Mother’s Day At The PPL Wetlands.
It started out rainy and cool again here in Northeastern Pennsylvania but the forecast called for clearing so I headed down to the PPL Wetlands where I hoped to find some cool stuff to photograph. And as usual the wetlands didn’t disappoint me. Even before I parked my car I saw this proud mommy goose, above, taking her young goslings for a swim on the river. Daddy followed closely behind. A perfect way to start Mother’s Day. Here is a link to some more photographs of the goose family celebrating Mother’s Day. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/birds-of-pennsylvania/nggallery/birds-of-pennsylvania/geese-and-goslings-may-8-2016
The sun was breaking through the clouds soon after I parked my car and brightened the lush new growth of leaves. that sprouted in the last week.
And it wasn’t only the trees that have come to life. So many native plants and flowers could be found along the trails including the beautiful flowers of the mandrake or may apple. The fruit of this plant are edible and will ripen in late summer.
I also saw some of the he unusual jack in the pulpit plants which, like the mandrake only grow in rich moist soils.
And the pink azalea were now in full bloom adding contrast to the light greens leaves.
The air was filled with the fragrance of the honeysuckle which bloomed throughout the wetlands and riverlands adding to the heavenly feeling of walking under the lush new growth of the tall and ancient trees in the early morning sunshine.
Although it is early for them, the rainy weather brought a lot of mushrooms.
And, of course, the trees and bushes echoed with the songs of so many species of birds, including these beautiful yellow warblers.
As I walked from the wetlands to the riverlands I encountered this wading bird, one I never saw before, which, with the help of a friend, I learned was a solitary sandpiper, a shore birds that is sometimes found in our area. Here is a link to some more photographs of this beautiful bird. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/birds-of-pennsylvania/nggallery/birds-of-pennsylvania/solitary-sandpiper
The noisy catbirds returned to the wetlands and they were making all kinds of noises as the fluttered in the brush along the paths.
They are almost as noisy as the red winged blackbirds which is one of the most common birds in the wetlands. I caught this female appearing to feed on some water plants on one of the old canals. Here is a link to some more photographs of her on the water. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/birds-of-pennsylvania/nggallery/birds-of-pennsylvania/red-winged-blackbird
And there were so many others, including cardinals, robins, nuthatches, woodpeckers, mallards, sparrows and grackles.
In the trees along the old canals in the riverlands I found a few of the colorful baltimore orioles perched high above in the new leaves.
On my way back I saw another new bird I never saw before the yellow throated vireo. And as I photographed this beautiful little bird I realized it was have an insect for breakfast. I was able to take photographs of the meal and here is the link to see them. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/birds-of-pennsylvania/nggallery/birds-of-pennsylvania/yellow-throated-vireo
There was so much to see today. I ran into a blue heron wadding in the water and watched it slowly search for it prey, a fish or frog. Unfortunately it didn’t catch anything while I watched but I am sure it’s patience paid off. Here is a link to some more of this bird wadding in the water. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/birds-of-pennsylvania/nggallery/birds-of-pennsylvania/blue-heron
As the sun warmed it up the logs, rocks and banks of the ponds filled with frogs and turtles who also missed the warm rays of the May sun. Here is a link to some more of the many critters I saw at the wetlands today.https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-page-2/nggallery/photographs-page-two-blog/ppl-wetlands-critters-may-8-2016
There was just so much to see today. I could go on for hours relating the many wonders of nature that I saw. I wished I could have stayed out all day but I was hungry and tired from my hike yesterday, and I had to go visit mom, so I decided to head out of the wetlands. but on the way, I had one more treat from Mother Nature, a sighting of one of my favorite birds. a pileated woodpecker. I have always loved this large and elusive birds.
It was the perfect way to end a perfect day. Here is a link to some more photographs from my hike in the wetlands.https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-page-2/nggallery/photographs-page-two-blog/ppl-wetlands-may-8-2016
“Mother Nature is our teacher—reconnecting us with Spirit, waking us up and liberating our hearts. When we can transcend our fear of the creatures of the forest, then we become one with all that is; we enter a unity of existence with our relatives—the animals, the plants and the land that sustains us.”
― Sylvia Dolson,
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