The Cache River Wetlands
A Place to Explore this Spring
www.cacherivernaturefest.org
The days are getting longer; birds fill the morning with song; frozen ponds are now open to rain and the frogs are waking up --- Spring is in the air! What better place to look, listen, and experience Spring than the Cache River Wetlands.
The Cache is a special place that highlights nature. It is also a unique place that claims some of the oldest living trees east of the Mississippi River and harbors 91% of Illinois' high-quality swamp habitat. This rich variety of habitats provides homes to a rich variety of plants and animals seldom matched in the Midwest. Over 250 species of birds are found in the Cache; red-headed and pileated woodpeckers and the state-endangered Barn owl; snowy egrets, yellow and black crowned night herons, little blue herons, hooded mergansers, wood ducks are just a few noted species in addition to 30 species of warblers found here including those with southern affinities such as the yellow-throated, hooded, prairie, and prothonotary warblers. Songbirds are abundant in addition to other resident wildlife including deer, squirrels, foxes, mink, as well as, bobcats, river otters, and a host of frogs and toads, turtles and snakes.
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