Fall Colors On My First Visit To Minsi Lake And Bear Swamp In Northampton County

I visited  Minsi Lake,  located in Upper Mt. Bethel Township in Northampton County,  for the first time on Saturday.   I am always looking for new places to hike and explore.  I learned about this scenic lake situated at the foot of the Blue Mountain in  birding guide  book I recently acquired. The Birds of Lehigh County was published by the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society . It is a great book,  not only for birders,  but for anyone who is looking for new places to hike and explore  in our area.  

It was a sunny,  cold morning when I arrived at the western parking lot at Minsi Lake , about an hour drive from my home in Luzerne County. The temperature was in the 30’s.  After parking  my Jeep  I  realized I left my hoodie on the counter back home. So, It was a cold start to my hike dressed only in a tee shirt.  I walked to the shore of the lake.   It was shallow and covered with reeds near the parking lot. 

Minsi Lake was built by the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission in 1970 and is currently leased to Northampton County. It is stocked with warm water fish and is a popular fishing spot  in Northampton County, It is also an important stop over for long-distance migrating waterfowl.

The birding guide reported bald eagles, herons and ospreys are often seen here in the Spring and Summer. And, situated,  near Blue Mountain I thought it would be great place to see th Fall foliage.  There were no eagles, herons or ospreys  when I arrived  but there was a large flock of yellow-rumped warblers feeding in the shrubs and reeds near and along the shore of the lake.

There were also a few chipping  sparrows,

and  a large flock  of red winged blackbirds fluttering in the reeds on the lake .

This male was singing from a treetop near the lake.

The trees around the lake were showing their brilliant Autumn colors.

My  AllTrails map showed a trail around the lake  where I hoped to get some photos of the lake, the mountains and the Fall foliage. So I followed the Minai Lake Trail Wilderness Trail into  mostly oak/ maple hardwood woodland.

The trial was rocky with may roots protruding from the ground. I was cold as I walked under the tall trees that obscured the warm rays of the sun without a coat and in shorts. However I enjoyed the Fall colors on the trees.

There were only a  few wildflowers still blooming along the trail, a few white wood asters

and prairie fleabane flowers.

New York ferns along the trail were brown and wilted,

but large patches of Christmas ferns were still  green and will remain green through the cold Winter months.

The trail did not follow the shore of the lake as  shown  on the map and as I had hoped. I could hear geese and ducks on the lake but couldn’t see the lake.There was not much bird activity in the cold morning air either.

After about one mile a bridge on the trail crossed a  small stream,

which flowed into Minsi Lake.

As I continued on the  trail there were few  dried stream beds.  It looks like these areas would be  wet during certain times of the year.  However,  there has been little rain here  in Northeastern Pennsylvania the past few weeks so  so  the trail was dry.

The trail continued through  a mostly beech woodland and  was still some distance from the lake.

There were less rocks and roots on the trail here. After about 1  1/2 miles I  came to a fork in the trail and followed the right fork which took me to the lake and ended. I finally got a view of  the lake and the Fall colors.

I walked back to the main trail. I was a little disappointed the trail was not closer to the lake, and I had still not seen any birds so far on the trail. 

I came to an area of vernal ponds, which, before the lake was completed, were part of  a fish hatchery.

The trail became rocky and covered in roots again.

As  I neared the east end of the trail   I saw a few black-capped chickadees.

Sometimes these birds serve as the lookouts for flocks of feeding birds in the Winter and this was the case on Saturday. I  soon saw a few hairy woodpeckers in the tree tops. I heard and saw  pileated woodpeckers  fluttering in the tree tops but I couldn’t get any photos.

I was able to get this photos of a red-bellied woodpecker,

and this downy woodpecker.

A white-breasted nuthatch scampered  down a tree trunk.

A flock of white-throated sparrows,

and golden -crowned kinglet were feeding in the shrubs along the trail.

A  flock of tufted titmice were chattering in the tree branches above the trail.

After about three miles the trail ended at the East parking area. I was a little disappointed in not having been closer to the lake where I could have taken photos of the Fall foliage. And I didn’t see a lot of wildlife on the trail. I am sure it will be a great place to observe the migrating birds in the Spring.  I followed the trail across the spillway of the dam above Lake Minsi. A few fishermen were on the lake in their small boats as I finnaly got to see the lake, the mountains and the Fall scenery.

It was this  scenery I came to see. The Blue Mountain could be seen in the distance  beyond he lake and the Fall foliage was  at it’s peak.

I encountered  the first persons I saw on my hike walking on the spillway.

I also saw a pair of pied billed grebes and

a double crested cormorant swimming on the lake.

It was about a mile walk to the West Side parking lot and I was looking for the eagles, ospreys and heron that are often seen at the lake but there were none on Saturday. I was enjoying the warmer temperatures now as the  late October sun did it’s work and raised them into the mid 50’s.

I wanted to hike in the nearby Bear Swamp nature area and tried to follow a rail I saw on my AllTrail App. However the trail was overgrown and so I returned to my Jeep and drove  to the nature area. I parked and crossed the highway and came to some open fields, a pavilion and picnic area.  Large oak and maple trees surrounded the field and were displaying their Fall colors.

I followed the trail past a nature exhibit which had exhibits on the flora and fauna of the bogs and swamps in this small nature preserve.

The trail took me to a couple of small ponds,

where I saw a blue-headed vireo which  ws still  here. It will be soon migrating south to it’s Winter home in the southern United States and Cental America. I am sure this will be another great place to watch for the birds returning in the Spring migration.

The trail next took me to a wooden boardwalk, which had seen better days. It was a nice walk through the bog and swamp, which was very dry because of the lack of rainfall.

I didn’t see much wildlife here, but did see  some blue wood asters, 

winterberries and

yellow cinnamon ferns along the trail adding to the Fall colors of the trees.

The trail took me back to the fields were I saw a few more chipping sparrows

and this hermit thrush, both are short distance migrants and will also be heading to the southern United States and Mexico for  the Winter. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog website with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hikes. Minsi Lake and Bear Swamp birds October 19 2024.

I walked under the oak and maple trees with the now afternoon sun filtering through the colorful leaves.  I wish I could have continued to explore these area but I had to head home. I hope to return in the Spring and see the migratory birds when they return from there Winter homes.  Here is a link to a gallery on my blog website with some more photos from  my hikes. Minsi Lake and Bear Swamp  October 19 2024.

Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.  William C. Bryant

fskokoski@gmail.com

This is my first post