About the Site
A bur oak grove lies west of the lake. Within the woodlands, a variety of trees including shagbark hickory, aspen, black walnut, basswood, black cherry trees, and red, white, and bur oaks. The strong branches on these trees provide favorable nesting places for larger birds such as red-tailed hawks and great horned owls, while the hollows and holes in the trees provide habitat for smaller wildlife like woodpeckers, screech owls and flying squirrels. Coyote, deer, raccoons, groundhogs, grey squirrels and opossums also live here and their tracks can often be seen along the banks of the pond and creek.
Many shallow, ephemeral ponds exist along the trails. These seasonal wetlands provide crucial habitat for salamanders, Blanding’s turtles, American toads and chorus frogs during the spring and early summer months. Other wetland features throughout the site are sedge meadows or shallow marshes. Native plants such as wild geranium, Solomon’s seal, wild onion, Joe Pie weed, and sedges are becoming more abundant in restored areas at Rush Creek. Several species of wildflowers scatter the forest floor, including May apple, shooting star, violet, and trillium. Other wildflowers in the prairie and wet meadow include sunflower, yellow coneflower, aster, wild geranium, cardinal flower, and marsh marigold.
Names
A glaring of cats. A mob of Emus. A bloat of Hippopotami. A business of ferrets. A shiver of sharks. A crash of Rhinoceroses.
A collective noun is a word that refers to a collection of things taken as a whole. Most collective nouns in everyday speech are mundane and do not identify just one specific kind, such as the word "group", which may apply to "people" in the phrase "a group of people" but may also correctly refer to "dogs", in the phrase "a group of dogs". Other collective nouns are specific to one kind, especially words for groups of specific animals. For example, "pride" is a collective noun that always refers to lions, never to dogs or cows
Cache Your Way Question
What do you call a group of owls? (there is more than one answer but only one correct one for the program located in the cache!)
About the Hide
The walk is easy, the hide may take some time. There are some options when you are close to ground zero!
Geocachers
Please join us in playing! All are welcome who observe and obey the rules. Please do not move or vandalize the container. Please do not remove the informational card from the container, this is an essential game piece for cachers completing the Cache Your Way program. For more information on the program, visit our website or follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MCCDGeocaching
District Geocaching Rules
For a complete list of rules, visit our website
McHenry County Conservation District Information
Visit our website at www.mccdistrict.org or call 815-338-6223 for camping/shelters, 815-479-5779 for educational programs or 815-678-4532 for the Lost Valley Visitor Center