A Few Birds And Flowers On A Late Summer Hike On The Greater Hazleton Rails To Trails

It was still Summer on the calendar, but it felt a lot more like Fall  on Sunday morning at  the Greater Hazleton Rails to Trails in Luzerne County Sunday. I decided to hike close to home, and on a rock and stump free trail  because of my recent shoulder injuries. I drove to the eastern trail head near the village of Hazle Brook.  It was quiet when I arrived. I usually hear the songs of the red-eyed vireos, oven birds and other migratory song birds in the mostly oak woodlands.  The migratory birds have already began their journey south and I didn’t see or hear any of the year long resident birds.

Although most of the trees and shrubs are still green there were hints of Fall colors on some of the trees and especially the blueberry bushes along the trail.

The bracken ferns had already turned brown and withered.

While many of the hay scented ferns along the trail were still green,

others began to change into their Autumn yellow colors. Soon they will turn completely yellow and fill the air with their sweet aroma.

I found some edible  honey mushrooms growing along the trail. We call them stumpies or popinkies here in the coal region. I  left them hoping they would still be there on my return hike, They were and I included them in my dinner that evening.

There were a few late Summer wildflowers blooming along the trail including white wood asters,

American burnweed,

and daisy fleabane, all native to Pennsylvania.

I continued on the trail as the late Summer sunshine filtered through the trees. It was still quiet, not even the insects were active on this cool September morning.

I walked toward the mine reclamation ara of the trail, where one side is still a second growth oak and pitch pine woodland, and the other side birch, aspen and scrub oaks that grew in the strip mining area that occurred here.

Along the trail were more late Summer wildflowers, including downy goldenrod,

early goldenrod,

evening primrose, all of these native,

bull thistle,

field mustard, and

spotted knapweed, invasive to our area.

I walked into the mine reclamation area, where many species of trees were planted, including white pine, alder, birch ,locust  and aspen.

In the Spring I had seen a lot of migrating birds in the reclamation area. It was quiet on Sunday, until

I heard and saw a flock of black-capped chickadees.    I have  learned that many different species of birds often follow the fidgety and noisy chickadees who serve as a warning and cover from predators.

And, sure enough there were a lot of birds foraging for seeds and insects with the chickadees including a red -eyed vireo,

a blue headed vireo,

a female chestnut sided warbler ,

a female magnolia warbler

and a small flock of tufted titmice.

Eventually the chickadees and other birds moved on , and so did I. I walked through the reclamation area, and across the bridge over the active railroad track.

I wasn’t seeing any more bird activity as I walked through an abandoned strip mining area.

Here I saw a few more species of wildflower including yarrow

and great  blue lobelia.

Many of the grasses growing along the trail had now gone to seed, including yellow foxtail

and Japanese bristlegrass  both invasive species of grass.

I walked out to the abandoned road to the former Beryllium processing plant. I usually see a lot of song birds here in the Spring and Summer. I only heard a few eastern tos wees calling in the distance on Sunday.

I had walked out about 2 miles and began  my hike back to my Jeep. ( I had walked 3 miles earlier in the morning  looking for edible mushrooms)

It was a beautiful September morning on the trail.

I saw a few folks walking their dogs and running in the trail.

I also heard a few cicadas and , as I crossed the bridge over the railroad track I saw a flock of cedar waxwings feeding along the trail. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog website with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hike. Greater Hazleton Rails to Trails birds September 7 2025.

I finished my four mile hike, gathering the honey mushrooms I saw at the beginning of my hike, for my dinner.

It was great way to spend a beautiful late Summer morning. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog website with some more photos from  on my hike. Greater Hazleton Rails to Trails  September 7 2025.

“By all these lovely tokens, September days are here. With summer’s best of weather and autumn’s best of cheer.” -Helen Hunt Jackson