Taking Flight GeoTour (GT10)

Location: Manatee County, Florida

Theme: Bird species, aspects of life, and nature preservation.

When Launched: August 20th, 2012

Number and Types of Caches: 15 caches, highlight specific bird species or aspects of bird life

Container Types/Viability: Letterbox caches are a favorite, but various caches as well. Tests the

person’s knowledge of birds.

Who Placed These Caches: Mannatee_County_NRD

Incentive(s) and How Many Available: After buying Passport, Trackable GeoTags awarded for

the first 300 who completed the tour and another 300 available in 2016.

How Is Incentive Earned: Find 12/15 caches, answer the required questions, and complete the

addition activities to earn a custom Taking Flight tracking tag.

Sponsoring Organization: 4- Manatee County’s Natural Resources Department in partnership

with 3 of the county’s National Estuary Programs: Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay, and Charlotte

Harbor.

External Website(s): www.mymanatee.org

Still Active? Yes

Approximate Number of Visitors: Robinson Preserve has a visitation of over 30,000 people

during its busiest months.

GeoTour Favorite Points: Silent Flight, Flooded Flight, Flight of the Invaders

Individual Cache Favorite Points: 290 (total)

Tour/trail owner explanation: The Taking Flight Geotour was created for visitors to learn more about the wildlife that exists in Manatee County, specifically the birds that inhibit the area. These caches are located in birding hot spots and each cach highlights a specific bird species or aspect of a bird. Along the trail you will experience the waterways, bays, and natural watersheds in Manatee County that are home to the wildlife in the area. This project was funded by Manatee County’s Natural Resources Department as well as by the County’s three National Estuary Programs: Charlotte Harbour, Sarasota Bay, and Tampa Bay. The Three National Estuary Program organizations each contributed $1500 towards this geocache location and that amount was matched by the Natural Resources Department.

Cacher reactions: Username: “Thoby” - Found it on a 7 day geocaching vacation with hathneit, visiting from Denmark. Today the main focus was the Take Flight Geo Tour, which we enjoyed very much.

Username: “hathneit” (Thoby’s friend) - Found with Thoby on our Florida adventure vacation. Most of the day was spent finding geotour caches, but unfortunately not all of them. We underestimated how long time it would take. Thanks for the cache.

Additional Details

Include information here to “round out” your description of the tour/trail. To include, but not limited to sample reactions (left in cache found logs), issues/challenges associated with the tour/trail (as indicated by the individuals responsible for its maintenance).

The Taking Flight Geotour was the first geotour in the state of Florida. Every site on the tour has an additional fun educational activity for the guests to do in addition to finding the cache. Some of these activities include measuring your wingspan, observing changes in sea levels, and bird watching. Each cache site is locating in a birding hotspot and provides educational information about the type of bird and what we are able to do to help these birds survive.

Taking Flight Geo Tour Report

The Taking Flight Geotour was launched in Manatee County, Florida on the 20th of

August, 2012. It is the first geotour created in the state of Florida. The Geotour’s 15 caches

exhibit the theme of Bird species, aspects of life, and nature preservation. You can find these

caches from a “Bird’s Eye View”. Not from a helicopter but on foot. The point is to test the

person’s knowledge of birds. Just a tip: Letterbox caches are a favorite, but they aren't the only

types of Caches. Each cache site is locating in a birding hotspot and provides educational

information about the type of bird and what we are able to do to help these birds survive. You

can thank the master behind the madness, Mannatee_County_NRD, for the over 30,000 people

that visit the Robinson Preserve during its busiest months. With this level of tourism, there’s

simply no wonder why the Manatee County Natural Resources Department partnered with

three of the county’s National Estuary Programs; Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay, and Charlotte

Harbor. If you’re like me and are wondering why you would drop $200+ dollars to find some

letterboxed, then do I have the answer for you. The incentive for this geotour is a custom

Taking Flight tracking bag. All you have to do earn this incentive is find 12 of the 15 caches,

answer the required questions, and complete the addition activities! After one purchased a

Passport in 2016, Trackable GeoTags were awarded to the first 300 who completed the tour

and another 300 available in 2016. I wouldn’t tell you all about this breathtaking Geotour is it

wasn’t still active! You can check them out on their website: www.mymanatee.org . The

Geotour is fun for the whole family! Each site accompanies an additional fun educational

activity for the guests to accomplish. Some of these activities include measuring your

wingspan, observing changes in sea levels, and bird watching. Some of the favorite points on

the Geotour as: Silent Flight, Flooded Flight, and Flight of the Invaders. The individual cache

favorite points are 290 (total).

An explanation of the Getour from the owner:

The Taking Flight Geotour was created for visitors to learn more about the wildlife that exists in

Manatee County, specifically the birds that inhibit the area. These caches are located in birding

hot spots and each cach highlights a specific bird species or aspect of a bird. Along the trail you

will experience the waterways, bays, and natural watersheds in Manatee County that are home

to the wildlife in the area. This project was funded by Manatee County’s Natural Resources

Department as well as by the County’s three National Estuary Programs: Charlotte Harbour,

Sarasota Bay, and Tampa Bay. The Three National Estuary Program organizations each

contributed $1500 towards this geocache location and that amount was matched by the

Natural Resources Department.

Cacher Reactions: ● Username: “Thoby” -

○ Found it on a 7 day geocaching vacation with hathneit, visiting from Denmark.Today the main focus was the Take Flight Geo Tour, which we enjoyed verymuch.

● Username: “hathneit” (Thoby’s friend) -○ Found with Thoby on our Florida adventure vacation. Most of the day was spent

finding geotour caches, but unfortunately not all of them. We underestimatedhow long time it would take. Thanks for the cache.

15. Flight & Fertilizer

Earth Cache

5. Snagged Flight

Y N[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

CavitiesWaterFood

# of Snags _____# of Birds _____

Viable Habitat?

Notes________________

Date & Time________________

MultiCache

14. Flight of the FloridaScrub Jay

Observations:________________________________

2011 Families

Artist's Rendering of Cache

Think Pink!

Proof of Flight

Stam

p here

12. Freshwater Flight

Birds Sighted

10. Tangled Flight

Trash

OutCac

he In

Weirdest Item

4. A Flight to the Rookery

Bird Brain Level

9. Flight in the Estuary

Similar Wingbeats

Cachefinder's Wingbeats

_______

7. Flight Span

Cachefinder's Wingspan: _____ ft _____ in

Equivalent Wingspan

3. Fire Flight

Magic Number

1. Flooded Flight

Tide Height

Date & Time________________

________________

2. Flight of the Invaders

8. Flight of theRoseate Spoonbill

6. First Flights

Ways to help:

________________________________

What can you do? Possible Nesting Bird

13. Silent Flight

Great Horned Owl Feather

Ros

eate

Spo

onbill

Feat

her

11. A Long Flight Home

Proof of Flight

Stamp here

Proof of Flight

Stam

p here Proof of Flight

Sta

mp

here