An Eagle, An Egret And A Few More Birds At The Susquehanna Wetlands.

I was back at the Susquehanna Wetlands last weekend . A cold front passed through our area overnight and it was cloudy and cooler when I awoke Saturday morning .  After  taking  my usual 2 mile walk through my neighborhood I decided to hike in the wetlands. Because of the clouds I wasn’t expecting to get many good wildlife and bird photos on this hike. As often is the case , the wetlands would surprise me.  After my  1/2 drive  I arrived at the wetlands located  in Salem Township, Luzerne County.  As usual I stopped at the Water Fowl ponds near the entrance road looking for… waterfowl.

I saw the wood duck families again, across the pond, and

 I was rewarded for my return to the wetlands,  seeing, perched in a tree,  this juvenile bald eagle. It is always a good day when I see one of  these magnificent birds.

I waited, for about 10 minutes , to see if I could get some photos in flight, and as soon as I was distracted by an American redstart, it flew off its perch.

Returning to my Jeep I was able to get a photo of the American restart singing on  a branch,

and was surprised again when I heard and saw this rose breasted grosbeak perched on a branch near my Jeep.

It was foraging for  insects in the trees and I watched as  it capture a caterpillar. 

I don’t often see these colorful birds here .  I had seen one in another part of the wetlands and wondered if it was the same bird.

It was already a good start to my hike.  I drove into the parking area

and, again, as usual I walked down to the banks of the Susquehanna River. 

I walked into the wetlands and along the duck weed covered canals.

Like the previous week I found only a few wildflowers blooming in the wetlands, these  invasive purple nightshade flowers,

this American germander flowers,

and quite a few spotted wintergreen flowers growing on the ground. These last two  flowers are native to Pennsylvania.

Some of the Spring plants, like the once lush skunk cabbages and this mandrake or May apple plant,  were already beginning to decay.

The grasses and sedge were now in their season, including shallow sedge,

and American bur-reed, both also native to Pennsylvania.

A few mushrooms also grew in the wetlands but I was hoping to find  more, especially a few edible ones.

I walked under the cloudy skies to the Water Fowl ponds, where I again saw the wood ducks.

I  left the ponds and walked toward the river land section of the probate preserve. As I did I saw this male red wing blackbird foraging for insects along the canal.

and saw this female  with a dragonfly it captured. I think they were both looking for food for their offspring in nearby nest.

I also saw an American robin,

a few song sparrows,

a northern flicker,

and this red bellied woodpecker. 

I walked under the  old oak, sycamore and maple tress in the wetlands,

and saw a few more critters, a few eastern cottontail rabbits,

and this , according to my insect identification app, a powdered dancer damselfly.

I also saw this late blooming blue flag along the canal.

Leaving the wetlands I walk along another access road where there is a marsh.

Here, without the shade of the trees in the wetlands,  native daisy fleabane flowers and

invasive St. John’s Worth and

spotted knapweed bloomed. This one visited by a silver spotted skipper.

I also saw some more birds, including this common yellowthroat,

a few cedar waxwings,

a gray catbird ,

 an eastern phobe,

a few American goldfinches, and.

a swamp sparrow.

I  continued on my hike into the river lands.

 Here I found a few folks fishing along the banks of Lake Took-A-While. Fishing is not allowed in the wetlands. And dogs are allowed in the river lands but prohibited in the wetlands. There are picnic grounds and playgrounds for children  here in the river land.  

As I walked along the lake  I was excited to see a great egret in the reeds on  the other side of the lake.  I don’t see these beautiful birds to often here in the wetlands. 

I watched as it searched for fish, frogs and insects in the reeds.   It was a nice sighting, I was glad my prediction of a bad day for seeing wildlife was wrong. 

As I walked along the lake, 

I saw the usual flock of Canada geese, 

and was again warned by the hissing of  mom and dad to stay away from the goslings.  Here is a link to a  photo gallery on my blog website with more photos of  the birds I saw  my 5 mile hike. Susquehanna Wetlands  birds June 28  2025. 

I walked to the end of the lake and wouldn’t see any more birds on my hike.

On the way back to the wetlands I did see this cure eastern chipmunk, 

and this  juvenile muskrat swimming in the canal. I finished  my five mile hike and once again I was rewarded with some more  unexpected wildlife sightings. and a peaceful hike where I was again able to enjoy the beauty of nature. I hope to continue my frequent hikes here for the rest of my life, however long that may be. Here is a link to a  photo gallery on my blog website with more photos from my 5 mile hike. Susquehanna Wetlands June 28  2025.

“Nature, like a kind and smiling mother, lends herself to our dreams and cherishes our fancies.” ― Victor Hugo

“The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration.” ― Claude Monet