Eaten alive at Flag Ponds

[Elmo]

I took a trip down to Flag Ponds yesterday and the finds were plentiful, but so were the midges. Little tiny gnats that love to teach you what true pain is were out in mass for the full 6 hours that I stayed. I managed to push through being eaten and managed to get some stuff to add to my collection. 
CoralBone FragsSharks TeethRay Plates( My favorites )Misc Some of the Misc fossils I’ll be listing for identification help. I’ve figure most of them out, but a few are questionable to me. The bottom one in the misc pic is a little ray plate in a rock matrix. I’ve never found any in a rock matrix before and honestly thought that all the ones from Calvert just came out of the clay as it eroded. Now I’ll probably be picking up every rock on the beach just to make sure that it doesn’t have a fossil in it. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Nice finds!

I like the ray teeth too.

[jpc]

Nice pile o'fossils.

Not to be too picky, as I understand it, but midges and gnats are totally different insects.  Gnats are smaller than mosquitos and terrible in their voracity, and midges form harmless big flocks that just bug you by pretending to be mosquitos flying around you.

[Elmo]

2 minutes ago, jpc said:

Nice pile o'fossils.

Not to be too picky, as I understand it, but midges and gnats are totally different insects.  Gnats are smaller than mosquitos and terrible in their voracity, and midges form harmless big flocks that just bug you by pretending to be mosquitos flying around you.

I thought the same until yesterday. While running around in circles and preparing to douse myself with gasoline to take them evil little monsters into the afterlife with me some somehow managed to explain to me that there are several different midges and only 2 of them bite. After letting the information sink in for a moment I realized that it really didn’t matter how many could bite a went back to saturate myself with the loving embrace of the fuel that would be setting my soul free from the evils that were being brought upon my by barely visible insects. The walking encyclopedia then noticed things were getting serious as he grabbed my lighter from my hand and ran off screaming that I’ll thank him latter. I then realized that I was destined to suffer this fate and accepted it. Then I met a striped bass named Luther and we spent about an hour together checking the shoreline for fossils. Here’s a short video of Luther. 

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

3 minutes ago, Elmo said:

 there are several different midges and only 2 of them bite.

 

Yes, Edna and Mavis,

They often visit wifey.

[FossilNerd]

Another terrific haul, Brett! Congrats! 

[jpc]

Did Luther find his own fossils, or did you have to give him a few to appease him? 

 

[Balance]

I mean, Luther looks like he’s close to attempting his own fossilization.  Fantastic name  though. Nobody messed with him. 
 

Jp

 

6 hours! That’s a haul! Thanks for the report. 
 

 

[Ludwigia]

Great finds. It was worth putting up with the "midges".

Reminds me of the times I spent canoeing in Algonquin park. We have what we call black flies and they really are a plague. They are smart enough to attack you in swarms while you are portaging, where your hands are no longer free to swat them. Once you finally get to the other end, throw your canoe in the water and paddle out onto the next lake to shake them off, then the horse flies take over the next attack until you've been able to bring most of them down with your paddle.

[Elmo]

7 hours ago, jpc said:

Did Luther find his own fossils, or did you have to give him a few to appease him? 

 

Luther didn’t have any luck and he was to proud to take handouts. 

[AlwaysISOSharkTeeth412]

I’m making a trip to the area on Friday (Matoaka likely) and will definitely bring insect repellent after reading your post. Great haul and thanks for sharing!

[automech]

Great job! The gauntlet of mosquitos that's between the parking lot and the beach is always an adventure to go through. No pain! No gain! 

[Elmo]

8 hours ago, automech said:

Great job! The gauntlet of mosquitos that's between the parking lot and the beach is always an adventure to go through. No pain! No gain! 

I agree fully! I endured for many hours and I’m very happy with the additions that I was able to add to my collection!!!

[JIMMFinsman]

Wow!  great finds!    How old do you think the coral is as we find some of that on the beaches in Delaware.  

 

THose No-See-Umms hurt!!! Get some of that lavender-geranium based natural bug spray and they wont touch you.

[Elmo]

20 minutes ago, JIMMFinsman said:

Wow!  great finds!    How old do you think the coral is as we find some of that on the beaches in Delaware.  

 

THose No-See-Umms hurt!!! Get some of that lavender-geranium based natural bug spray and they wont touch you.

Thank you. I was told that the coral is between 16-20 Ma. It’s a pretty frequent find at 2 of the 3 places that I hit along Calvert Cliffs. Those 2 spots will regularly produce me 2 quart size bags in a visit and the third spot has only ever given up 2 pieces for me. 
They do hurt while them little guys are tearing into a person. Now I have hundreds of itchy little welts all over my arms and neck that are apparently trying to hang around for a few days. I’ll get some of your recommended spray and try it out next trip. 

[patelinho7]

Summer is horrible at flag ponds, if I recall from my childhood trips. You walk a mile or whatever it was through woods filled with bugs and then you get to the beach and there are more bugs. My parents hated it