A Good Day For Wildlife In Northeastern Pa.

 On my weekly hikes, I am  always  looking for wildlife to photograph and share.  A  bear, snake, bald eagle  or some other spectacular critter  are on my wish list on every hike.  But some days you can hike for  miles  and not see any wildlife at all.  Of course, there will still be so much of  nature’s beauty to discover.  Wildflowers., rock formation, trees and landscapes to name a few. But seeing wildlife and sharing their  photographs is always more fun.  And on Sunday I was lucky to see a lot of wildlife. Nothing spectacular but a lot of wildlife, nonetheless. 

I hiked in the gamelands in Dennison Township again. I parked on the access road and followed the old railroad right of way down to the D & L trail. It was sunny and warm. The morning sunlight filtered through the trees as I followed the trail to the lake I  visited for the first time last week. 

The lake was beautiful in the morning sun. The skies  were clear and the temperature were seasonably warm, in the mid 60 degree range. 

In a tree in a swamp opposite the lake I spotted this kingfisher perched atop a dead tree. I have always been intrigued by these birds and their  superb fishing abilities. This one flew off without diving for a morning meal. 

Nearby was a song sparrow chirping in a tree. 

As I walked down to the shore of the lake dozens of frogs jumped and hopped into the water. Unfortunately, too fast for my camera. But the water lilies didn’t move. Beautiful flowers they are. 

I continued my walk to the D & L trail.  There were  numerous stands of milkweed growing along the trail. And milkweed means monarch butterfly caterpillars this time of year.

There were quite a few of the caterpillars on the milkweed which is a good thing. I didn’t see many butterflies this year.  Finding a few cocoons on the milkweed mean that it won’t be long until there are more monarch butterflies in our skies, heading south for the winter. 

There were also a lot of grasshoppers, of all sorts, on or near the stands of milkweed. 

In the trees along the trail I also heard and saw many song birds, including more song sparrows, robins and this juvenile chestnut sided warbler. 

A small flock of black and white warblers also scampered in the trees along the trail.

A few woodpeckers were also busy looking for insects in the treetops.  

Perched high in this tree top was a beautiful crested waxwing. 

In addition to the milkweed there were some other late summer flowers in bloom along the trail including  common mullein and its long  flower stalk. 

I walked the D & L trail up to Moosehead lake. I have come to love this scenic lake. 

Near the lake I found this hornet nest just off the trail. 

I had hiked about 3 1/2 miles and decided to turn back. On the way I saw a few blue herons and this wood duck on a wetlands near the lake. 

This oriole was feeding on some berries in a tree. 

I continued to see some song birds on my walk back, as well as many more insects. It was nice walking under the shade of the tall oaks trees that were growing on large stretches of the trail. 

Butterflies fluttered about feeding on the late summer flowers.

I returned to the lake on the trail back to my jeep and found an eastern  kingbird perched in a tree. It almost seemed like it was smiling a me. 

It flew off as I approached.

In the distance I heard the chatter of a pairs of kingfishers and saw a few wood ducks on the lake. The quickly scattered as I approached. As I watched the wood ducks fly away I saw this great blue heron fly  onto a wet land where I saw the kingfisher earlier. 

I walked back up the old railroad right of way encountering a number of birds in the woods including this black-capped chickadee.  It seems that the birds are gathering together to begin their long journey south as the summer comes to an end. Here is a link to some more photographs of the birds I saw on my hike. Dennison Township hike birds August 18 2019.

As I finished my walk I looked down and saw this milker mushroom, reminding me that the next few weeks will be the peak of mushroom season here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. So I was glad to have been able to see such a wide variety of wildlife on this hike. The next few weeks my eyes will be peeled but I  will be looking on the ground for mushrooms and not wildlife. Here is a link to some more photographs from my hike. Dennison Township hike August 18 2019. 

“If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love.” 
― Steve Irwin

fskokoski@gmail.com

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