No Ducks, Harlequin Or Wood, But A Nice Hike On A Cold November Morning At The Susquehanna Wetlands.

I was back at the Susquehanna wetlands in Luzerne County on Sunday morning. I love hiking in the wetlands but it wasn’t where I wanted to be on Sunday. . I had planned to be roaming the beaches and jetties of Cape May, New Jersey, looking for harlequin ducks and other water birds along the ocean.My trip was canceled because of some tests I had to have for the dengue fever, Legionnaires disease and other illnesses I picked up  on my recent trip to India. The tests were negative but I was told to continue  take it easy for a couple of day. So I decided to take a short hike in the wetlands on on a cold and partly sunny November morning on Sunday.

As usual, in the winter months, I parked at the  water fowl ponds near the access road to the wetlands. The access road is closed in the winter.  It was mostly cloudy, windy with a temperature in the low 30’s.

There was a heavy frost, as seen on these blackberry leaves.

 Of course there  were no harlequin ducks on the ponds. These colorful ducks  breed  in northern Canada and Greenland and migrate to the east coast of the United States and the New Jersey shore in the Winter. However,  I hoped to maybe still see some  wood duck, mallards,  or maybe a bald eagle  on the ponds . There were none of these birds but  I did see this downy woodpecker, searching for insects on a tree branch, and a couple

white throated sparrows in the woodlands along the ponds.

A red bellied woodpecker flew onto a tree branch and also being searching for insects  under the tree bark. Red-bellied woodpeckers also feed on  acorns they hid in holes the drilled in in tree trunks  for the cold Winter months.

It was  a dreary winter  scene as I looked across the ponds and then  walked on the access road . The trees were bare, brown and gray and  everything looked so gloomy and lifeless.

There was a lot less green plants than my hike the  previous week.  Ony a few  the autumn olive shrubs ,

 amur honeysuckle  and

a few Candian homewort

and garlic mustard plants  still had their green leaves

I also saw these yellow Carolina horse nettle berries. It’s the first time I saw them in the wetlands.

Red Japanese barberries could also be found along the road. I just learned the are edible and make  good jellies and jams.

As usual, I walked  to the parking lot, and then

down to the beautiful , scenic and historic Susquehanna river. I love this river, and there are many blog posts with more information about its history.

In the parking lot I was surprised to find large patches of inky cap mushrooms growing in the grass. They were everywhere. These mushrooms turn into a inky mass as they age. They are edible when young but will cause stomach discomfort, nausea and diarrhea if alcohol is consumed in the next few days after eating them. I continued to find them all along the trails on my short 2 mile hike.

I walked into the wetlands and under the canopy of tree branches that were now bare. It was so quiet . No birds were singing, no insects were buzzing and no frogs were croaking. The wetlands were falling asleep and would not awaken until the first chorus  of the spring peepers in late March and early April filled the wetlands.

I walked to the Beaver Trail, and for the first time since March,  neither heard nor saw  any wood ducks on the canal. I walked oto the Water Fowl ponds and saw no birds on the waters.

I did see a flock of  American goldfinches and

song sparrows in the shrubs along the ponds.

I heard and saw a few winter wrens in the woodlands too. There was a Carolina wren singing but I was able to see or photograph it.

I walked back toward the river lands section of the small private nature preserve, past the ponds, some still green with algae and duckweed plants,

surrounded by the withered and brown vegetation, the remains of the one lush green vegetation of Spring and Summer.

There was some color still, the  bright green winterberries,

and the princess pine moss growing along the trail.

But there were more reminders of the Fall and approaching Winter including the withered bracken fern ,

and deertongue  grass along the trail. There was also a fowl smell of the rotting inky caps in some spots along the trail.

I was told to take it easy, and I finally listened,

walking only out about a mile when I decided to return to end my hike and return to my Jeep.

As I neared my Jeep,

I saw a few eastern blue birds  in the treetops along the trail.  Here is a link to a gallery on my web site with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hike in the  wetlands. Susquehanna Wetlands birds November 23 2025.

I fisnished my 2 mile hike on the cold morning. I was feeling better and hoped I could take my usual 5 mile hike the next time I visit the wetlands. I know I won’t see the many wildflowers, insects, frogs, snakes turtles and birds I would see in the warmer months but I need to walk outside, even in the cold of Winter. And you never know what you may see , even in the Winter, if you walk with your eyes peeled. Here is a link to a gallery on my web site with some more photos from my hike  in the  wetlands. Susquehanna Wetlands  November 23 2025.

“In November, some birds move away and some birds stay. The air is full of good-byes and well-wishes. The birds who are leaving look very serious. No silly spring chirping now. They have long journeys and must watch where they are going. The staying birds are serious, too, for cold times lie ahead. Hard times. All berries will be treasures.”
― Cynthia Rylant