Long weekend fossil hunting in Buffalo

[Al Tahan]

Hey everyone,

 

This past weekend I was out in Buffalo, NY for my bachelor weekend. My brother planned a fun fishing/hiking/fossil weekend at an air b&b on Lake Erie in wanakah. We had the house from May 30th to June 3rd. Buffalo is like my Mecca. I need to go there at least once a year and get back to my roots where I first starting being fossil crazy. I did some form of fossil hunting every day. I came out to buffalo early and stayed late to get extra time in! One major highlight from the weekend would be 3 pygidiums and a cephalon w/ 3 body segments of the rare pseudodechenella rowi trilobite!!! I also found some top notch big brachs!!! 

 

Heres general list of what I did. 

 

Thursday 5/30

-type locality of wanakah shale (lake shore)

-smokes creek, Buffalo (wanakah shale)

 

Friday 5/31

-fished bear lake. Caught 7 bass 

-Hamburg beach surface collecting 

 

Saturday 6/1

-Penn Dixie 

 

Sunday 6/2

-18 mile creek highland on the lake (big bust, water levels)

smokes creek, buffalo (revisit wanakah, hiked all the way to windom shale)

 

Monday 6/3

-Smokes creek, West Seneca (wanakah shale)

-Francis rd, Bethany Ny railroad cut (big bust, now posted trespassing). Went on the way home. 

-purchased a few Eurypterids from a friend in Rochester. 

-Got back to Utica New York 8pm.

 

 

 

I can’t show every single thing I found cause I took a lot of material with me. I did however find a lot of amazing stuff!! I’ll break up the findings by each day. I’ll mention locality and if it’s from the wanakah or windom shale. I’ll show the best stuff (still lots!!) and spare everyone the extras haha.....

 

Bear with me. I’ll be uploading pictures in chunks throughout the day. 

 

Thats everything. Looking at each column from left to right.

1. Wanakah shale type locality 5/30.

2. Smokes creek (wanakah) 5/30

3. Hamburg beach 5/21

4. Penn Dixie 6/01

5. 18 mile creek (lake shore), smokes creek (wanakah, windom) 6/02

6. Smokes creek, West Seneca (wanakah), Francis rd, Bethany (2 small specimens).

 

Ill upload the highlights and extra details later today. Stay tuned!

[Tidgy's Dad]

[BLT]

[Heteromorph]

[Fossildude19]

[Mark Kmiecik]

Any smallmouth bass? 

[FossilDAWG]

So, is the access to the shore at 18 mile creek still closed off?  Did you use a boat to access the shore?

 

Oh, and regarding the fossils:   

 

Don

[Yoda]

Sounds like a fantastic collecting trip.

Jealous 

[Rowboater]

Looking forward to seeing your specimens!

[Al Tahan]

59 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

So, is the access to the shore at 18 mile creek still closed off?  Did you use a boat to access the shore?

 

Oh, and regarding the fossils:   

 

Don

I wish I had boat access....old fashion wading in 4 feet of water with my bag over my head down 18 mile to the mouth to avoid private property....if the water was lower I could have hiked 1.5 miles south along the lake shore and it’s all wanakah and windom shale. My favorite “hike” but I only got 100 yards south before the lake was smashing the cliffs and I just gave up the fight. I just hunted that small stretch of beach and went back. 

[Al Tahan]

Darn I can’t find my scale!!! pictures will come after I get out of work around 530 eastern time. I was trying to post my first part on my lunch break but I messed it up.

[Al Tahan]

My first stop on Thursday 5/30/19 was the wanakah shale type locality in wanakah. Lake shore access was always challenging here and it’s now almost impossible unless you boat there or are part of a special club that has access to a pathway to the beach. I had to hike a long ways around from a nearby creek and it wasn’t easy. I probably won’t bother much with this locality in the future. It seems like it’s become more privatized. I always thought the lakeshore was public access. I guess it’s changing.

 

 

This was my best Eldredgeops from this spot. It was just sitting on the beach half covered (you can see the dark area wheee it was covered). All It needed was a few taps and it popped off. Perfect....no damage to the fossil at all. With an airbrush this will be a gem!

 

this fella will need the help of some carful prep. The limestone is very sticky and this was a really fresh split. 

 

this was the first trilobite I found when I was there...first of the weekend...it’s hurting but it set the tone for the rest of my stay in Buffalo. 

 

I don’t have many of these...tichenor limestone Eldredgeops. It’s almost impossible to collect from the tichenor so I was happy to nab a few bits....they are usually very big in this unit.

 

besides the first flawless trilobite from here this was the big prize!!! 2 Pseudodechenella rowi pygidiums! The wanakah has always produced more rowi’s for me. I’ve never found a windom specimen. I honestly think they are more common in the wanakah. 

 

Other than those hose highlights I found some trilobite parts and some decent brachs... onto the second stop on Thursday 

 

 

 

[Al Tahan]

My second stop on Thursday 5/30/19 was my favorite smokes creek locality in buffalo. This area has the wanakah shale and windom but I stayed in the wanakah this trip. 

 

This is just a nice hash plate from this trip. Has a few 3/4 specimens.

 

Some of the nicer trilobite finds. 

 

this was a really different find for me. This little plate has 4 small blastoids on it. Kinda neat. I’ve never collected these before. 

 

again....the wanakah here produces a rowi pygidium!!!!! Thats a first for smokes creek for me. It’s not much but man is it rare! 

 

I did find a lot of brachs on this trip including a couple single shelled Spinocyrtias and 2 poor condition megastrophias........that changes later in the weekend

 

That’s it for Thursday 5/30. Gotta leave the house for a bit so I’ll do the rest of the weekend in a few hours.  

 

[FossilDAWG]

Nice finds!  I'm especially envious of the blastoids.

 

It sounds as if things may have changed a bit regarding 18 mile creek.  A few years ago it was extensively posted and I think there may have been security cameras.  The adjacent property owners actually own to the middle of the creek, and so people were being ticketed for trespassing even when they tried to wade down the creek without touching the banks.  I think the actual lake shore is "public property" (not sure how far from the water that extends though), but of late local landowners have been quite successful at ensuring that there is no way to get to the shore, except perhaps by boat.  Perhaps local collectors could provide some info

on the current state of affairs.

 

Don

[Kane]

Some very nice finds. The prepper in me is just drooling over what I would love to do with some of these. 

[Al Tahan]

2 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

Nice finds!  I'm especially envious of the blastoids.

 

It sounds as if things may have changed a bit regarding 18 mile creek.  A few years ago it was extensively posted and I think there may have been security cameras.  The adjacent property owners actually own to the middle of the creek, and so people were being ticketed for trespassing even when they tried to wade down the creek without touching the banks.  I think the actual lake shore is "public property" (not sure how far from the water that extends though), but of late local landowners have been quite successful at ensuring that there is no way to get to the shore, except perhaps by boat.  Perhaps local collectors could provide some info

on the current state of affairs.

 

Don

To be honest if I ever go back I’ll need a canoe. It was extremely hard to wade. Also, there were people all over the place. Half a dozen kayakers and 2 kids were rope swinging from the middle sand bar that has built up to an island. I highly doubt those kids were supposed to be there but I felt more comfortable seeing everyone around using the mouth. I’m my opinion the cleanest way to do it is canoe/kayak. I’ll never wade again. To messy and apparently it’s walking a thin line on what trespassing is. More Fossils incoming 

[Al Tahan]

On Friday 5/30/19 me and my twin went fishing at bear lake south of buffalo. Joe was actually not feeling well. He laid low and only caught a few. I did manage 7 but most were pretty small. It was still fun. 

 

Joe is bottom right...yea we are identical twins lol.

 

After fishing joe was going to come with me to Penn Dixie but it turns out him “not feeling well” was actually a pancreatitis attack. So the afternoon changed. Long story short, Me and joe both have a genetic abnormality that triggers pancreatitis attacks. We can’t stop it and we never know when it will come. It requires hospitalization and there’s no way around it. So I had to bring him to kenmore mercy and get him admitted. Not exactly how I imagined my bachelor weekend going. I felt so bad for joe cause he really wanted to be with friends and family. 

 

Once I got him admitted I couldn’t go to penn Dixie but me and my cousin walked Hamburg beach and surface collected. 

Nothing special as the beach was picked over pretty good. My first ever fossil hunting was on that beach when I was less than 10 years old. It seemed fitting to visit there quickly before sunset. Me and my cousin spent most the day with Joe so this capped off the evening. We all visited him at night after the daily activities throughout the weekend. 

 

Onto the next day .

[Tidgy's Dad]

Some nice trilos and I love those blastoids! 

Really sorry for Joe. 

[Al Tahan]

On Saturday 6/01/19 me my friend and my cousin went to Penn Dixie to smash some rocks!! For the 4 hours we were there I’d say we did pretty good . They got a nice set up there with loads of spoil piles. I spent all my time in the spoils.....aaaaaand rush creek looking for the wanakah....it was a huge bust. Lol. 

 

I am really stoked about this find. I’d have to say over 98% perfect. Only a small small area is missing exoskeleton. This will prep into a nice 3D beauty!!

 

my cousin found this beauty and gifted it to me. He only saw the edge of the trilobite and split it. The exoskeleton on the glabella came off in 2 clean pieces and I was actually able to recover and re glue it! 

 

 

a good save in my book. Looks way better. Now it just needs a good careful prep!! 

 

Bellacartwrightia here!!! funny story....I actually saw this and took a photo but left it in the block cause it looked like it was going to shatter if I tried to extract it. I didn’t want to deal with the heartbreak. Later on my friend comes over and shows this to me. He saw my eyes light up so he gifted it to me . Perks of being the bachelor for the weekend!! 

 

this was the first specimen I found at PD. Glad I found that other masterpiece!! This one is going to be a great practice bug for when I get my prep lab going. Practice on the lesser specimens before you try your best!! 

 

I’m glad I nabbed this Greenops barberi. I don’t have many of them. This has everything but the pygidium. I’ll take it! 

 

 

Heres the rest of the spoils. It was a great trip and I ran into @DevonianDigger which was I suppose not a huge surprise cause that’s jays stomping ground! Also, thank you jay for hooking up my cousin with that fossil kit for his daughter. She’s over the moon for them! I kinda gave her the fossil bug lol. 

[FossilDAWG]

46 minutes ago, Al Tahan said:

To be honest if I ever go back I’ll need a canoe. It was extremely hard to wade. Also, there were people all over the place. Half a dozen kayakers and 2 kids were rope swinging from the middle sand bar that has built up to an island. I highly doubt those kids were supposed to be there but I felt more comfortable seeing everyone around using the mouth. I’m my opinion the cleanest way to do it is canoe/kayak. I’ll never wade again. To messy and apparently it’s walking a thin line on what trespassing is. More Fossils incoming 

That is actually good news, that people can use the creek without being harassed.  I agree a canoe or kayak would be a great idea.

 

Sorry to hear about your brother.  Pancreatitis is (I have heard, not experienced fortunately) extremely painful.  I hope he recovers quickly.

 

Don

[Al Tahan]

Sunday 6/02/19 was the day I tried to go to 18 mile creek but it was overall a huge disappointment. As I said above I’ll only ever go with a kayak or canoe in the future. Seems to be the only way.....oh yea and Lake Erie is up 30 inches....Yes 30!!!! That’s  76 centimeters for the rest of the world lol.

 

 This is the only piece worth sharing from that lakeshore (18 mile mouth) trip. It’s probably complete and will also make a nice practice specimen!!! 

 

The wanakah is exposed on the lake shore, you just have to get there. I found some fragments and a paper thin 1/2 trilo.

 

I did 2 locations this day because of the disappointment from the first location. 

 

[Al Tahan]

My next stop on Sunday 6/02/19 was back to smokes creek in buffalo (same place as Thursday 5/30) but this time I hiked all the way to the windom shale. This trip ended up being quite a success after that fail at the lakeshore. I didn’t find anything special in the windom but I did find awesome wanakah shale goodies . 

 

I’m pretty good at spotting wanakah trilobite bed material. Something about the color and look sticks out to me. This small block would make the whole trip. It’s small enough for me to throw to give you an idea. No man (block) left behind! I missed this on my last hike through but not this time. 

 

first I found this....easily my best quality trilobite from smokes creek. The angle of the trilobite is why the head and right side is still covered in shale. It should prep out just fine. Exciting find for me.

 

I saw this nice partial in the block and decided it was worth keeping. I started to chip away at it and......

 

This fella was on the other side!!!! Another pseudodechenella rowi from smokes . This time it’s a cephalon and 3-4 body segments. It needs a little air abrasion to make it pop. It’s gonna have to wait till fall. Those 2 trilobites were in the same block that I happened to photo cause I saw it was trilo bed. Very excited about those finds. 

 

These were 2 highlight brachs from this trip. A double shell Spinocyrtia granulosa and a nice single shell Mediospirifer. This Spinocyrtia came from an interval 12-18 inches below the tichenor limestone in the upper wanakah. 

 

these are the rest of the wanakah spoils. Found a few pleurodictyums....kinda a personal favorite. 

 

Here are the windom shale finds. Some of the classic brachs, spinotrypa and pseudoptra (spelling may be iffy there). The trilobite in the top left has the pygidium tucked under but its kinda dinged up. 

 

In general the Eldredgeops the rowi and the brachs were the big take homes. 

 

1 more day to go! Taking a dinner break then I’ll wrap up this weekend.

[Nimravis]

Great trip report, finds and pics- thanks for posting.

[ynot]

Pretty nice hunt and great results!

[Al Tahan]

On the last day Monday 6/03 I had the privilege of getting permission to hunt smokes creek in West Seneca. I actually wasn’t sure what was exposed there but I ended up finding a perfect outcrop on the wanakah shale trilobite beds. I was also able to locate the “Fargo bed” and the pleurodictyum layer so I’m very sure this was wanakah. Other parts of the stream may have been in the ledyard shale or middle wanakah shale. They didn’t have much fossils until I found the base of the wanakah.

 

These are the trilobites I found here....this trip was more about the brachs and exploring trying to identify the rock unit. 

 

when I saw this I thought cephalopod....then I saw the details.....this one is confusing to me. I found this at the base of the wanakah in the pleurodictyum bed....sometimes it has “lenses” of this concretionary-like limestone  in the layer that, thins, thickens, or is absent completely. In this spot it was thicker and I was able to pull up some pieces. 

 

here is a close up for more details....I’m not even going to guess here I’ll say something foolish haha. I may need help with the ID on this one. 

 

This was kinda interesting...I found this at the base of the wanakah...I’ve never seen a Gastropoda that big before.

 

2 very very nice double shell Mediospirifer brachs....the wanakah shale has 2 nice big beach horizons. The “Fargo” bed is an interval 12-18 inches below the lowest trilobite bed at the base of the wanakah. In the upper wanakah 12-18 inches below the tichenor there is also a big beach horizon. Spinocyrtia and Mediospirifer come out of both layers...but it’s takes searching. 

 

a very nice double shell Spinocyrtia from the Fargo bed. I found another Spinocyrtia in the upper wanakah shale earlier on the weekend. Got one from each layer!

 

If only words could describe how amazing this specimen actually is!!! Megostrophia concava is a terribly preserved brach!! For whatever reason these things crumble. From what I understand the shell was different in some way (thickness? Composition?) and the preservation reflects that. This came from the base of the wanakah in zone I would consider the pleurodictyum beds. 

 

I also found this megastrophia!!! Not quite as nice as the first but it still has both shells. It’s just covered up more by shale on the back. 

 

here are the rest of the spoils. Great trip for a first time! It was a very interesting location and thank you to the individuals who allowed me to collect on their property. 

 

I then left Buffalo and headed out to Bethany New York to try a spot I’ve read about online. The Francis rd railroad cut.