Hunting in the cold

[Shellseeker]

Yesterday was going to dip into the high 40s F in the early morning and top off at low 70s.  I know it is not the same as being up north, but deciding to step into water when the air temps are 50 degrees always generates a gasp even with a 5 mm wetsuit on .  However, opportunities are few in December for me.

We are hunting a location that used to produce Miocene fossils , but has been heavily worked. Mostly it produces small shark teeth today. 

However, like @Balance,  I have learned something about layers.. and I know that I may be able to dig thru mud and sand clay, and even gravel and discover an un_dug pocket. 

We had found a spot where small teeth had rolled in so we could get 10-12 in a sieve and spent about 90 minutes digging.  There were also a few broken Ray teeth and barbs,  but I hoped for something more for this day beyond the small shark teeth. 

 

I was about to pack up, move downstream probing for gravel. For whatever reason, last sieve at this location was going to be a little upstream.  There is quite a bit of gravel from old discard piles.. and a pretty deep hole. I like digging in deep holes because I favor deep water. 

So I stuck my shovel in the bottom of the hole and the tip hit gravel below sand and leaves. Not too much in that 1st sieve,  except a couple of small rostral teeth from the knife toothed sawfish 

and 

I have hunted here quite a bit previously.  This is likely from a mid_miocene Tridactyl horse named Nannippus aztecus. and that find just made my day.  I was no longer thinking about what laid downstream.  

In subsequent sieves, we broke thru the gravel into clay... 

This was the only Meg I found and that was enough. I like Miocene horses a lot better than Megs .  This is a pretty good Meg  .. root, serrations, color,  a little tip damage.  My friend found 3 Megs , none quite as good as this one.

We stayed the rest of the day.. Another nicer horse tooth. Multiple teeth from the same animal always get the juices flowing but this one is right lower rather than left.

 

Too quickly the fossils in the sieves got fewer and fewer...  We ran out of the pocket.

 

The other thing that ran out was time.  There are other pockets,  but those will have to wait for another day.

[Balance]

Amazing dedication, Jack!! 

 

Im taking my daughters today. Gonna be a mix of exploring, playing and sifting but I’m taking the treasure with me today so not really worried about the hunt.
 

Hope I find my first full horse tooth though!!! 
 

Jp

 

 Heard, Chef 
 

 

[Bjohn170]

Great finds as always! I’ll be going out tomorrow morning here in Maryland, forecasted temps are low:30 high:41. I’m glad it won’t be windy!

[Shellseeker]

1 hour ago, Bjohn170 said:

Great finds as always! I’ll be going out tomorrow morning here in Maryland, forecasted temps are low:30 high:41. I’m glad it won’t be windy!

Good fortune to you.  The wind is the worst when you are wet and cold.  It can make me huddle down in the water for warmth.  

[Family Fun]

Nice finds Jack

[MarcoSr]

Jack

 

If you are finding lots of small teeth in an area that has been heavily worked, does that indicate the other collectors are using a larger sieve mesh size than you use, and are only looking for the larger fossils?  I have different mesh size sieves that I use depending on what I'm looking for.  If I'm looking for smaller teeth, I sieve over window screen and dump into 5 gallon buckets what is in the screens to take home to search.  I just can't see small teeth in a sieve that well, and it takes too long for me to look for and find them in sieves with small mesh sizes.  However, to sieve like you do in high water, you would need a double sieve that would be very awkward to use, if even useable.  The couple of times that I sieved the Peace River, I only looked for the big stuff and used one inch mesh.

 

Marco Sr.

[Shellseeker]

11 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

Jack

 

If you are finding lots of small teeth in an area that has been heavily worked, does that indicate the other collectors are using a larger sieve mesh size than you use, and are only looking for the larger fossils?  I have different mesh size sieves that I use depending on what I'm looking for.  If I'm looking for smaller teeth, I sieve over window screen and dump into 5 gallon buckets what is in the screens to take home to search.  I just can't see small teeth in a sieve that well, and it takes too long for me to look for and find them in sieves with small mesh sizes.  However, to sieve like you do in high water, you would need a double sieve that would be very awkward to use, if even useable.  The couple of times that I sieved the Peace River, I only looked for the big stuff and used one inch mesh.

 

Marco Sr.

Your insights are exactly correct... I have hunted this  location with other experienced hunters,  who chose 1/2 inch screens.. They were after the Megs and larger fossils,  generally doing minimal checking of the sieves to improve volumes of gravel searched. 

I realize that these areas have been under_searched relative to smaller fossils. And so,  I go in with quarter inch screens or less. to retrieve what they did not find. 

I do have difficulty in finding nurse shark and smaller teeth in the Peace River.  I carefully search the sieves but few processes are perfect.  

I accept different strokes for different folks....