Enjoying The Beauty Of Early Spring With Some Blurry Vision At Community Park

I love Spring.  It seems like  something new and beautiful unfolds everyday in the natural world.   I try and see as much of the beauty of this awakening as I can.  This past weekend I had hoped to see the wood ducks and water fowl at  the Susquehanna Wetlands in Luzerne County or the wildflowers in Frog Hollow in Schuylkill County.   However, I forgot I was having cataract surgery   during the week. I had surgery on my left eye on Thursday  and so couldn’t  drive  far on Saturday.  So I decided to hike close to home  in my local Community Park  in Hazle Township, Luzerne County.

I don’t hike at the park too  often on weekends. I usually hike here in the afternoon during the week.   I have seen bald eagles, egrets and other water fowl swimming on Lake Irena. The lake is in the  center of the 170 acre  park that opened in 1962.

I have been visiting the park almost since it first opened when I was around 5 years old.  There is more information on the history of the park in my previous blog posts.  It was mostly cloudy and blustery with a temperature around 40  degrees when I arrived at the park. I walked  down to Lake Irena where I saw  a  few fishermen who braved the cold and wind and were fishing along the shores  of the 26 acre lake.

The trees in the woodlands around the lake were still leafless and it looked more like mid-Winter and not early Spring. 

However, as I walked along the trail around the lake I did see a few signs of Spring,   the pussy willow,

sweet fern

and leather leaf shrubs were sprouting their first buds, leaves and flowers.

I walked to the rocky shore on the north side of the lake,

 where I saw this great egret perched on a rock in the lake.    I tried to get closer for some better photos but it flew off as I approached.

There was also  a double  crested cormorant perched analog in the lake.

I walked under the tall white and pitch pines,

and came to a small wetland on the stream that feeds the lake.

I crossed the bridge over the stream where I took this photo.

The sun broke out as I walked back on the western sign of the lake.

Despite the difficulty I was having with my vision,    I  saw a flock of Canada geese swimming on the lake,

a flock of chipping sparrow sin the trees along the lake,

and few gray squirrels scurrying across the trail.

 

I wasn’t sure whether I should continue my hike  as the wind picked up and I wanted to protect my eye. I finally decided to take another lap around the lake.

I am glad I did.  I saw  small flock of water fowl swimming in the middle of the lake. At first I thought they were a species of duck . However,   as I approached I realized they were  horned grebes.

These  birds are seldom seen here, and are migrating to their breeding grounds in northern Canada.

I was surprised  as the 7 birds in the flocks swam towards me, diving for,

and catching fish as they did.  I watched  them for about 15 minutes until they swam back to the middle of  the lake.

I walked around the lake again seeing a few ruby crowned kinglets,

and a dark-eyed junco in the trees along the trail.

After walking around the lake second time I decided to take the trail  through the woodlands,

to the baseball field,

and then on another trail on the old access road to the ball field.

Here there are some vernal ponds.,

and in the Spring there are usual frog and salamander eggs masses in these ponds.

And there were few different species of frogs and salamanders in this one.

I walked out about another mile when I decided to hike back to the lake. There wasn’t much wildlife or bird activity,

But I did  I see  this eastern phoebe, one of the first migratory birds  to  return to our area,

and downy  woodpecker.  Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web-site with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hike. Community Park birds  April 11 2026.

More clouds moved in when I returned to  Lake Irena and the winds got stronger making for a blustery Winter-like scene over the lake . I had hiked 4 mile and decided to end my hike. I was glad I  visited the park and was able to see and share   the early Spring beauty and wildlife I saw there.

Because of the vision problems  from my surgery, I stayed close to home, and  I returned to Community Park, about a mile from my home, on Sunday morning. It was a clear and cold morning with a brilliant April sun shining on the waters of the lake when I arrived.

There were just a few fishermen along the shores of the lake.

I walked along the lake again and the first critter I saw was  this Canada goose between the rocks on the norther shore of the lake.

It ‘s mate was nearby. I am sure they will be nesting  in the area  and it won’t be long until the fuzzy yellow goslings are swimming on the lake.

I walked under the tall pine trees on the northern shore of the lake,

where I saw some a couple more of migratory birds returning to our area, the first,  an eastern towhee, they are very common here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. . We would see them everywhere in the woodlands near my home when I was a boy.

The second are not as  common, a pine warbler, which are usually found in more remove pine woodlands.

I was glad to see this colorful bird at Commity Park on my walk.

I walked around the lake  again,

before walking to the baseball field,

and the trail along the old access road.  I didn’t see any  birds or wildlife  on this trail.

I walked back to the lake,

where I saw a few American robins and,

this tufted titmouse singing in a tree top. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web-site with some more photos of the birds I saw on this hike  in the park. Community Park birds  April 12 2026. 

As I was ending my 4 mile hike I saw evidence of one of my favorite birds. This  holes in this tree trunk in the picnic area  of the park were made by a pileated woodpecker.

I finished my hike. I enjoyed seeing  Lake Irena and the surrounding woods, but I was hoping my eyes would recovery and I’d  be hiking and exploring some other trails the following weekend.  But I knew, wherever I’d be hiking there would be something beautiful  to see because it’s Spring and Spring in Northeastern Pennsyvlania is a wonderful place to be. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web-site with some more photos from my two hikes in the park.  Community Park   April 12-13  2026.

“Nature and books belong to the eyes that see them.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” — Vincent Van Gogh