The 1.8 mile hike to the water was easy and scenic, with plenty of wildlife and varying habitat.
Can you spot the two fence lizards -- one gray and the other brown with a blue underside -- in the center of the photo? They were having a territorial skirmish just outside the parking area.
A red-tailed hawk waited patiently for a meal to appear near the trail.
Turtles basked along logs in the marsh.
Too bad this boardwalk was closed for repairs.
Northern cricket frogs of varying colors bounced around the water's edge and along the sides of the trail.
A zebra swallowtail flitted from flower to flower.
This watersnake was weaving its way through the dense shrubs along the waterside edge of the trail. We met a ranger along the way who mentioned seeing a cottonmouth earlier that day.
A five lined skink zipped up, down and around a tree.
Finally, the trail opened up onto the beach and the fossil hunting began.
What we found:
A shell fragment of Chesapecten nefrens - an ancient scallop.
Snaggletooth shark teeth
Tiger shark tooth
Lemon shark teeth
Ray dental plates
A sand tiger shark tooth
A piece of a megalodon tooth
A gray (or requiem) shark tooth
A nearly complete megalodon tooth
Even on the way back to the hotel, we spotted this osprey near its nest on a platform near the side of the road.
A great day of hiking, nature watching and fossil hunting.
