Calvert Cliffs Trip 10/20 & 10/21

[Masonk]

Hi All,

I took a trip (I live just outside of Philly) down to Calvert Cliffs on the MD side to spend a couple days hunting. I was able to visit the VA side of the Calvert Formation back on Labor day, and was excited to see the MD cliffs.

 

First day I spent all of my time at Matoaka Beach hunting solo. Tried to access another section of beach later that day, however it required hiking through some thick vegetation, and I was losing light, so I gave up.

 

Second day I met up with the Delaware Valley Paleontology Society to visit a few sites with CHAPTours. Wound up visiting 3 different beaches, and finished off back at Matoaka (I didn't know we'd be going here otherwise I'd have picked a different beach the first day).

 

Overall, I had pretty good outings both days. Surprisingly I didn't find a single shark tooth, but lots of amazingly preserved bivalves and gastropods.

 

Some photos from the beach/cliffs from both days.

 

From the top of the cliffs:

 

 

 

 

Bivalve fossils were everywhere.

 

 

 

Group shot with a sampling of finds.

 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Masonk

[Masonk]

Several (assume mostly Cetacean) bone fragments

 

 

 

Ray Crushing Plates

 

 

Crustacean Claw Piece

 

 

[Masonk]

Abertella sp.

 

 

 

Astrhelia palmata (?)

 

 

 

Balanus concavus

 

[Masonk]

Bivalves

 

Bivalve impressions

 

 

 

Chesapecten sp.

 

C

 

Articulated

 

 

 

Articulated Dallara idonea

 

 

 

 

Mercinaria sp. (?)

 

 

Articulated

 

 

 

Articulated Marvacrassatella sp.

 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Masonk

[Masonk]

Some of these were tough to ID for a novice as there are small differences between some species, so please correct anything that is misidentified. Same for the pieces posted above. I appreciate it!

 

Gastropods

 

Moon Snails at top - Lunatia heros and Polinices duplicatus. I should have included photos of the bottom.

 

Three at bottom - Calliostoma humile

 

Ecphora sp.

 

 

 

 

 

Busycotypus rugosum (top) & Busycon fusiforme (bottom)

 

 

Busycon fusiforme

 

 

 

 

Bulliopsis marylandica

 

 

Buccinofusus chesapeakensis

 

 

 

Turritella plebia

 

 

 

Nassarius peralta

 

 

 

Turitella sp.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Masonk

[automech]

Great work! That's strange not to find any shark teeth. At Matoaka, did you head south or north along the beach?

[Fossildude19]

Nice variety of find!

Some really nice Echphora! 

Congratulations on the nice haul.

[Masonk]

10 minutes ago, automech said:

Great work! That's strange not to find any shark teeth. At Matoaka, did you head south or north along the beach?

 

Thanks!

 

Trust me, I was just as shocked. When I visited the Calvert formation in VA, most of my finds were shark teeth. I hiked pretty far along Matoaka the first day. Only north as there was a sign restricting access to hike south (which I found out our second day was kind of misleading as the tide line is permitted to walk any direction).

 

First day was a lot of sifting. Second day was mostly surfacing scanning.

 

The only thing I could think is I wasn't spotting them as easy due to all the shell fragments. I mostly hunt in NJ brooks, so my eyes are trained to look for the shine of enamel against the dull/wet rocks.

 

The teeth were definitely there. Several individuals in our group the second day found teeth, one guy finding a nice sized Hastalis. First day I spoke with a father and son who showed me some nice Hemipristis teeth they found.

 

Gives me motivation to head back down. Want to visit Purse and a few of the other spots in the area.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Masonk

[Masonk]

10 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Nice variety of find!

Some really nice Echphora! 

Congratulations on the nice haul.

 

Thanks, Tim! Appreciate the kind words.

 

I was excited about the Ecphora! My one goal was to find a complete example. Was happy to find two that were complete enough for me.

[Vae70]

Nice haul! I'm also a collector from Philly that enjoys taking trips down to the cliffs - a fully intact Echphora is on my bucket list. Funnily enough my fiancéé and I took a trip down to Matoaka once years ago and I did find an Echphora almost up to par, but the day ended and she got so many bug bites and jelly stings doing her beachside activities that she grumbles to this day when I mention the word 'Matoaka'. Perhaps next year's adventures kayaking along the cliffs will yield better fruit

[automech]

Ok. Gotcha. Earlier this year I purchased some chest waders to be able to deal with the colder weather and the tide line issues.

I'm a sifter mostly. I do scan as I move to another area to sift. But, I gotta have a shovel and screen. To me, it's like panning for gold. My kids do a better job at scanning because they're closer to the ground and, can bend over longer.

[Tidgy's Dad]

A wide variety of beautiful finds!

[Shellseeker]

2 hours ago, Masonk said:

The teeth were definitely there. Several individuals in our group the second day found teeth, one guy finding a nice sized Hastalis. First day I spoke with a father and son who showed me some nice Hemipristis teeth they found.

GREAT photography   !!! Both scenery and finds. You have a talent.  Thanks for sharing.

 

I found 2 nice Hastalis yesterday in Florida.  But I am never finding a Ecphora as pretty as yours unless I travel far... 

[deltav2]

Beautiful finds and pictures!

[Jeffrey P]

Exceptional mollusk material there. Big congratulations on finding it and thanks for sharing it. In my opinion, you did extremely well, especially with your gastropod finds.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Jeffrey P

[Masonk]

3 hours ago, Vae70 said:

Nice haul! I'm also a collector from Philly that enjoys taking trips down to the cliffs - a fully intact Echphora is on my bucket list. Funnily enough my fiancéé and I took a trip down to Matoaka once years ago and I did find an Echphora almost up to par, but the day ended and she got so many bug bites and jelly stings doing her beachside activities that she grumbles to this day when I mention the word 'Matoaka'. Perhaps next year's adventures kayaking along the cliffs will yield better fruit

Ha! Well that stinks. Luckily we didn't have to deal with any insects or jelly fish, so that was a definite plus.

 

I would love to kayak the area. Get to places not frequented by others.

[Masonk]

3 hours ago, automech said:

Ok. Gotcha. Earlier this year I purchased some chest waders to be able to deal with the colder weather and the tide line issues.

I'm a sifter mostly. I do scan as I move to another area to sift. But, I gotta have a shovel and screen. To me, it's like panning for gold. My kids do a better job at scanning because they're closer to the ground and, can bend over longer.

 

I usually sift as well. I asked our guide the second day if I should bring my sifter, and he advised against it.

 

Just like you said, I'm 6'1, and while I have decent eye site, I'm not spotting things the same way as I would closer to the ground or using a sifter.

 

It was a confusing hunt for me both days trying to figure out the best tactic(s).

[Masonk]

2 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

A wide variety of beautiful finds!

 

Thanks!

[Masonk]

2 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

GREAT photography   !!! Both scenery and finds. You have a talent.  Thanks for sharing.

 

I found 2 nice Hastalis yesterday in Florida.  But I am never finding a Ecphora as pretty as yours unless I travel far... 

 

Thanks! One day I want to pickup a nice DSLR camera, although camera phones are really killing it with photo quality.

 

Those are some beautiful teeth! I always enjoy your posts with your finds. You pull some amazing material.

 

 

 

[Masonk]

2 hours ago, deltav2 said:

Beautiful finds and pictures!

 

Thanks! Appreciate it!

[Masonk]

1 hour ago, Jeffrey P said:

Exceptional mollusk material there. Big congratulations on finding it and thanks for sharing it. In my opinion, you did extremely, especially with your gastropod finds.

 

Thank you! The gastropods are awesome. I was amazed by the variety of species, although I guess I really shouldn't have been.

[Vae70]

15 minutes ago, Masonk said:

 

I usually sift as well. I asked our guide the second day if I should bring my sifter, and he advised against it.

 

Just like you said, I'm 6'1, and while I have decent eye site, I'm not spotting things the same way as I would closer to the ground or using a sifter.

 

It was a confusing hunt for me both days trying to figure out the best tactic(s).

I've found the same through my experiences, funnily enough my main hunting spots are the Northern NJ brooks where sifting is better suited. I've found surface collecting along the shoreline while carrying a small 'sand dipper/scoop' to fish things out of the surf is the best way at coastal locations in MD. I figure the oceanic tide is able to churn water at much higher volumes than the streams up in NJ so significant accumulation of siftable material doesn't happen to the depths where sifting would be fruitful.

 

I view hunting the MD locations as more of following the ocean and watching for things washing up, tumbling in the surf line or items that higher tides may have brought in earlier. After all, water is nature's great sorting mechanism - no need to sift when the waters do it for you

[Vae70]

24 minutes ago, Masonk said:

Ha! Well that stinks. Luckily we didn't have to deal with any insects or jelly fish, so that was a definite plus.

 

I would love to kayak the area. Get to places not frequented by others.

Absolutely. I have some leads on a few good spots by virtue of making friends over the years travelling to the cliffs, hoping to make good on promises next year to explore via kayak, jet ski or boat

[Masonk]

3 minutes ago, Vae70 said:

I've found the same through my experiences, funnily enough my main hunting spots are the Northern NJ brooks where sifting is better suited. I've found surface collecting along the shoreline while carrying a small 'sand dipper/scoop' to fish things out of the surf is the best way at coastal locations in MD. I figure the oceanic tide is able to churn water at much higher volumes than the streams up in NJ so significant accumulation of siftable material doesn't happen to the depths where sifting would be fruitful.

 

I view hunting the MD locations as more of following the ocean and watching for things washing up, tumbling in the surf line or items that higher tides may have brought in earlier. After all, water is nature's great sorting mechanism - no need to sift when the waters do it for you

 

Agreed. I've had a couple good finds surface hunting in NJ, but nowhere near what I find sifting.

 

That was the mentality of our guide. I guess I'm impatient, and want to get right to it

 

I sifted in VA, however there were a lot more rocks for items to become trapped in compared to MD. Although, my best tooth find (Isurus retroflexus) washed up next to me, so makes sense.

 

Our group the second day, one fella pulled a whale vertabra from 10" of water. Just tossing around in the waves at his feet. Guess it's more right spot at the right time.