Nature Bats Last...Bald Eagle Traditional Cache
poudrecacher: We thank all of you for all the wonderful geocaching memories...you are mighty fine folks. A special thanks to Denali41 who hooked us on geocaching years ago. It's time for us to be a gettin' along. Keep the outdoor spirit alive...cache on! Miss Katie, Sturgie, Bear, and Stevie
Nature Bats Last...Bald Eagle
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Fantasic news! The eagles are back...SW of the green gate.
UPDATE JULY 2, 2013...THE LAST HEAVY SNOW IN APRIL KILLED THE NESTLINGS, AND THE OL' DEAD MASSIVE COTTONWOOD THE NEST WAS IN BLEW DOWN A COUPLE WEEKS LATER. WE'RE LEAVING THE CACHE CONTAINER HERE IN MEMORY OF THE NESTLINGS AND ALL LIL' EAGLETS WHO CAME BEFORE. GUESS NATURE'S STILL BATTING LAST, EH?
By golly, we've been watching this bald eagle's nest for several years. Walk up to the middle of the two green gates and look way south at the large cottonwood tree along the bank of the river. You can't miss the large eagle's nest built up high among several large dead branches.
Here's some cool stuff about bald eagles:
-U.S. national emblem since 1782
-spiritual symbol for native people far longer
-mate for life
-one dies the other gets another mate
-male & female both pitch in nest-building
-lay 1-3 dull white eggs
-male & female both incubate the eggs
-incubation is about 35 days
-female is larger than male
-takes young 4-5 years to develop white head & tail
-not "bald", white head feathers contrast with dark brown body
-Colorado has about 120 known nests
-Colorado has 400-1,000 over-winter throughout the state
-in 2009 was removed from the Colorado list of threatened and endangered species
This bald eagle nest has been active a number of years. Once the eggs hatch near the end of March, the eaglets usually hang out nearby with their parents most of the summer.
The two ponds are for irrigation water fed by the Poudre Valley Canal. We see wood ducks on these ponds each summer. In the nearby cornfields, we have seen coyotes, white-tailed deer, and black bears. When the cattle are calving, as they are now, the coyotes are more common and easier to see. The black bears are more common just before and during the corn harvest. The white-taileds are in the harvested cornfields during twilight hours.
Today, as I was hiding the cache container, I didn't see the bald eagles. I did yesterday and the day before and the day before that...guess She's still a battin' last, eh?
Welcome to our world...have fun!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Obo Qlyna fnat "Punatvat bs gur Thneqf".
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures