The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) has been the national emblem of the United States since 1782, and a spiritual symbol for native people for far longer than that. Adult Bald Eagles have white heads and tails with dark brown bodies and wings. Their legs and bills are bright yellow. Immature birds have mostly dark heads and tails; their brown wings and bodies are mottled with white in varying amounts. Young birds attain adult plumage in about five years. The Bald Eagle dwarfs most other raptors, including the Turkey Vulture and Red-tailed Hawk. It has a heavy body, large head, and long, hooked bill. In flight, a Bald Eagle holds its broad wings flat like a board. Look for Bald Eagles near lakes, reservoirs, rivers, marshes, and coasts. For a chance to see large Bald Eagle congregations, check out wildlife refuges or large bodies of water in winter over much of the continent, or fish processing plants and dumpsters year-round in coastal Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Bald Eagles nest in trees except in regions where only cliff faces or ground sites are available. They tend to use tall, sturdy conifers that protrude above the forest canopy, providing easy flight access and good visibility. Bald Eagles build some of the largest of all bird nests—typically 5 to 6 feet in diameter and 2 to 4 feet tall, and ranging in shape from cylindrical to conical to flat, depending on the supporting tree. Both sexes bring materials to the nest, but the female does most of the placement. They weave together sticks and fill in the cracks with softer material such as grass, moss, or cornstalks. The inside of the nest is lined first with lichen or other fine woody material, then with downy feathers and sometimes sprigs of greenery. Nests can take up to three months to build, and may be reused (and added to) year after year.
While working at the Houghton Lake DNR Office, a woman brought us an injured immature Bald Eagle that had been hit by a car. She drove with the injured bird just sitting on her passenger seat almost 20 miles without incident. She's lucky the bird didn't freak out inside her little car. When we went to remove the eagle to put in a pet carrier to take to a rehabilitator, the eagle rolled on its back and stuck its huge talons up. Apparently it liked her better than us.
To solve the puzzle, you need to have gathered letters and numbers from some of the nearby bird caches (see bookmark). To solve, substitute the numbers for the following letters (I'll even give you one):
N AB° CD.EFG W 0HI° JK.LMN
The cache is a 5 gallon bucket with a log and swag. Make sure the lid goes back on securely to keep the contents dry, and recover well to keep it from being muggled.