Birds, Butterflies and Blueberries At The Pennsylvania State Game Lands

We had clear skies and sunshine here in Northeastern Pennsylvania last Sunday and I decided to drive to my new found hiking area in the State Game Lands 119. Located about 35 minutes from my house, on the edge of the Pocono Plateau, these woodlands remind me of the woods near my home that I hiked all of my life, until they were lost to land development.
As I exited my jeep I noticed a number of butterflies fluttering on the ground and found they were enjoying one of their favorite foods, fox or coyote droppings. I believe these are spicebush swallowtail butterflies.
I walked north on the old railroad right of way into the game lands finding plenty of now ripe low bush blueberries, or, as we called them huckleberries. The high bush, or “swamper” blueberries were also beginning to ripen now. In my parents generation picking these berries and selling them supplemented the meager income of many coal mining families. I spent many hours and days picking them as a child. I continued to pick many quarts a year to supply my mom and aunts with the berries for pies, muffins and cakes but they are now too old to bake and I haven’t been out picking as much these past few years. .
I decided to walk the more wooded path that led to The D&L trail. It was a narrow path through scrub oaks, blueberry bushes and ferns growing in the wetlands on both sides of the trail.
I decided to walk this trail despite the numerous ticks I encountered on my last hike , I removed 18 of them that had crawled on me, hoping to see some wildlife in the wetlands.
I was rewarded with my first sighting of this beautiful bird, a Canada warbler. It was an elusive bird and I followed it’s fluttering through the thick scrub oaks or about 15 minutes until I was able to get some photographs. Here is a link to some more photographs of this beautiful bird. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/birds-of-pennsylvania/nggallery/birds-of-pennsylvania/canada-warbler-
I also saw another elusive bird, which my birding friends helped me identify, an immature oven bird.
And, as they are found almost everywhere here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, there were a number of catbirds in the woods along the trail. I observed a pair that were traveling together and they were much more quiet than usual. I suspect they had a nest nearby. Here is a link to some more photographs of the birds I saw on my hike. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-2017/nggallery/photographs-2017/Game-Lands-119-birds-july-2-2017-
I followed the trail as it proceeded downward and crossed this little stream, one of the headwaters of the Nescopeck Creek. I thought to myself how the water flowing beneath my feet would find it’s way to the Nescopeck Creek, the Susquehanna River, the Chesapeake Bay and eventually the Atlantic Ocean, and eventually evaporate and once again fall as rain. We live on a wonderful planet.
As I stepped over the stream I spotted this fellow enjoying the cool waters.
The woods along the trail grew thicker
and there were older hemlock and oak trees now shading the sun.
Eventually the wooded path intersected with the wider and more used D & L trail that will soon lead to Easton . I encountered many folks walking and even more riding on bicycles on the trail and enjoying the intense early July sunshine.
Along the trail were many patches of milkweed flowers that are now in bloom. And, milkweed flowers attract butterflies and there were plenty of than fluttering about, including the beautiful eastern tiger swallowtails.
the Aphrodite fritillary butterflies
and the spicebush swallowtail butterfly with another eastern tiger swallowtail. .
And the butterflies weren’t just found on the milkweed flowers as this common buckeye butterfly was found on a leaf
I walked the trail up about a half mile and come to the scenic Moosehead lake. I was hoping to see an eagle or an osprey, or as least some water birds but there I didn’t see anything on the lake on Sunday.
I walked to the wetlands on the other side of the lake where, while enjoying this view, I met three bikers from Moldavia, Lithuania and Ukraine. They were biking from Glen Summit to Jim Thorpe. We had an interesting conversation about the beauty of our planet and what a small world it is, having just returned from my visit to neighboring Poland.
The sun was now intense and I decided to begin my journey back to my jeep. It was an uphill hike and a much more difficult walk. Still I enjoyed it observing more butterflies, blueberries and birds on the way, including another species of butterfly, I believe this is a clouded sulphur butterfly.
And there were a few dragonflies hovering about as I walked through some wetlands.
I am really starting to love these trails, and hope to hike and explore them for many years to come, but I still wish I could hike the trails of my childhood on Stony Mountain. Those were the days. Here are some more photographs from my hike in the Pennsylvania game lands. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-2017/nggallery/photographs-2017/State-game-Lands-hike-July-2-2017-
“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”
― Chris Maser, Forest Primeval
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