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On September 23, 1998, we visited the Deal Island Wildlife Management Area for a Wetlands and Wildlife Field Day. The Management Area is a saltwater marsh in Somerset County, Maryland, near the Chesapeake Bay.
We had a perfect day for our trip. It was sunny and breezy. There were just a few clouds. We needed our jackets in the morning, but by afternoon it got warmer.
The Department of Natural Resources made a path right through the center of the marsh. It was only wide enough for one pickup truck. The path was covered with grasses and straw. Cattails were along the edge
of the path. There were a few clumps of trees in the distance. It looked like bunches of little islands covered with grass in the water. The water looked like it touched the sky.It was very quiet in the marsh. We could only hear ducks quacking, crickets singing, and birds chirping. There were about a hundred students in the marsh that day, but we could not hear the voices because there was so much space.
When we were walking the air smelled fresh. Sometimes we could smell marshy water. The algae at the oyster station smelled terrible!
We did lots of interesting activities. We banded ducks. We made a picture by blowing through a hollow reed and spreading ink.
There were models of many animals like the beaver, otter, muskrat, and the nutria. The nutria is the biggest. We saw a red-tailed hawk, a great horned owl, and a black vulture up close.
Our favorite center was with Mr. Nick Carter. He let us touch snake eggs inside a dead black snake. We saw a shell of a 400-pound turtle. Mr. Nick had mantis shrimp and a diamond-back turtle. He seemed to know the answers to all our questions.
We enjoyed seeing so many different things. The marsh habitat is important in the Chesapeake Bay area. We had a great trip!
Mrs. Pruitt's fourth graders from Marion Sarah Peyton School
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