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Eagles Landing Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Wulf103: This cache has been a good run but as of late too many containers are going missing or getting destroyed. Thanks to all!

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Hidden : 11/27/2008
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:


Last winter Bald Eagles were spotted in this area on an almost daily basis. So for our first cache placement we thought that we would bring you here in the hopes that they will return. This is also a great place to take a walk anytime of the year as there can be deer, birds and many other animals found here.

The Eagle and the Region

The plumage of an adult Bald Eagle is evenly brown with a white head and tail. The tail is moderately long and slightly wedge-shaped. Males and females are identical in plumage coloration. The beak, feet, and irises are bright yellow. The legs are unfeathered, and the toes are short and powerful with large talons. The highly developed talon of the hind toe is used to pierce the vital areas of prey while it is held immobile by the front toes. The beak is large and hooked, with a yellow cere. The plumage of the immature is brown, speckled with white until the fifth (rarely fourth, very rarely third) year, when it reaches sexual maturity. Immature Bald Eagles are distinguishable from the Golden Eagle in that the former has a more protruding head with a larger bill, straighter edged wings which are held flat (not slightly raised) and with a stiffer wing beat, and feathers which do not completely cover the legs. Also, the immature Bald Eagle has more light feathers in the upper arm area, especially around the very top of the arm.

These birds have not been seen in the Niagara area since around the 1940's to 1950's. The cause of their disappearance is due to pollution of the Niagara River by chemicals from nearby factories. Lethal doses of toxic chemicals were found in blood samples taken from bird remains. Both Canada and the United States banned the use of such chemicals in l970, and since that time the waters of the Niagara River have become less polluted

Today, the bald eagles of Southern Ontario are recovering slowly. Across southern Ontario in 2000, 28 eaglets were known to fledge, from 18 of 23 active nests. Recent estimates put the bald eagle population in southern Ontario at about 20 pairs. But, eagle populations are flourishing in other parts of Canada.

The Bald Eagle is extremely sensitive to human activity, and is found most commonly in areas free of human disturbance. It chooses sites more than 1.2 km (0.75 miles) from low-density human disturbance and more than 1.8 km (1.2 miles) from medium- to high-density human disturbance. This makes them quite skittish.

We are hoping that you get to see at least one eagle on your caching adventure so be sure to bring your camera along as we want to see photos of the birds. On a side note when the cache was placed a very curious black mink was in the area and came to say hi. It was really friendly to us but keep your eyes peeled for the little critter.

Now onto the Cache, which is a small camo'd cylinder container with a few trinkets inside.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

N yvggyr fznyy sbe na rntyr ohg whfg evtug sbe n pnpur. 3 srrg sebz jngref rqtr.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)