specificity.

 

For storage you have several options. Gem jars for display are quite good, as are small archival boxes. I put smaller fossils not on display in small plastic sample bags with labels. This can go in labelled, office style storage boxes.

[ChristineR]

Fossil collectors truly accumulate knowledge. Geologic timescale and geologic maps are a good place to start. 

 

One of our members, @Wrangellian, has composed and posted an excellent timescale. I have this one pinned to my Home Screen. see page 4 for the most recent version. 
 

Good luck!

 

 

 

[siteseer]

On 12/31/2021 at 3:23 PM, Fossildude19 said:

 

They call it FOSSIL HUNTING for a reason. Note that it isn't called FOSSIL FINDING!

Keep your expectations low, and if you find something, that's awesome! But be prepared for those days where you will find nothing, or very little. Nothing is guaranteed, and sometimes, the Fossil Gods do not smile upon you.

 

Don't be afraid to bring home things you do not recognize. You never know when something could be a rock, concretion, or a cool fossil.

 

Familiarize yourself with the fossils that are found in these areas. Spotting things is a matter of finding order amongst the disorder - and bilateral symmetry.

If you learn what the fossils look like, you have a head start to finding them, and recognizing them when you do come across them.

 

Join a local club if you can, to meet similarly interested people in your area.

It's a great way to meet people and learn what they have to teach you about the area.

 

Don't be discouraged. It took me about a year to start finding fossils in my area, and then, much longer, to find anything complete or identifiable.

Sometimes, patience is your best tool.

Good luck.

 

 

 

Right, Tim.  I've been collecting fossils for over 30 years and I'm still really good at finding nothing sometimes.  You can reach a site that has been reached more recently by someone else and find perhaps a fragment of something and that's it or some decent specimens might have washed downhill into some poison oak and thick scrub.  I don't try that anymore.

 

It always pays to find a library with paleo and geology journals and also rockhound magazine back issues.  Check your local library for whatever they have, but for technical journals of any kind, you most likely need to go to a university life/earth sciences library.  Librarians are always helpful.  If you follow the rules and they get to know you, they might let you use the free copier in back if the public copier goes on the fritz.

 

 

 

[siteseer]

On 1/1/2022 at 4:58 AM, Dragonlover said:

First off, thankyou for the input so far. Especially the reminder to keep expectations low about if I'll actually find anything.

 

Second, did a bit of Googling and found this book: London Clay Fossils of Kent and Essex. Blurb makes it sound pretty good, and 25 quid is not the most I've ever spent on a speculative hobby purchase, anyone got any experience with it?

 

Dragonlover

 

Oh yeah, that's a great reference not just for London Clay fossils but for Eocene fossils in general.  Some of the species are also known from North America and Africa (and elsewhere).  And I'm not just saying that because one of the co-authors is an old friend.

[Dragonlover]

12 hours ago, siteseer said:

Oh yeah, that's a great reference not just for London Clay fossils but for Eocene fossils in general.

 

Good, cause I ordered a copy last night.

 

I am far too tired to try and interpret that timescale, but I will definitely come back to it.

 

Dragonlover

[Mark Kmiecik]

On 1/1/2022 at 6:58 AM, Dragonlover said:

First off, thankyou for the input so far. Especially the reminder to keep expectations low about if I'll actually find anything.

 

Second, did a bit of Googling and found this book: London Clay Fossils of Kent and Essex. Blurb makes it sound pretty good, and 25 quid is not the most I've ever spent on a speculative hobby purchase, anyone got any experience with it?

 

Dragonlover

I just looked at the link you provided for the book. I checked the contents, and it seems like a winner. I've spent over $100 for similar guides. Plus this appears to have the sieving info you need. Good luck with the hunt, but be aware of the addictive nature of this pursuit.