May Arrives With More Birds, Leaves And Wildflowers At The Susquehanna Wetlands

As I wrote in my last blog post, Spring goes by so quickly for me anymore. It was  the first weekend in May already.   However, I  didn’t feel like Spring  on Saturday morning. It was cloudy with a brisk northwesterly wind and  a  cold 38 degrees when I woke up early in the morning. Although the weather was cold,  it doesn’t matter to me  in  the Spring. Nature’s rebirth continues at its rapid pace.   I decided   to experience it at the Susquehanna Wetlands again.

Despite the cold temperature the wetlands were now lush and alive. The trees, even the oaks, now had their first leaves,  creating a landscape of green around the Water Fowl ponds where I first stopped. The ground around the ponds was again covered in common blue and marsh violets.

The first native Philadelphia fleabane flowers were also beginning to bloom.

And the aroma of the olive autumn olive and

Morrow’s honeysuckle flowers filled the cold morning air. These flowers are not native, and overcrowd native wildflowers but they do create an almost heavenly fragrance in Spring.

There were a few wood ducks on the ponds but the quickly flew off , as I approached. A nesting pair of Canada geese honked loudly on the far side of the ponds. Carolina wrens, northern cardinals and these colorful northern yellow warblers sang around the ponds.

I love seeing these colorful birds in the lush green foliage of early Spring.

A pair of migratory  brown headed cowbirds  were in he trees too,

and , a  year long resident, a downy woodpecker, was searching for insects on a nearby  tree trunk.

I drove to the parking lot and walked down to the ancient, historic and scenic Susquehanna River. It was high from recent rains. The trees along its banks were sprouting their first leaves.

As I walked to the trail in wetlands and under the canopy of lush new green leaves I heard and saw this Baltimore oriole feeding last year’s remaining seed balls .

I also saw this female red winged blackbird and,

this American redstart feeding in the seed balls. All of these  birds are migratory and it was great to see them back in the wetlands.

I walked into to the wetlands and on the Beaver trail, the fragrance of the autumn olive,and Morrow’s honeysuckle filled the air.

The native pink azalea were also in bloom now. My dad called this delicate pink flowers “honeysuckle ” and would take us into the woodland every Spring to look for them and bring some home.. We always had flowers in our yards and house when I was a child.

Azure bluets ,

Jack -in -the pulpit and

Labrador violets were also blooming along the trail.

I walked through the wetlands,

seeing some more of our recently arrived migratory birds, blue gray gnatcatchers and

warbling vireos in the now leaf covered trees along the trail.

The skunk cabbages along the trail were lush and green and almost doubled in size since my last visit.  In a few weeks they will start to deteriorate and fade away.

I saw a few painted turtles,

and this white tailed deer watching me,

as I walked to the Water Fowl Pond.

Here I saw the pair of nesting Canada geese on the pond. I am sure there will be fluffy yellow goslings soon.

There were more native wildflowers blooming along the trail. I  saw many cuckooflowers,

and golden ragwort  wildflowers,

as well as the high bush blueberry flowers.

The deep blue skies, puffy cumulus clouds  and lush green trees  created some beautiful scenery over the ponds,

canals,

and trails in the wetlands.  I now began my mile walk to the river lands area of the private nature preserve,

seeing my first gray cat bird,

and this northern waterthrush. The gray catbirds are common in the wetlands but I rarely see any northern waterthrushes here.

It was a magical walk through the lush green new leaves in the wetlands.

Sadly, I came across the  decaying carcass of  a snapping turtle. It did not look large enough to have died of old age so I  was curious as to what may have caused it’s death.

I way going to walk back to the Susquehanna River but the trail was flooded again,

so I continued on the Beaver Trail where I saw this muskrat on the top of a dam on  one of the canals.

I followed the new trail into the old farm fields,

where I saw this red tailed hawk perched in a tree.

The hawk took off as  I approached,

and soared overhead.

I continued on the trail into the river lands,

and along Lake Took-A-While.

Once again the lush green leaves along  the lake, the deep blue skies and puffy cumulus clouds made for a beautiful Spring scene. There were   quite a few folks fishing along the like or walking on the trail.

I saw a few more birds here, including  song sparrows,

common grackles,

a pair of mourning doves,

 a flock of American goldfinches feeding on dandelion seeds and,

a house wren.Here is a link to a  photo gallery on my web site with some more photos of  the birds I saw on my hike. Susquehanna Wetlands birds May 2 2026.

It was still chilly, especially in the wind along the unprotected and exposed  lake but it was a wonderful morning to watch the rebirth of the wetlands and riverlands.

I walked backto the wetlands,

where I saw a few more wildflowers including common blue violets,

and May apple or mandrake flowers.

I also found some mushrooms not the edible morel mushrooms I  can never find but oak-loving collybia mushrooms. I don’t believe they are edible.

I finished my five mile hike near noon, as the strong May sun warmed the cool morning air. There is much happening in the woods of our Commonwealth it is not easy heading home. In my younger days I could hike all day and enjoy this magical time of year.  However 7 miles are my usual limit these days. ( I hiked 2 miles near my home earlier in the morning). So I headed, looking forward to my Sunday hike on another Spring day. Here is a link to a  photo gallery on my web site with some more photos from  my five mile hike. Susquehanna Wetlands  May 2 2026.

The trees are bursting into green,
      The violets into blue,
While here and there, in golden sheen,
The dandelion’s crest is seen
To peep the spears of grass between,
      Impearled in morning dew…
~Mary E. Erwin Hobbs