Ranger Station - The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Cache Traditional Cache
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Ranger Station - The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Cache
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Easy micro on scenic loop trail at the Bienville NF Ranger Station. Just a mile from I-20! The nice trail begins on the left side of the building near logging display and picnic tables (see Trail-head on map). Great place for a picnic! About 10-15 minutes for the entire loop. Enjoy the walk - it passes a pond and a pine forest. You may see golf carts through the trees, Pine Warblers, Woodpeckers, a Kingfisher, and more.
You may find a trail brochure near the trail head, or inside the Ranger Station if open. Hopefully in the future they can set aside some Old Growth Forest areas and let the trees get big - eliminating the need for inserts. Enjoy this beautiful trail with the openness of an Old Growth Forest, here in the Bienville National Forest!
This area is managed for the endangered Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers. Rangers simulate an Old Growth Forest with bi-annual burning (usually March) to keep down the underbrush like actual big trees 60-150 years old would do. My father actually saw such forests in Pike County growing up and described how far you could see through the woods with low underbrush - a long ways! Pine Warbler picture taken here shows recent burning. The burning also benefits fire-dependent plants and animals!
This is a small black woodpecker with white cheeks. The male has a tiny red mark on the head, known as a "cockade". It makes a squeaking sound like a squeeze toy. Rangers add artificial nest cavities for them to live in, so look about 30 feet up. They like to peck around the hole to let sap drip and stop predators (like snakes). If the trees are allowed to get big enough, the woodpeckers can make their own hole without damaging the tree. It could take them nearly a year in the living trees they prefer (not dead and rotten ones like other woodpeckers). They might not live that long without a hole to sleep in due to predators, so that's why they are endangered. Also, the older trees will sometimes have a small spot with heart rot, and that helps them make their hole faster!
Originally named "The Pine Warbler Cache" for a bird seen while hiding the cache. It is yellow. Unlike other warblers which winter in the tropics, the Pine Warbler is a permanent resident in Mississippi. The Pine Warbler gives a high pitched trill, beginning in February. You may hear the crazy sounds of the Yellow-Breasted Chat near the pond. The Chat arrives early April.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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