High Tide And Sunshine On Darby Creek In The Tinicum Section Of The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge

I enjoyed my 5 mile hike on Friday in  the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge  on my recent visit to Philadelphia.  I  decided to return to  Tinicum Township section of the refuge  in the afternoon.  I had hiked there in the snow, cold and wind on the previous afternoon. It wasn’t a pleasant hike.  It was much nicer when I arrived late on Friday afternoon.  It was still windy but it was partly sunny with temperatures in the 40’s.

I began my hike on  the very busy Interstate 95. Trail

It was noisy from the heavy traffic  and I didn’t see any wildlife along the interstate highway . After about a 1/2 mile the trail left the highway took me a short distance through some woodlands,

back  to Darby Creek.   This historic  tidal creek was much higher then the previous day. And a lot more scenic and under the blue skies.

Like the previous afternoon, a few ring-billed gulls flew over the creek.

 Clouds moved in as I followed the trail  along the creek.

The creek looked so much cleaner with the higher water level which covered the mud and debris I saw the previous afternoon.   It was easier to imagine how the tidal marshes looked when the Lenni Lenape   or the “original people” lived here before the Europeans arrived. 

And the sunshine and high water  brought out a lot more wildlife. I  saw dozens of ducks swimming on the creek including these bufflehead ducks,

 common mergansers , this is a male,

and these are  females. and,

hooded mergansers, this is a male,

and this a female. 

There were also many seldom seen, by me anyway,  black ducks swimming in creek. 

I walked along the ancient trees silver maple and other trees along the creek,

for  out about 1 3/4 miles and decided to walk back along the creek since I didn’t want to hike on the busy and noisy  Interstate 95 Trail.

On the way back I saw more ring -billed gulls,

and a few larger American herring gulls.

And  in one of the ponds in the marshes I saw a large flock of black ducks,

a few green winged teals,

and many mallard ducks playing in the late afternoon sunshine.   This is a link to a gallery on my blog web-page with some more photos of the birds I saw on my  hike along the Darby Creek. John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. birds March 13 2026.

I finished my 3 1/2 mile hike and drove the 2 miles to Essington  where I  stopped at  the the Pho Philly Vietnamese restaurant. I ate here last year and loved the food. I had another wonderful meal, starting with a large bowl of  pho tom  shrimp,

and a delicious  Com shrimp and rice main course. I was full and tired from my almost 9 miles of hiking. I returned to the nearby Marriot hotel and, after  editing some photos, I was soon asleep. wanting to get nearly start on another day exploring the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

It was another clear cold morning when I awoke at dawn and drove back to the to the the Tinicum entrance  of the John Heinz refuge. .

This time I followed the Woodland Trail and watched the sun rise through the trees.

I was hearing the songs of Carolina wrens, song sparrows, red-winged blackbirds and American robins as I walked in the chilly morning air with the sun slowly rising in the east,

It was about a  1/2 mile walk through the woodlands ,

until I came to the Darby Creek.  The water level of the creek was even higher than the previous afternoon.   It must have been high tide again.

At the creek I saw this American robin singing in a tree top.

As I was photographing the robin I saw something on a tree branch. Two wood duck flew from the tree and landed on the creek. I love seeing these elusive birds which are so hard to photograph.

They nest in hollows  in trees and their return is one of the first signs of Spring in Northeastern Pennsylvania. 

I  continued my hike along the creek. . I was walking much faster than my usual pace when I am  looking for birds and wildlife. I had to drive back home later in the morning   for my niece’s birthday  party.  So I hiked at a faster pace. This  meant I would probably not see as much wildlife or bird activity as I  usually would.

The Darby Creek  one one side of the trail,

and the marshes on the other took on an entirely different look with the higher water levels and the brilliant morning sunshine.

There was another difference from my hike the previous afternoon, the number of people on the trail. I didn’t see a single  other person on Thursday or Friday afternoons. It was the weekend now and I saw over dozen of hikers, runners and dog walkers passing me both ways on the trail.

I also saw a lot of  the  same ducks and other birds I saw the previous afternoon, including the noisy red- winged blackbirds,

rusty blackbirds, and

 this mourning dove,

and a few new  ones including this pied-billed grebe.

As  I  walked along the trail I looked up into the branches of a large tree and was excited to see a large bald eagle perched there. It was a beautiful site in the early morning sunshine. However, the magnificent  bird was obscured by the tree branches. As I tried to focus my camera, it looked at me, and seemed to mockme as it flew away behind tree. I could only  get a photo as it flew away. It was    another  wonderful experience. It always is when I  see a bald eagle  on my hikes.

I continued on trail and noticed the Philadelphia skyline in the distance over the marshes of the refuge.

I  hiked out to the Interstate 95 Trail, and came to the noisyInterstate 95 Trail again.

I followedit out about a 1/4 mile and I came to the Turkey Foot Trail. where I ended my hike the previous day.   I saw a lot of people on the trail here, many in groups which I think were walking or hiking clubs.

I also saw another bald eagle, this one a juvenile. fly overhead.

I was out 2 1/2 mile and began my hike back. Rather than follow the noisy Interstate 95 back retraced my steps and followed the Darby Creek. It was a nice hike in the warm March sunshine.I wish I could have stayed out longer and spend more tiem looking  for, and photographing wildlife but I had to head back to my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

I did see  some wildlife on my hikes, some mallard ducks,

a white throated sparrow, I also saw another bald eagle  that quickly flew off of a tree branch as I approached. .  This is a link to a gallery on my blog web-page with some more photos of the birds I saw on my 5  hike along the creek. . John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. birds March 14 2026

The last critter I saw was this muskrat swimming in the Darby Creek. I was surprised since the creek looked so filthy and polluted when I first hiked here on Thursday afternoon when the tide was low.

I finished my 5 mile hike  in the beautiful morning sunshine knowing I will return soon and continue to  explore and  learn more about this beautiful and historic piece of nature in the middle of a city.This is a link to a gallery on my blog web-page with some more photos of the birds I saw on my 5  hike in the refuge . . John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.  March 14 2026

 

This is my sanctuary, an oasis in the rush and clamor of urban life. This is my retreat, a haven of marsh, woods and wildlife, where my spirit is refreshed. This is my refuge.   Kim Sheridan, Refuge Volunteer