A Magical Morning At Middle Creek And A Quick, But Informative Walk Through Historic Schaeffertown

It is early March and that means it was time to make our annual visit to the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lebanon County.  My brother Mike and his son Mikey have been making this trip for about thirteen years now.  It means getting up early, we left Hazle Township at 4 a.m. to arrive at  the lake at Middle Creek before the sunrise.

And the reason for the trip? The annual migration of the snow geese, tundra swans, Canada geese and numerous other water birds that gather at this lake as the head north to their breeding grounds.  After stopping for a coffee, we arrived at the lake around 6 a.m.  There already was  a small crowd of tourists, bird watchers and local residents  gathered to watch this annual display.

This was  a lot fewer people than most  years. There are usually large crowds when we arrive.  We soon found out why. There were only about 15,000 snow geese on the water. Some years there are 150,000 of these birds amassed on the lake.

And the reason for these reduced numbers?  The cold arctic air that filtered into P

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