MGA13-Lake St Clair-Red-winged Blackbird Traditional Cache

Welcome to the 10th Annual Metroparks Geocaching Adventure 2013, a geocaching game placed by MiGO members in partnership with the Huron-Clinton Metroparks. In order to complete the series, you will need to find the special cache hidden in each of the 13 Metroparks.

For links to all of the caches in the series please Click Here. At each cache obtain the five digit code, found in the cache on the cover. Copy them exactly. They are to be placed in the appropriate locations in the brochure found here. That section of the brochure may be submitted for inclusion in the drawing for one of the 2014 Metroparks Annual Passes.

Those that log their finds of all 13 Geocaches will be E-mailed instructions as to how to submit their entry. Each cache’s 5 digit codes will also provide the key to a puzzle. Instructions as to how to obtain the puzzle piece should Click Here.

We will be holding the 10th Annual geocachers picnic at Hudson Mills Metropark on September 7. Watch the Metroparks Geocaching Adventure 2013 Picnic Page for more details.

The theme for this year's series is Animals.
The animal highlighted in Lake Saint Clair Metro Park is the Red-Winged BlackBird.

Red-winged Blackbirds typically nest in marshes. Males arrive back at Lake St. Clair Metropark in late winter and defend territories by singing and showing off their red wing patches. Females arrive about a month later and choose a mate based on the quality of his territory. If a male has a high quality territory, he may get more than one female (often five, and up to 15)! This is called polygyny.
Nests are made out of strips of woven cattail leaves, grass and other stringy plant material.  They hide their nests among the cattails or in the branches of shrubs near the edge of the marsh. They eat, and feed their young, mainly insects. In the fall and winter, they will also eat seeds, gathering in large flocks with other blackbirds, such as grackles, for migration south.

The cache is located less than 30 feet from the trail so bushwhacking further than that is not necessary and is discouraged to reduce impact on the environment. Please park at the coordinates shown in the Waypoint table and start your walk at the Trailhead coordinates.