Cardinals on the Chippewa River Trail Traditional Cache
Cardinals on the Chippewa River Trail
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Cardinals like a brushy, wooded area, and are often seen during the winter. I saw a bright red male Northern Cardinal near this cache site. It is quite close to the Chippewa River Trail ranger station on Short Street, so you can get your trail pass here, and then find the geocache.
Cardinal males are one of the easiest birds to identify, due to their bright red plumage. Males are territorial and sometimes can be seen pecking at their reflections in feeders and windows.
Cardinals do not migrate, rather they band together and frequent feeders a bit more during the winter.
Cardinals lay 2-5 eggs in a low-lying nest, usually in a dense thicket or stand of low trees. The incubation period is 12-13 days. Once hatched, the young cardinals will take 9-10 days to fledge. Juvenile cardinals have a touseled look, with coloring similar to an adult female's.
It wasn't until 1895 that the first cardinals were spotted in the Great Lakes region. Now, every county in Wisconsin has cardinals living there year round.
Cardinals mainly eat seed and fruit, but they will enjoy the occasional insect. Black oil sunflower seeds are one of their favorite seeds.
This is one of a series of caches along the Chippewa River Trail. The route traces quiet countryside and broad meanders of the Chippewa River. For the most part, it follows the rail bed of the Milwaukee Road railway, built in 1882, which connected Eau Claire to Red Wing, Minnesota. The railway was abandoned in 1980.
The Chippewa River was once the "Road of War" for the Ojibwe (Chippewa) and Dakota (Sioux). It was a direct canoe route between the center of Dakota power at the north end of Lake Pepin and Ojibwe territory in northwestern Wisconsin. The conflict raged for more than 150 years with the last battle taking place near Eau Claire in 1854.
The trail goes though the Lower Chippewa River Valley, an area with much remaining natural habitat, including 50% of the states plant species, 70% of the state's fish species, 75% of the state's nesting bird species and 25% of all native prairies remaining in the state.
A trail pass is required to bike on the trail. Passes are available at 44.47.165; 91.31.935, which is the Short Street ranger station. Passes cost $15 for an annual pass, or $4 for a daily pass.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ubyybj gerr.
Treasures
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