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Drying Off LbNA #16049

Owner:Howling Coyote
Plant date:Jun 24, 2005
Location:
City:???
County:Cook
State:Illinois
Boxes:1
Found by: ???
Last found:Jan 2, 2007
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Jun 24, 2005
Double-crested cormorants reside in many locations throughout North America. The birds in the Great Lakes population migrate south, along the Atlantic coast and Mississippi River drainage to overwinter in the southeastern states and Gulf of Mexico. By May, birds have returned north to breed and rear their young. They often nest on islands in the company of terns and gulls, great blue and black-crowned night herons, and great and snowy egrets.
Nests are constructed from sticks and twigs and located in trees or on the ground. They usually contain from two to four light blue eggs. Both adult birds incubate the eggs for about 28 days by wrapping their feet around them, and care for their young until they become fully independent, about 10 weeks after hatching.
Cormorants are expert divers, adapted naturally to forage under water for fish. Fully-webbed feet propel slim, streamlined bodies on dives usually from 8 to 20 feet. It eats mainly fish, but also amphibians, crustaceans. Eye muscles are specialized to allow acute vision both above and under the water.
Feathers absorb moisture, helping cormorants to stay under water for about 30 seconds. Since they are not fully waterproofed, these birds spend long periods standing with wings outstretched to allow them to dry.

Directions:
Your starting point is a Cook County Forest Preserve and Environmental Educational Center that boasts the only "rock canyon" in Cook County. I highly recommend taking a hike here. However, your box is not at this location, but very close by. Turn right pulling out of this preserve, and take another right at the red light.
Take another right into the next Forest Preserve you come to and park as soon as you see the lake to your right. Walk toward the lake staying close to the tree line on the right.
Keep an eye out for cormorants drying their wings among the rocks, along with herons wading in the shallows. When you get close to the lake, you will see a path heading into the woods to the right.
Follow this path. If it has been raining, use caution crossing the small "spillway".
Continue down the path and it will come out into the open. Walk along the stone, following the edge of the lake as it curves around to the right. You will cross another small spillway.
The trail will head into the woods again. At the fork in the trail, take the higher path to the right. You will soon have to step over a fallen tree across the trail. After stepping over the tree, take 28 steps.
You will see the lower path meet up with this one on your left. Directly to your right lies your box, behind one end of the small fallen tree just off the path.
This is an easy hike, maybe 10 minutes.
The box is small, no ink.
Recommended color: Black

Please feel free to email me about the box at coyotespaw@yahoo.com

Happy Letterboxing!
Howling Coyote