Pileated Woodpecker Letterbox LbNA #61002
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Mar 4, 2012 |
| Location: | Belding Wildlife Refuge |
| City: | Vernon |
| County: | Tolland |
| State: | Connecticut |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | Painterly and 46R  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Nairon |
| Last found: | May 25, 2019 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFOFFFFFaFFa |
| Last edited: | Mar 4, 2012 |
Pileated Woodpecker Letterbox
Bring the clues for Belding Wildlife Nature Loop if you’ve not done it already they are on the same trail. The hike is about 1.5 miles with a few low hills.
Directions to the Belding Wildlife Conservation area:
I-84 to Exit 67. At end of exit ramp turn south (right if travelling eastbound; left if northbound). Make first right onto Reservoir Road. You will pass a Park and Ride commuter lot. Pass the Reservoir. Continue on Reservoir Road. At the fork, (about one mile from the reservoir) stay left (Reservoir Road). Continue for about a half mile from the fork. You will find parking for several cars on the right near the trailhead.
CLUES:
Go around the chain onto the Blue over Yellow Trail. Very shortly come to a trail junction with the Yellow Trail going left. Remember this trail junction. It’s where you will return to at the end of the hike if you do it as a loop. For now, continue straight on the trail at 300 degrees. Cross bridge over the Tankerhoosen River. Immediately after the bridge take the blue trail left at 250 degrees toward Valley Falls. Read about the skunk cabbage and floodplain.
Continue on the trail. Cross a third bridge and a fourth bridge. Cross one more bridge (#5) Follow the Blue Trail when it turns to 270 degrees away from the stream. See a White Pine re-growth plaque at about ½ mile, and the Well in the Woods plaque.
Stay on the trail and you will find the pond. (You may find a trail guide near the pond on the bulletin board) Cross the bridge over the old mill dam at the far end of the pond. Go straight ahead at 110 degrees to the double blue trail marker. Read about the squirrel midden. At the intersection turn left following the blue trail. Continue on the Blue trail. At the four way intersection turn right and stay on the Blue Trail.
Continue on the Blue Trail over a small hill, and at the four way intersection with an unmarked trail take 15 steps from the tree on the left with the blue marker, past some downed limbs to a five foot stump. If you start uphill again and get to the Understory Habitat plaque you have gone too far. Note the square holes in the stump. They were caused by pileated woodpeckers. But the box you are looking for is 41 steps away at 140 degrees to a pair of old, crossed downed logs. X marks the spot as they say. The box is in back of the X under sticks and bark.
More about pileated woodpeckers:
The first time we hiked the Belding Wildlife area we noticed the rectangular holes in the trees and didn’t know what produced them. We found out later that they are made by pileated woodpeckers.
Pileated woodpeckers are the largest of the common woodpeckers and found in most of North America. These crow-sized birds present a memorable sight with their zebra-striped heads and necks, long bills, and distinctive red crests. They forage for their favorite meal, carpenter ants, by digging large, rectangular holes in trees. These holes can be so large that they weaken smaller trees or even cause them to break in half. If you looked closely at the stump you will have noticed it broke off at one of the larger holes. Other birds are often attracted to these large openings, eager to access any exposed insects.
Pileated woodpeckers do not discriminate between coniferous and deciduous trees—as long as they yield the ants and beetle larvae that make up much of the birds' diet. Woodpeckers sometimes access these morsels by peeling long strips of bark from the tree, but they also forage on the ground and supplement their diet with fruits and nuts.
The enthusiastic drumming that creates such holes sounds like a loud hammering, and is audible for a great distance. Woodpeckers also drum to attract mates and to announce the boundaries of their territories. Pairs establish territories and live on them all year long.
The birds typically choose large, older trees for nesting and usually inhabit a tree hole. In eastern North America, pileated woodpeckers declined as their forest habitats were systematically logged in the 19th and 20th centuries. In recent decades, many forests have regenerated, and woodpecker species have enjoyed corresponding growth. The birds have proven to be adaptable to changing forest conditions.
After you sign in, please re-hide completely and close the plastic bags. The plastic bags are for the logbook and stamp INSIDE the box, not on the outside! Please take special care bagging the logbook which is more sensitive to moisture. Do not leave the boxes exposed! Well hidden boxes will last much longer. Thanks!!
From here you can get back to your car by returning the way you came or by continuing on the Blue Trail for a loop hike via the Yellow Trail connector. It’s about the same distance either way. For the loop hike continue on the Blue trail and go up the hill. Read the nature plaques about the Understory Habitat, Shagbark Hickory and Dry Upland Range. Soon you will come to an intersection with the Yellow Trail. If you are looking for the Nature Loop boxes, follow their clues and stay on the Blue Trail looking for the Waterfall.
If you are not doing the Nature Loop letterboxes, follow the Yellow Trail up the hill and past more nature plaques. Be especially careful on the Yellow Trail following the trail markers as many unmarked wood roads intersect and veer off unexpectedly. If you follow the trail correctly in about a quarter mile you will come to a stream with lots of side trails and nature plaques describing the area. Explore the area but return to the Yellow Trail.
Continue the way you were going. You will get back to the intersection with the Blue Trail (remember?). Turn right to return to your car.
Bring the clues for Belding Wildlife Nature Loop if you’ve not done it already they are on the same trail. The hike is about 1.5 miles with a few low hills.
Directions to the Belding Wildlife Conservation area:
I-84 to Exit 67. At end of exit ramp turn south (right if travelling eastbound; left if northbound). Make first right onto Reservoir Road. You will pass a Park and Ride commuter lot. Pass the Reservoir. Continue on Reservoir Road. At the fork, (about one mile from the reservoir) stay left (Reservoir Road). Continue for about a half mile from the fork. You will find parking for several cars on the right near the trailhead.
CLUES:
Go around the chain onto the Blue over Yellow Trail. Very shortly come to a trail junction with the Yellow Trail going left. Remember this trail junction. It’s where you will return to at the end of the hike if you do it as a loop. For now, continue straight on the trail at 300 degrees. Cross bridge over the Tankerhoosen River. Immediately after the bridge take the blue trail left at 250 degrees toward Valley Falls. Read about the skunk cabbage and floodplain.
Continue on the trail. Cross a third bridge and a fourth bridge. Cross one more bridge (#5) Follow the Blue Trail when it turns to 270 degrees away from the stream. See a White Pine re-growth plaque at about ½ mile, and the Well in the Woods plaque.
Stay on the trail and you will find the pond. (You may find a trail guide near the pond on the bulletin board) Cross the bridge over the old mill dam at the far end of the pond. Go straight ahead at 110 degrees to the double blue trail marker. Read about the squirrel midden. At the intersection turn left following the blue trail. Continue on the Blue trail. At the four way intersection turn right and stay on the Blue Trail.
Continue on the Blue Trail over a small hill, and at the four way intersection with an unmarked trail take 15 steps from the tree on the left with the blue marker, past some downed limbs to a five foot stump. If you start uphill again and get to the Understory Habitat plaque you have gone too far. Note the square holes in the stump. They were caused by pileated woodpeckers. But the box you are looking for is 41 steps away at 140 degrees to a pair of old, crossed downed logs. X marks the spot as they say. The box is in back of the X under sticks and bark.
More about pileated woodpeckers:
The first time we hiked the Belding Wildlife area we noticed the rectangular holes in the trees and didn’t know what produced them. We found out later that they are made by pileated woodpeckers.
Pileated woodpeckers are the largest of the common woodpeckers and found in most of North America. These crow-sized birds present a memorable sight with their zebra-striped heads and necks, long bills, and distinctive red crests. They forage for their favorite meal, carpenter ants, by digging large, rectangular holes in trees. These holes can be so large that they weaken smaller trees or even cause them to break in half. If you looked closely at the stump you will have noticed it broke off at one of the larger holes. Other birds are often attracted to these large openings, eager to access any exposed insects.
Pileated woodpeckers do not discriminate between coniferous and deciduous trees—as long as they yield the ants and beetle larvae that make up much of the birds' diet. Woodpeckers sometimes access these morsels by peeling long strips of bark from the tree, but they also forage on the ground and supplement their diet with fruits and nuts.
The enthusiastic drumming that creates such holes sounds like a loud hammering, and is audible for a great distance. Woodpeckers also drum to attract mates and to announce the boundaries of their territories. Pairs establish territories and live on them all year long.
The birds typically choose large, older trees for nesting and usually inhabit a tree hole. In eastern North America, pileated woodpeckers declined as their forest habitats were systematically logged in the 19th and 20th centuries. In recent decades, many forests have regenerated, and woodpecker species have enjoyed corresponding growth. The birds have proven to be adaptable to changing forest conditions.
After you sign in, please re-hide completely and close the plastic bags. The plastic bags are for the logbook and stamp INSIDE the box, not on the outside! Please take special care bagging the logbook which is more sensitive to moisture. Do not leave the boxes exposed! Well hidden boxes will last much longer. Thanks!!
From here you can get back to your car by returning the way you came or by continuing on the Blue Trail for a loop hike via the Yellow Trail connector. It’s about the same distance either way. For the loop hike continue on the Blue trail and go up the hill. Read the nature plaques about the Understory Habitat, Shagbark Hickory and Dry Upland Range. Soon you will come to an intersection with the Yellow Trail. If you are looking for the Nature Loop boxes, follow their clues and stay on the Blue Trail looking for the Waterfall.
If you are not doing the Nature Loop letterboxes, follow the Yellow Trail up the hill and past more nature plaques. Be especially careful on the Yellow Trail following the trail markers as many unmarked wood roads intersect and veer off unexpectedly. If you follow the trail correctly in about a quarter mile you will come to a stream with lots of side trails and nature plaques describing the area. Explore the area but return to the Yellow Trail.
Continue the way you were going. You will get back to the intersection with the Blue Trail (remember?). Turn right to return to your car.