Great Blue Heron
Birds of the Canadian Badlands
The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in
the heron family Ardeidae, it is commonly see waiting motionlessly
for fish along the banks of the Red Deer River. It is the largest
North American heron, with a head-to-tail length of 91–140 cm
(36–55 in), a wingspan of 167–201 cm (66–79 in),
and a weight of 2–3.6 kg (4.4–8 lbs). Notable features
include slaty flight feathers, red-brown thighs, and a paired
red-brown and black stripe up the flanks; the neck is rusty-gray,
with black and white streaking down the front; the head is paler,
with a nearly white face, and a pair of black plumes running from
just above the eye to the back of the head.
This cache is part of the Legacy Trail produced by the Canadian
Badlands Geocaching Association for the Best of the Bad Mega
Event.
The Legacy Trail
The Legacy Trail is a collection of geocaches that circles its
way over 100 miles on country roads traversing some of the most
scenic and spectacular landscape in this part of the Canadian
Badlands. A large number of caches in a variety of types, sizes and
difficulty are placed on the Trail. Every town, village and hamlet
in the Canadian Badlands has its own cache. Some caches were named
after local historic events and people, as well as celebrities who
grew up in this area. Some caches were sponsored by geocachers who
attended the Best of the Bad Mega Event. The Legacy Trail was
produced by the Canadian Badlands Geocaching Association for the
Best of the Bad Mega Event.
The Canadian Badlands
The Canadian Badlands in Alberta are like no other place on
earth, home to the world's most extensive dinosaur bonebeds,
badlands and hoodoos, and a world-class museum that shelters a 75
million-year-old legacy. The region is rich in culturally and
historically significant sites that tell the story of the First
Nations people and early settlers, and of a complex and diverse
modern society that is still deeply rooted in the spirit of the
frontier.
