This trail is a great spot for woodpeckers. If
you listen carefully at the right time of day, you can hear the
knocking of the woodpeckers as they search for carpenter ants in
the dead trees.
If you look really closely at the dead trees, you can see lots
of holes. Some of them are square holes, like the picture at
left.
These are made by Pileated Woodpeckers.
At an average 18" in length, the pileated is the largest
woodpecker in Canada. These colossal birds, with their striking red
crest and resemblance to prehistoric pterodactyls in flight, are
thought to be the inspiration for the once popular cartoon Woody
the Woodpecker. As Woody had his loud laugh, pileated woodpeckers
also make noise to match their size. Their drumming, reminiscent of
construction machinery, can be heard up to a kilometre away.
It is fairly easy to recognize a pileated woodpecker by its
large size and the red crest on its head. The body is predominantly
black, with thick black and white stripes reaching from the bill to
the wing and chest area. The red 'moustache' along the cheek
distinguishes males from females.
So have fun looking for the cache, but enjoy the woodpeckers
too.
To hear the call of the pileated woodpecker, click on the
Pileated Woodpecker, and enjoy.
It gets a bit muddy in here.
Most of the time you can get around the wet spots on the trails,
but be prepared to get a bit muddy if it has been
raining.
There should be no need for
bushwhacking. If you walk down the trail a bit from the closest
point, there is a fairly easy path in to the
cache.
There is no sign of woodpeckers
near this cache that we have seen, but if you are observant on the
way in, both paths have a fair amount of woodpecker activity
visible.
First to Find certificate and a geocaching pin in the cache.
Starting out with lots of smiley face items in the cache, but trade
what you have. Cache is a 2 Kg camoflaged peanut butter
container.
Brought to you by REDS Family Seekers of Comox.
Congrats to vanislehunters on the FTF!