While quietly contemplating hiding spots for a great cache, I was delighted by birds that I don’t usually notice when I am actively hiking! A pair of teeny Oak Titmouse and a family of Acorn Woodpeckers particularly charmed me. (Photos from Flikr by Alan Schmierer.)
This cache is on a short spur trail connecting Oak Street to Beekman Loop trail. You will need to take about a dozen steps off the Oak Street spur trail using a deer path. Be careful of poison oak! If you are hiking to the cache on the main Beekman loop, look for the junction of the spur trail to Oak street using the waymark and by looking for a ‘TO OAK STREET —> ‘ sign attached to a half dead madrone tree (watch for woodpeckers!) on the East side of the trail.
In the mixed chaparral forest of Beekman’s 20 acres, common species are Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Cassin’s and Warbling Vireos and Black-throated Grey Warbler. Also look for Rufous hummingbirds, Violet-green Swallows, Pacific-slope and Ash-throated Flycatchers, Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, and a variety of woodpeckers and migrating warblers. The Rogue Valley Audubon Society (www.roguevalleyaudubon.org) provides a digital species list for Jackson County Birds.
Feel free to share your photos of local birds in your log. The cache container has space for trade/trackable items!
There are two waymarked parking options for this cache. If you want to do the 1 mile, shady Beekman Loop and find 3-5 geocaches, park at Beekman House and Arboretum. Otherwise, there is street parking at the intersection of S. 5th St. and E. Oak St. for a faster grab.
Placed with the permission of the Jacksonville Woodlands Association and the City of Jacksonville.