Another Hike In The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, This Time With Some More Wildlife And Sunshine.

I was up before the sunrise  on Friday morning at my hotel near the Philadelphia airport in Tinicum.  After a cup of coffee, I was  on my way  back to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. This time I was headed to the entrance in the city of Philadelphia. The skies were  clear and it was  cold.The temperature was around 30 degrees and there was a heavy frost on the windshield of my Jeep.

I drove about 5 miles to the parking lot and Visitor Center  and  began my hike on the Wetland Loop Trail. I was surprised to there was almost on   water  in the impoundment pond, only mud. On my previous visits to the refuge, there was a  water  and, when it wasn’t frozen, there were lots of geese, ducks and water fowl. The was no loud honking of Canada geese these morning. In fact, I heard no bird song

I walked in silence in the cold morning air.  There was only one elderly man, slowly walking  trail as the sun rose over the marshes and  impoundment lake.

I finally saw a Canada goose, it was on the ground, covered in frost. At first I thought it was dead. Then I saw it moving move. It was alive , and either ill , or just sleeping.

I walked along the trail between the Darby Creek,

and Lake as the sun rose higher in the east ,

and bathed the trees and marshes in the warm early morning sunshine.

It was a great contrast from my hike the previous afternoon.

The sunshine and clear blue skies  created a beautiful scene over the marshes.

I was somewhat disappointed because of the low water level and the absence of the usual ducks and other  water fowl  that would swim on the  lake. However, I was soon greeted by some song birds,, first a few Carolina wrens,

singing their beautiful morning songs,

Red wing blackbirds,

and a northern cardinals joined the wrens and filled the cold morning air with their songs. It was a beautiful morning and enjoyable walk, much different then my hike in the snow, wind and cold the previous afternoon.

I hiked along  the old mulberry  and,

silver male trees  silhouetted in the brilliant rising sun.

The trail took me along the Darby Creek,

where I saw few mallard ducks.

Song sparrows,

and mourning doves were also out in the early morning sun.

I walked out to the boardwalk that took me out into  the tidal marsh.

Here I saw  a large flock of mallard ducks,  this greater yellowlegs,

and a few green winged teal ducks.

I walked out to the Turkey Foot Trail, where, on a pervious visit to the refuge I saw a mink.

There were no mink on Friday morning but a few gray squirrels scampered in the trees and along the trail.

I saw the first green leaves of the lesser celandine

and bitter dock were sprouting along the trail,  a sign Spring approached.

I turned back onto the Wetland Loop Trail and followed it along the impoundment pound under  the large old  eastern cottonwood, mulberry,  silver maple and box elder trees.

The trail took me past a Beaver Pond and then to the busy Interstate 95 highway. It  wasn’t a quiet hike along this section of the trail.

I walked through the mostly  young  mulberry and maple trees  the noisy interstate seeing a lot of the same birds I had seen earlier,

The  trail turned from the highway and entered a more mature hardwood forest with many oak tees,

here I saw a lot of woodpeckers, actually 4 of the 7 species that are found in Pennsylvania,  hairy woodpeckers,

their smaller  and nearly identical cousins the downy woodpeckers,

a few northern flickers, and

red-bellied woodpeckers.

And in  the waters and marshes of the impoundment pound I saw some more mallards ,

and a large flock of pintail ducks.

I  continued  on the trail which veered from the lake, here I saw a few white throated sparrows,

and rusty blackbirds.  This is a link to a gallery with some more photographs of the birds I saw on my 5 mile hike in the refuge. John Heinz  National Wildlife Refuge. March 14, 2026.

The  trail  meandered along the marshes, and then veered from the water and back into the hardwood forests, with mostly oak and sweetgum  trees.

Large popular trees  along the tree were bursting with their first buds.

I followed the Frog Pond Trail thorough some wetlands. There were no frogs active yet.  It would be long until the  spring peepers will awake. I followed the trail as it meandered through the woods and took me back to the Wetland Loop Trail.

I left this trail one last time. I followed the Woodland Trail back to the marsh and pond. I was hoping to see some herons, ospreys or bald eagle but it was quiet on the marsh. I walked back to the parking lot and finished my 5 mile hike.  This is a link to a gallery with photographs from my 5 mile hike in the refuge. John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge March 14, 2026.

I didn’t see the many species of ducks I had hope to see but I enjoyed my hike in the sunshine in the marshes that were once home to the native Lenni Lenape . I  would have lived here too. I could only imagine how beautiful it would have been before civilization arrived and polluted it. Thankfully some far-sighted people preserve a small part of this once expansive tidal marsh.

After my hike I was hungry and I returned to  Miller’s Cafe the small restaurant in Essington I found on my last visit. I loved this small town restaraunt that opendin the 1950’s and hasn’t changed much since. The food was great and so were   the friendly elderly waitresses and customers.  It was small town America next to a big city.  It was a great morning  next to and in my favorite city. 

“To be standing together in a frosty field, looking up into the sky, marvelling at birds and revelling in the natural world around us, was a simple miracle. And I wondered why we were so rarely able to appreciate it.”
― Lynn Thomson