*** This cache is part of the Taking Flight GeoTour. Anyone can claim this cache, but to be eligible to receive a Taking Flight GeoTour prize tag, geocachers must complete the activities in this survey for at least 12 caches on the tour.***
Welcome to Johnson Preserve!
Located on the Braden River, Johnson Preserve is abundant with mature live oaks, tall longleaf pines, and vital wetland.
Photo by Manatee County Staff
Is all this Geocaching making you hungry? If you were a bird, Johnson Preserve would be a great place to stop for a snack. The variety of insects and plants and the preserve’s proximity to the Braden River make for a fully stocked bird buffet! Because of the large availability of food, Johnson preserve attracts many bird species, each with a specialized beak for gobbling up their favorite meal!
Photo by Kathy Doddridge
Next time you spot a bird, take a close look at their beak. A bird’s beak can give us clues about the type food the bird likes to eat. Birds with short, cone-shaped beaks, like cardinals, are great for cracking open seeds and nutshells. A small, sharp, pointed beak helps warblers to pluck insects and spiders from leaves, bark and twigs, while a hummingbird’s long, hollow, slender beak protects the tongue as it drinks nectar from flowers.
Photo by Kathy Doddridge
Birds like ibises, have long, slightly curved beaks adapted for uncovering worms, crustaceans, and other small creatures in mud or shallow water. Filter-feeders like flamingos, use the unique shape of their beaks to stir up the mud, and specialized hairs lining the mandible called lamellae filter tiny shrimp for them to eat. Herons make for excellent hunters with their long dagger-like beaks, used to spear fish!
Visit the sites along the Taking Flight GeoTour (TFGT) and learn about Manatee County's wild spaces and the amazing feathered friends that live in them. Along the way, you will be challenged to become a citizen scientist, a preserve ranger, a detective, a historian, an excellent geocacher. Caches are located in birding hot spots throughout Manatee County's publicly accessible conservation Preserves. Each one highlights a specific bird species or aspect of bird life providing you with opportunities to learn more about these creatures and what we can do to help them survive. Caches also focus on protecting the region's waterways, bays, natural watersheds, and habitat areas for many of our area's feathered friends.
The Taking Flight GeoTour launched August 20, 2012 and includes 18 caches within Manatee County.
To be eligible to receive a Taking Flight GeoTour prize tag, geocachers must complete the activities in this survey for at least 12 finds on the tour. Keep this survey open in your browser, only click submit when at least 12 finds have been completed. Survey responses will be automatically sent to Manatee County staff. Prize tags can be redeemed on Saturday mornings from 9am - 12pm at The NEST at Robinson Preserve located at 840 99th St NW, Bradenton, FL 34209. If you are unable to collect your prize tag in person, please contact ecoevents@mymanatee.org to arrange for your tag to be sent in the mail. Tags will be available while supplies last.