Geographic
Range
Great horned owls occur
all over the United States and most of Canada, and southward to
Central and South America to the Straits of Magellan. They are one
of the most widespread species of owls. They mostly reside year
round in their territories, but ones from the far north move
southward in fall or winter.
Description
Great
horned owls are big and bulky (3-4 pounds), standing 18-25"
tall with a wingspan of 36-60" long. Males and females are
similar in appearance, except the female is the larger of the
two. The plumage of the great horned owl varies regionally,
from pale to dark. In general, they have brown body plumage
covered with darker brown spots and white throat feathers that
contrast with the dark cross-barred underparts. The white
feathers stand out like a collar against the darker underside
feathers. Some great horned owls may be very pale underneath,
but still the white collar stands out.
The great horned owls facial disk
may have orangish or grayish feathers, and whiter feathers that
form a V between the yellow eyes with black pupils. Their ear tufts
are large and set far apart on the head. Just like a dog, great
horned owls use these ear tufts to convey body language - when they
are irritated the tufts lie flat and when they are inquisitive the
ears stand upright.
In summary, four good field marks
for the great horned owl are: size, eye color, ear tufts and the
white collar.
This is just a
straight on type cache with no puzzles to figure out, no
multiple waypoints to find, or to project. The area of this
cache is in an unimproved area of Jefferson Barracks park. The
history of Jefferson Barracks states that the army post existed
till 1946 and this area looks like it has not been inhabited since.
There are foundations, steps and old bricks from buildings that
once were part of this historic site. The 250 foot bushwhack can be
found to be the easiest by entering the woods from the Gregg
Road side by the south end of the short wall next to the
sidewalk.
Park hours for Jefferson Barracks is sunrise to 1/2 hour after
sunset. Parking is available nearby in two different areas with
a short walk to the area just west of the cache location
where you need to enter the
woods. Map of JB Park.
Do not park at the
service road gate. You will be issued a ticket.
|
For the
first five finders that want them there are five new Washington
dollars. One per customer please. |
 |
Congratulations goes to
GeoTrakers
on FTF.
|
NOTICE: Please be respectful of the posted park hours. If you enter
the park after hours you are trespassing. If you are stopped you
can be ticketed or arrested and will put the future of geocaching
in the parks in
jeopardy. |
Special permission to hide caches in St.
Louis County parks is NOT needed as long as the Groundspeak rules
are followed. "Blanket Permission" has been worked out in advance
with the park service. DO NOT CALL THE PARK as they cannot handle
the calls. The Groundspeak cache reviewer does need to know exactly
how and where the caches are hidden and what type of containers are
used. The geocaching liaisons will notify the park service of new
caches. Remember NO AMMO BOXES or PVC PIPE
caches.
