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We had a very productive couple of days fossil hunting at Walton on the Naze and an unexpected find on the beach at Holland on Sea while playing with my daughter. Here are the Walton finds: Firstly, left handed whelks (Neptunea) which were plentiful on this occasion (Red Crag formation) Next, Glycymeris and an oyster shell (Red Crag Formation) A handful of Striatolamia from the London Clay formation Two whale bone fragments from the junction bed. These are easy to spot due to their 'waxy' appearance. Very Tactile. An unidentified mammal bone from the Red Crag deposit. When I get a chance I'm going to see if I can narrow this down. Any ideas would be welcome. Holland on Sea The next one was a chance find from the pebble banks on the foreshore near the radar station at Holland on Sea. I was on a walk from Clacton to Walton with my family when I saw this. Its fossilised, feeling very stone like and heavy for its size. I'd love to know what kind of bone (?) this is but I'm guessing its too small to identify unless its possible to do so from the pattern of the inner cortex? Any pointers would be welcome. That's it for now. Thank you for looking.

Hi, Had a family break at Waton on the Naze, Essex over the New Year period and spent 5 mornings combing the beach with the wife and kids. It was remarkably unproductive on most days (as well as freezing!) and so our usual haul was very much reduced. This is what we found: Glycymeris and a couple of Turritella - Red Crag A few nice examples of sharks teeth (striatolamia) - London Clay ..and my personal favourite, a piece of whale bone (balaena sp) from the unconformity between the Red Crag and London Clay. Apparently the waxy appearance is a giveaway but what causes it hasn't been explained to me. Hopefully we'll find a lot more next time.