This year I went to really cool summer camp. It is called the Wildlife Conservation Camp. I wrote a journal of all the activities but it would be A LOT of information for this blog, so here are some of the highlights, along with pictures, of course!
During this camp we learned about habitat management and plant identification as well as other outdoor activities. The camp took place at the Welder Wildlife Foundation near Corpus Christi Texas. Throughout the camp I took a lot of pictures of the plants and animals that I saw there.
All the people at the camp, including the adults, were divided into four teams and each team was given a color: the blue team (my team), the green team, the yellow team, and the light blue team. Each team chose a team name, and my team was called the "Texas Daggers." I drew a picture that would represent our team for the week!
During the week, there were several activities that the teams competed. Whichever team got the most points at the end of the camp was the best team. My team got the most points, so we got a lot of cool prizes.
I especially enjoyed being able to take pictures of the various insects, reptiles, birds and mammals. One of the first pictures taken at camp was this bright green walking stick that I found on the screened in pavilion.
The preying mantis was actually a "pet" of the presenter. It was interesting because it was two-toned to make it appear to be a stick with a leaf!
I would love to know what this caterpillar is...so if anyone knows let me know in the comments. I even have my insect expert stumped! However, he did tell me the moth is a salt marsh moth.
My favorite creatures from camp were the reptiles! I was able to hold a bearded dragon, which liked to pose for the camera. However, my favorite one was the legless lizard. We were told the way to determine if it is a snake or a lizard...look at the eyelids...if eyelids are present it is a lizard and if not it is a snake!
We also saw a few snakes in the wild. We found a rat snake and my friend Kenneth picked it up. He got bit, but thankfully these snakes are not venomous! He did not pick it up correctly, so I picked it up right behind the head so it could not bite me. We also found a rattle snake sitting on the cattle guard. We decided not to take a chance holding this one!
|
Legless lizards...have eyelids so they blink |