TURTLE TRACKING

We joined Miranda Virtanen, a field technician involved with the START Muskoka project, for a day tracking female Blanding's turtles to monitor for potential nesting. Using radio telemetry to home in and wearing wetsuits, we slogged and waded through the wetlands, often relying on a float tube to negotiate across deeper areas. Once in close proximity we had to blindly search for them with our hands and feet in the murky water, Miranda making it look easy and successfully finding each of the subjects.

START MUSKOKA

I attended a presentation hosted by the Muskoka Conservancy and floored by Scales Nature Park staff from Orillia, for START Muskoka, Saving Turtles at Risk Today, a joint project launched last year involving several entities and efforts. It was interesting, informative, and highlighted the species we have, those at risk and how we can all contribute to the success of this program.