Two of my favorite hobbies are birding and geocaching. I decided to try and combine the two by placing some geocaches in some of my birding hotspots. Whether you like to hit the road in search of that rare bird (or that elusive cache) or just enjoy watching the birds at your feeder through your living room window (or that easy P&G), I hope you enjoy these caches and the areas they bring you to.
The Schulze Nature Preserve (SNP) just opened to the public this month. As it turns out, I stumbled upon this area from a fellow birder that posted a list from this location on eBird's annual "Global Big Day" which was May 5, 2018. eBird is a free, online, worldwide database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers, and amateur naturalists (like me) with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Check it out at ebird.org. Global Big Day is a 24 hr period where birders all over the world get out there and report their bird sightings. On Global Big Day 2018, 28,000 people went outside in 170 countries and observed 6,899 species of birds (which is 2/3 of the world's bird species) in one day. WOW!
The SNP is 22.76 acres of forested hillside in the Washington City limits that was once a part of the 200 acre Schulze family farm. It is currently owned and managed by Ozark Regional Land Trust (ORLT). There are two hiking trails here. Preserve is open from dawn to dusk. This one should be a fairly easy park and grab. BYOP!
Permission was granted for this geocache by Nic Rogers, Stewardship Specialist, ORLT.