What's Your Technique?

[Wakaritai]

I'm just curious about techniques compare for different people and for different types of fossil sites.

What type of fossil site do you search? (rock walls, rocks fallen from rock walls, creeks, rivers, bedrock, eroded ground, etc.) If you search more than one, feel free to share more than one

What is your technique? Do you just hike around looking for obvious fossils? Do you look for potential layers or matrices, then hunker down and search more in-depth? Do you dredge (dig up stuff from the bottom of water bodies) and then sift through? Do you dig or chip away (layers or matrices in bedrock or walls) to find fossils that aren't obvious, or just check out loose stuff? (just suggestions, feel free to post whatever, in as much detail as you like).

Is it common to chip away at pieces of promising matrix and rock pieces (loose stuff) to see what's inside, even if there are no obvious fossils on the outside? (I've been curious about this for a while)?

I'll start...

I usually stay with creeks because I've found the vast majority of my finds in them. I also stick with the obvious stuff and do little digging. I've just never really had any luck digging :/ Plus, the obvious stuff on top usually keeps me busy enough. Well... so far, at least. That's one reason why I'm asking this!

Edited March 14, 2010 by Wakaritai

[tracer]

whatever is most productive at whatever sites are accessible. if a site is heavily searched but known to have great stuff in quantity, then you dig or whatever to expose unsearched area, knowing there's a decent likelihood of success. an example would be splitting shale at a trilobite quarry, or looking for specific fossils in semi-soft material. sifting and such is the way to go when looking for small fossils, but many people also crawl. sifting in creeks and other waterways is the only way sometimes to find fossils that are hidden under the water.

generally speaking, walking and scanning is the fastest method to cover a lot of area and find a lot of stuff. when people don't do that, it's because their analysis of the situation has made them believe that the fastest/easiest method won't be as productive as the one they're using. every site is different, and we do what works.

[Terry Dactyll]

Wakaritai....you cant beat the power of the internet for searching for fossil sites... and local geological maps and even scientific papers written about finds from your area.... coastal erosion and quarries are my usual haunts... also check to see if you have a geology or fossil club in your area... they organise trips... my first ever time out was on a trip organised by a museum....

[Tony Eaton]

Since I like to collect shark teeth and really there are just a few thin layers of sediment in N Texas are good for shark teeth I focus on stratigraphy. Getting to know how a layer looks like freshly bulldozed, under a plow for 100 years, in a river, etc, can be really helpful.

My other strategy is to have no shyness about hunting very public spots. I.E., I've found great stuff walking back and forth along some of the busiest roads in North Texas.

[siteseer]

Most of my hunting has involved digging in a quarry where others have been collecting. The first thing you do is wander around the quarry and poke through previous collectors' dump piles. You will usually find something they overlooked like small teeth or a bone that only looked like a rock. If the sediment is siftable or will break down easily in water, I take some home to screen later.

Some places, where a formation is exposed over a wide area, are better for wandering and picking up the obvious (phosphate mines) and others can be at least as productive by taking a seat and hammering out chunks (sites where the layer is more limited in area like a roadcut). In some areas you can do both (multiple roadcuts along a cliff that expose the same layer with some fossils having eroded out and fallen) so it's up to you how to hit it.

Sometimes, it's a lot easier to poke through a talus pile at the base of a cliff than to climb up and dig at the source.

[Nicholas]

Since I usually have to wait for construction to hunt I first go to the site and give it a good stare. Trying to surface collect on the spoils piles as much as possible. I usually attack one spoils pile at a time. The next step is to start by carefully moving/pushing large stones out of the pile or away from a section of the pile and inspecting the area under. I end with a little but of digging into the pile and searching for smaller fossils.

It is a slow way about things but when you have only limited chances to fossil collect you need to take advantage.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Dynamite

[grampa dino]

Drive for about two hours, walk for about four hours

[Tony Eaton]

That's a beautiful ditch Grandpa Dino!

[Shellseeker]

River bottoms using a shovel and sieve (mostly 1/2 inch). Bigger sieve means more large fossils per period of time.

Primary rule: go where the crazy people go. When the water is really cold OR when the river is flowing swiftly OR when the river is high and rising, dig at the maximum depth possible.

Once you find a couple of "honey spots" , you will not have a lot of competition.

Second rule #1: Join a local fossil club. Most members LOVE to talk about their techniques ,finds, general locations. They have been doing this for years and are more than willing to share their knowledge if you just listen.

Second rule #2: Try to get a basic understand of the geography... fossils tend to track with gravel of similar size. Where does the gravel end up --- on river bends, as the current slows down, on the outside, inside, before or beyond rapids. When you find a gravel bar, follow it up and down stream to map it's contours.

Occasionally, go exploring for new spots, mark gravel locations with distinctive point on the bank, note the presence of dedicated fossil enthusiasts.

DIG DEEPER. The river has been flowing a LONG time and people have only been around and interested for a couple of decades...

[lordpiney]

creek beds here in nj, and do the low and slow crawl on them.

[peacefossil]

1. Drive 1-3 hours walk a few miles.

2. Visual ground search on the way in and out.

3.Find a productive spot and have at it!

Mostly creeks and beaches for me haven't been given access to a land spot. I see they might be doing some new construction around me soon, but most don't allow digging. Joined a few local clubs and looking forward to some field trips...

It's all about the area you are in and what you can handle physically and mentally

[JimB88]

In my area roadcuts are usually good. After some research (geological maps, internet, etc.) I find the site and check the rocks that have fallen and are on the ground. The state I live in has no laws regarding collecting from a roadcut but I try not to dig into the cut itself. Im planning on joining some fossil clubs but past experience has shown me many people jealously guard their favorite spots.

[Western NY Explorer]

My advise is to learn which layers are productive, and dig in. At my favorite site I know the trilobite layers very well. I will break a large block out of the layer and I keep splitting it until it cant be split no more.When reduced, start working on another block. This has been very productive for me. When I get tired of splitting shale I'll ground search.

[Blastoid]

I collect at local abandoned clay pits that provide a wealth of Devonian goodies. There are several ways to collect, but my standard advice to folks is to slow down, study the ground carefully, and get down low so you can see what you're looking at. Also, learn what the local fossils actually look like, so you know what to look for, and think small - I typically bring nothing home over 2cm or so. Big fossils are grand, but at this site the rare stuff is small and it doesn't jump out at ya.

For this style of ground-pounding, you need sturdy thick jeans, well-made comfy kneepads; and fingerless gloves and long-sleeved shirts keep abrasion from pointy bits to a minimum. Sit down somewhere dry with good light, ideally a place that most people ignore or walk over, and carefully scan perhaps 1 or 2 square feet. Move over a bit, and do it again. If you find anything neat, check the area carefully, where there's one thing there's often others. Do lots of slow crawling on hands and knees; this ain't comfy but it is how the interesting things are found; you don't spot 6mm blastoids or 3mm brachiopods by running around in the woods. This is how I collect 9 out of 10 trips; the site is renewed after every rain so you never know what might turn up.

The second style of collecting is digging, on the flats or the walls, looking for lenses or interesting layers in the soft clay/shale. This is more hammering and prying out than actual digging, and is very hit or miss, but can result in amazing things. Like trilobite or crinoid mortality layers. Or starfish. Many vertical meters of Arkona shale, and very, very thin layers of fossils. Anything you find will require significant preparation and consolidation, and even collecting anything intact is tricky as the matrix is just clay. Fun stuff but I don't do it often, you need a lot of luck to get intact crinoids and then you need air abrasives to clean them.

Lastly, you can boulder-bust. Meter-thick limestone blocks can produce some interesting things, like 30cm cephalopods, 10cm gastropods, etc., if you find the right rock. Hammer and chisel work, and relatively light sledging, as you're working with well-developed splits. I seem to be the only one doing this, few people realize what can be found in the limestone.

Other minor methods of collecting at this site include screening/washing, which is bringing home a bucket or two of the clay to soak and screen out the micro fossils, mostly ostracods, tentaculites, maybe conodonts if you hit the right area. Also just walking around, studying the ground, can produce good larger things, like big corals. Watch out for color contrasts, very subtle cues, eg. the light tannish of a crinoid calyx against the grey clay. Walking and poking around the river's edge can turn up some really neat stuff that's been exposed by flooding.

Hope all this blathering is of some interest.

Blastoid

[MikeD]

I have combined some form of all of the things mentioned above and then.... well, Blastoid said it very well. Can't beat the ground crawl, with all of the appropriate protective gear. This year I will have to add on a longer shirt tail to protect BobC's eyes. As for that limestone busting thing, it has to be a really good fossil.

[micropterus101]

Dark clothes, small flashlight, duffle bag, and a steak for Rjb's dogs.

[pleecan]

I collect at local abandoned clay pits that provide a wealth of Devonian goodies. There are several ways to collect, but my standard advice to folks is to slow down, study the ground carefully, and get down low so you can see what you're looking at. Also, learn what the local fossils actually look like, so you know what to look for, and think small - I typically bring nothing home over 2cm or so. Big fossils are grand, but at this site the rare stuff is small and it doesn't jump out at ya.

For this style of ground-pounding, you need sturdy thick jeans, well-made comfy kneepads; and fingerless gloves and long-sleeved shirts keep abrasion from pointy bits to a minimum. Sit down somewhere dry with good light, ideally a place that most people ignore or walk over, and carefully scan perhaps 1 or 2 square feet. Move over a bit, and do it again. If you find anything neat, check the area carefully, where there's one thing there's often others. Do lots of slow crawling on hands and knees; this ain't comfy but it is how the interesting things are found; you don't spot 6mm blastoids or 3mm brachiopods by running around in the woods. This is how I collect 9 out of 10 trips; the site is renewed after every rain so you never know what might turn up.

The second style of collecting is digging, on the flats or the walls, looking for lenses or interesting layers in the soft clay/shale. This is more hammering and prying out than actual digging, and is very hit or miss, but can result in amazing things. Like trilobite or crinoid mortality layers. Or starfish. Many vertical meters of Arkona shale, and very, very thin layers of fossils. Anything you find will require significant preparation and consolidation, and even collecting anything intact is tricky as the matrix is just clay. Fun stuff but I don't do it often, you need a lot of luck to get intact crinoids and then you need air abrasives to clean them.

Lastly, you can boulder-bust. Meter-thick limestone blocks can produce some interesting things, like 30cm cephalopods, 10cm gastropods, etc., if you find the right rock. Hammer and chisel work, and relatively light sledging, as you're working with well-developed splits. I seem to be the only one doing this, few people realize what can be found in the limestone.

Other minor methods of collecting at this site include screening/washing, which is bringing home a bucket or two of the clay to soak and screen out the micro fossils, mostly ostracods, tentaculites, maybe conodonts if you hit the right area. Also just walking around, studying the ground, can produce good larger things, like big corals. Watch out for color contrasts, very subtle cues, eg. the light tannish of a crinoid calyx against the grey clay. Walking and poking around the river's edge can turn up some really neat stuff that's been exposed by flooding.

Hope all this blathering is of some interest.

Blastoid

Thank for the hunting tips Blastoid... and yes I also crawl on all fours while I am at Arkona, lots of fun crawling around a clay pits after a rain. Weather is getting cold again... so much for that warm weather last weekend almost 80F and now maybe snow flurries....

PL

Edited April 9, 2010 by pleecan

[Blastoid]

Thank for the hunting tips Blastoid... and yes I also crawl on all fours while I am at Arkona, lots of fun crawling around a clay pits after a rain. Weather is getting cold again... so much for that warm weather last weekend almost 80F and now maybe snow flurries....

PL

Heh, heh, heh, snow in April cracks me up. Three dry days and the pits will be dry, weekend looks nice.