Construct a Simple Fossil Sifter - Popular Science Build It

This is a great idea for finding shark's teeth and fossils at the beach.  Will be building one for me and my grand-daughter to try out later this year and I'll report on  how it works.

Beach 2012

We spent a wonderful week at the beach with family and friends with the weather cooperating nicely. As I’ve said before in previous posts (see below), beachcombing is high on my list, because you see, I have this obsessed addiction with finding shark’s teeth. At the beginning of the week the tides were not providing the needed areas for finding these, but the best day eventually came towards the end of the week when my wife’s cousin and I came across a shark tooth honey hole.

We spent an hour or so combing this spot and then returned later in the afternoon. I ended up with a total of 27 teeth, mostly small ones from an area about 20 yards long by 6 feet wide. No matter how tiny they are though, and I have found some really small ones, they go in my collection.

Once you find such a spot you must spend time with it. Don’t just look once and then move on. I will spend hours in a good area because I know that for every tooth I find, there’s five I have not yet seen. Because with every swipe of the ocean the landscape of the surf changes revealing new objects that were once hidden from view. Wearing sunglasses helps knock off the glare from the sun on the surf, but you must also have the patience of a saint. Once you get the shape, coloration, etc. tattooed in your brain they will suddenly begin to appear. And once you find that first one, the fever sets in.

Suggested Reading:

Hunting Shark’s Teeth (2007)

Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle (2008)

Mermaid’s Purse(2010)

Beach Notebook  (2011)

Back To The Beach (2011)

Barn Swallow Nest (2011)

Back to the Beach

Most folks feel that time at the beach is spent only during the summer months. Not us. Anytime at the beach, even during the fall and winter months is welcome. Beachcombing seems to be also better during these off season months. Has something to do with the change in tides and such.

We spent the past weekend there, which even though it's the end of October the temps got close to 80. Typical Southeast Texas climate. I was able to walk the surf for several hours and it was a ton better than our last trip in July. The shelled areas were perfect for trapping shark's teeth as well as sea glass.

By the end of the afternoon I hand a good handfull of seas glass of various colors. Mostly brown was found, which is the predominant color. It mostly comes from beer bottles. I also found some light green glass (coca cola bottles), darker green (7-Up, sprite, and wine bottles), a few cobalt blue (Vick's, milk of magnesia bottles), and a single piece of purple (perfume bottle?). I also found several pieces of petrified bone and a piece of a crab's claw. What was really exciting though was the 16 shark's teeth that I found.

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Beach Notebook

The following is a notebook I kept during a family week at the beach this past July.

“There are two ways to beachcomb, and both appeal to me. One is to scan the horizon, gazing over the breakers or down the misty shore until indistinct shapes reveal themselves for what they are. The other is to stroll head down, searching for treasures buried in the sun-bleached sand. I never know which impulse- to scan or to search- will sway me until I wander down to the edge of the sea.”

Richard Bode- from his book “Beachcombing at Miramar”



Crystal Beach, TX Bolivar Peninsula

July 20, 2011 Wednesday

We’ve been here for several days now and the first two days were pretty much consumed by rain. That’s about right. We’ve been going through a drought for the past two months and the week we decide to spend at the beach is when it decided to end. Oh well, the forecast for the rest of the week looks pretty good with a small chance of showers only occurring in the afternoon. I was able to take a ride out onto the beach to check out the surf and it wasn’t like what I had hoped. If you’ve read some of my past “beach” posts you’ll know how I love searching for shark’s teeth. I’ll spend an entire afternoon scouring the shelled areas of the surf looking for these treasures. Over the years I have found several hundred teeth from many different types of sharks. People walk past me wondering what it is I’m looking for, most just pass me by, but some ask what it is I seek. When I explain to them I’m looking for shark’s teeth, some, but not all, look glumly and reply “You do know you can buy shark’s teeth all day long at the local souvenir shops”. I usually give them an awkward gaze and respond “yes sure I do, but where’s the fun in that?” As they walk off with a puzzled look on their face I think how taking the time to find these on your own gives it a different, special meaning. A meaning that makes one feel as if this tiny piece of life was placed there by the surging waves just for me to find. I guess some folks are just plain lazy and don’t know how to have fun.


Later in the afternoon my grand-daughter and I did a little beachcombing. As we were working along the “swash” zone- the area where the waves sweep onto shore, we spotted some coquina clams (Donax variabilis) that had gotten washed ashore. I called her over and told her to watch them closely. Seconds later they began digging their way into the wet sand until they disappeared. She was so excited to see this so I showed her how to find them. I pointed out the tiny holes in the sand and told her to dig there. Sure enough she found one. We began digging until she had a bunch in the bottom of her little blue bucket.

We then walked over to the swash area and began poking them into the sand one by one and then waited patiently until they all began to dig in. She had so much fun, and at the same time learned something new.

July 21, 2011 Thursday

7:30 a.m.- went out on the beach to check the tide- conditions still unfavorable for finding shark’s teeth. The reason these “shelled” areas I spoke of are so significant is that these tiny shards act as “catchers” that grab the teeth as they’re washed ashore. I’ll have to check the local tide tables to see when the next low tide is which would make things much better.

I did come across the sign of a ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata), aka sand crab. It digs a small ½ ” hole in the sand that leads to a deep burrow that ends at a chamber where they remain during the hottest part of the day. They also use these chambers during the winter months. They walk on the tips of their legs which allows them to travel rapidly across the sand. It gets its oxygen from the air through gills which must stay moist with sea water in order to work properly. I watched for quite some time before it came to the surface and revealed itself. Its markings, which it can change at will, blend so well with the surf they’re easily overlooked. Note the tiny claw marks in the sand.


July 22, 2011 Friday

8:00 a.m.- went back out on the beach to find the same lousy surf conditions. Did pick up lots of colorful trash though.

3:00 p.m.- beach combed for an hour……nada, except for a few pieces of sea glass and a small fragment of fossilized bone.

Also found a few more speckled crab (Arenaeus cribrarius) carapaces bringing the grand total to (11). These young crabs were probably washed ashore and then dismantled and eaten by shorebirds.


I also came across a (now extinct) pull ring tab from an early beer can. These tabs were introduced in the early 1960’s and went on to become an “environmental nightmare”. People would pull them off the can and toss them to the ground. These things were found everywhere. Wildlife began consuming them and dying until 1975 when the “stay-on-tab”, which is still used today, was developed.


July 23, 2011 Saturday

11:30 a.m.- after close to a whole week of combing the beach it appears that this trip will end up being a dud as far as finding shark’s teeth goes. I was fortunate though to find a sea bean in a mass of seaweed that was washed ashore.

All in all the surf has been unusually uncooperative which is strange indeed. In the past I have never encountered a time when there wasn’t at least a couple days of surf swathed in shells that had trapped the treasures that I seek. On average I leave with at least 20-30 teeth in my pocket and a pound or so of sea glass. Not so this time, but I do leave with something more important. Memories of time spent with my family, especially my grand-daughter.
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Hunting Shark's Teeth

The salty air envelops me as I carefully walk the sandy beach. My eyes scan the ground for something elusive. A fossilized treasure that many overlook as they meander along this barrier island. An elderly gentleman approaches me and asks “You lookin’ for them shark’s teeth?” I look up surprised at his question. Many who see me assume I’m hunting for the perfect seashell or for the frosted sea glass that litters the coast. “Yes I am” I reply. “Found any?” he then says. Reaching into the pocket of my swimsuit I retrieve a small glass vial containing eight perfectly shaped teeth and hand it to him. With an amazed look on his face he says “How in the hell do you see these things?”

Every summer for years my family gathered with friends and relatives and spent a week at a rented beach cabin along the shores of Bolivar peninsula. While most of them lie around and soak up the rays I walk slowly scanning the sand. Ever since I found my first shark’s tooth I’ve been hooked. So hooked I’ve spent entire afternoons walking up and down the coast most times returning with a handful.
Sharks lose and replace teeth throughout their lives. In fact they can lose 1000’s of teeth during their lifetime. Seeing them among the many tiny shells along the water’s edge can be a challenge, but I have found that my proficiency at finding these gems has come from just that….finding them. After collecting close to several hundred I feel that my eyes and brain have been trained to pick up on the anything near the triangular shape and black or gray hue of these fossilized teeth.
The best time I’ve found is during a low tide along the “seashell line”, an area where tiny seashells amass during the constant ebb and flow of the ocean. Waves wash the teeth ashore where they settle and are left trapped amongst these areas. They can be found year round and with a little patience and practice you too will see that they’re not as hard as you think to find.