RCW3D Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 First off, I just want to say that I have had a love for the Potomac River for over 25 years...not for fossil hunting, but for bass fishing. The river has been good to me and I made many checks in the tournaments that I participated in there. When I moved into this area 10 years ago, I thought that I would spend all of my recreation time chasing bass on the river...but it wasn't meant to be. I basically stopped fishing tournaments when the price of gas got so astronomically high and I found that I didn't miss it...little did I know that I would find another reason to love this river, and I can't get enough of it! I wasn't expecting to go today, I had a day packed with meetings that I knew I had to attend. My wife texted me around noon, wanting to know what the tides were like on the river...when I looked and saw it was favorable for the late afternoon/evening, I got an idea. My last "meeting" was a teleconference so I could easily attend while driving to the river...GAME ON! My wife dropped me off at an access upriver and I'm guessing it was about 1.5 miles of beach to search before I met up with her again. The river finally had receded from the high water that I saw the past week, my hopes were high as I stepped out to start searching...only to get deflated when I saw footprints in the sand. Oh well, just have to look harder! Almost immediately I found a beat up croc tooth, it was a start though. I went about a 1/4 of a mile when I surprised a bald eagle...I was only about 20 yards away from it, the closest I have ever been to one in the wild. Normally they don't put up with human intrusion and will take off long before you can get close...I snapped some pictures and kept going. I continued on and about 50 yards past it and I saw the where the footprints turned around...virgin territory now! I'm glad that they did turn there because it wasn't much further when I found the Otodus lying along the water's edge. I continued along, finding a couple of croc teeth, one pretty nice. I also found something that I'm not sure of, I will defer to the experts here as to whether it is something or not. All-in-all, I had a great evening on the water! The start. The eagle. The Otodus when I found it. Time to go! The combined haul. Close up of the Otodus. Croc teeth (my wife found a beat up one too), Turritella Gastropod mold, ray plate. My unknown find. 3 Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Nice finds, great report!! Thanks for sharing! Tony PS Nice eagle encounter!! Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Breakin' Rocks Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Really cool finds Rob .... you know the unknown might be an ironstone nodule ?? I run into them occasionally here in Savannah, and honestly wherever I am usually looking. When they are wet they can be almost jet black. Bone heavy they can be tricky because of the odd shapes they can take. You've got me itching to head down there for my visit at thanksgiving. The teeth look cool, but the quiet and the natural beauty of the area looks most inviting. Cheers, Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belemniten Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Nice fossils and great report ! Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils Regards Sebastian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barerootbonsai Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Very nice finds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleoworld-101 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 I think your unknown find is a piece of softshell turtle shell. Here are some of mine from the Isle of Wight- 3 "In Africa, one can't help becoming caught up in the spine-chilling excitement of the hunt. Perhaps, it has something to do with a memory of a time gone by, when we were the prey, and our nights were filled with darkness..." -Eternal Enemies: Lions And Hyenas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-tree Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 I love the nature side of fossil hunting .....good finds and the eagle is a bonus. Cheers John Be happy while you're living for you're a long time dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCW3D Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 Paleoworld - I was thinking turtle when I found it but with only 2 months collecting, I'm hesitant to make any ID's without checking here...so much knowledge here and the willingness to share is awesome! Brett - I'm aware of those and I find them there as well. My first few trips I took some home until I realized what it was that I was looking at. 1 Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Yes, it's trionyx turtle shell as Paleoworld-101 has said. That's a long way from home Paleoworld-101! I've been to Bouldner this year and grabbed a few. 1 John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Great scenery and wonderful finds. Do you ever haul out some of that lovely driftwood? I agree with Paleoworld and John on you unknown. Kara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCW3D Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share Posted September 13, 2016 10 hours ago, Khyssa said: Great scenery and wonderful finds. Do you ever haul out some of that lovely driftwood? I agree with Paleoworld and John on you unknown. Kara Funny, as a kid my mother was crazy about collecting driftwood and there were many days that I lugged back her finds from the beach...I never got that bug, I'm too busy turning over the wood to see what is hiding under it! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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