Centennial Wildlife Field Trip

We had a beautiful and warm day for our field trip to NC State's Centennial Campus.  We split into 2 groups and for a change, I went with the older group!  The younger group stayed on the site and did some nature programming on insects.  

There are also things to see inside the building that looked neat.  Love the door!

I only got a quick peek at them though. I was chosen to go with the older students because of my big van!  :-)  

We were meeting at an off-site location to learn more about telemetry.  We first listened and learned about what they were doing to track turtles.  It was neat to learn more about how turtles respond when their habitat is changed.  They track the turtles over time to see what their movement patterns are in the area.

 If you look at the map, you will see a cluster of blue dots in one corner of the land.  This is a turtle in his native habitat.  The yellow dots represent a rescued turtle that was found hurt near a road.  He was brought here, but this was not his native habitat.  We wandered over much of almost 90 acres looking for his home!

 This is the tracking device that emits a signal when you are getting close to the turtle.

 We walked up a path and then headed into the woods.  There were 3 students with the tracking devices looking for a turtle.  Each turtle had a different frequency.

 When they got a signal, the students with the tracking devices would spread out around the area to then try to pinpoint the turtles location.

 As you got closer, you could hold the transmitter closer to the ground for a more accurate reading.

 It isn't as easy as it may sound!   The turtles were all buried beneath leaves and dirt!

After the first turtle was located, a new set of students took a turn at finding the next turtle.  

Rebecca and Hanna decided to work together as a pair which took a lot of good communicating!  Helps that they are great friends!

We kept walking and looking.

Until we were close.

And it still wasn't easy.

Do you  see him yet?

Now?  Buried in the leaves?

This turtle is right where she is pointing and touching the shell.  I had no idea that they could hide so well.

And little did we know that the 3rd turtle was going to be the best yet at hiding!

Some sister play time.  This helped a lot because Eliana was kind of cranky.  We later figured out that she had been glutened (mildly???) with chapstick!

Friends.

Looking, but no success.

Its just sweet seeing my girls playing together.  Rebecca waited a long time for this sister.

Finally the last turtle was located.  After much looking.  Under the log!

What a fun group to spend the morning with!

When we finished, we headed over to nearby Pullen Park.  We hadn't been there since it has been renovated and it looks great!  We had a picnic in one of the new shelter areas.

Then rode some of the rides.  Merry Go Round.

Eliana was actually a little scared on the ride which is quite unlike her.  It made me wonder if being glutened leaves you feeling a little off balance in any way???  Anyone know?

And of course the train around the park!

We ended the day by visiting Moonberries for frozen yogurt.  It was a wonderful treat after a warm day. A delightful day of learning, laughing and just having fun!  Looking forward to our next field trip day ... tomorrow!

Blessings

Leslie