They're not birds,They're not even alive

A recent post by David Bryant (Birds of the Heath) about finding pre-historic stone tools has inspired me to write a brief non-binding post.

I have been lucky to find a flint arrow head but in all honesty don't know what I'm looking for, I've had much more luck with fossils. Growing up not far from the NE Norfolk Coast I'd often return with a few belemite and on rare occasions a sea urchin fossil. Last Spring with a more knowledgeable adult eye we also found a few other things, and a trip to the Jurassic Dorset Coast piqued an interest.

However it was after my father's death last October when I took to long beach walks that I started to notice the variety of fossils locally. For a month or so I walked a hour or so 3 or 4 times a week on the local beaches, finding it both rewarding and therapeutic. I found various echinoids (sea urchin), antler, corals, bivalves and plants, I am however most excited when I find bone, we all dreamed of finding dinosaurs as children. I have fragments of mammoth, deer and bison, and favourite hippo tusk. Although lest frequent I try to get a fossil walk in whenever we have favorable tide and winds, I will always return with something of interest.

Bird watching is a great way to escape the everyday troubles life throws at you, but fossil hunting and being at once with nature is just as relaxing and just as addictive.