Sunshine, Cicadas, And Herons At The Sultry Susquehanna Wetlands And Riverlands

 After a cool and rainy Spring and early Summer, August arrived with sunshine and warmer days. Last Friday I decided to hike in the brilliant  afternoon sunshine in   the Susquehanna Wetlands and Riverlands in Luzerne County.

It was humid with a temperature in the mid 80’s when I arrived at the deep green duck weed covered ponds near the access road to the wetlands at 2 p.m There were no birds or bird song at the ponds. It was quiet, even the cicadas were mostly silent in the mid day heat and humidity. Goldenrod flowers were now in full bloom along the ponds, a sure sign Summer was at it’s peak.

As usual I drove to the parking lot and walked. down to the Susquehanna River, which was still low from the lack of rain.

I walked into the wetlands with the afternoon sunshine filtering through the trees. It was cooler in their shade and the cicadas were a little louder here but still not as loud as I expected.

It was very quiet in the wetlands, no birds were seen just  a few wood ducks on one of the canals.

I walked over to the Water Fowl Pond. There were no wood ducks on the pond but a great blue heron flew off as I approached.

I was surprised when I  heard and saw  a Carolina wren singing in the afternoon sunshine and heat.

A few goldfinches

and this common yellowthroat  were in the trees near the pond.

I walked  toward the river lands, about a mile from the Water Fowl Ponds, with the canopy of leaves from the large oak , maple and sycamore trees shading the afternoon sun.

It remained quiet as I walked through the wetlands, there was no bird song and even the cicadas were quiet in the  heat and humidity. I did see  a few painted turtles enjoying the strong afternoon sunshine.

I took my walk toward the river lands and I found a new trail was cut along a canal,

I followed it into a field and saw that it would lead back to the trail along the Susquehanna River. It was a great addition to the exiting trails. It would allow me to an opportunity top see some ducks and herons along the canal and  some migratory song birds in the Spring as well as year long resident birds in the Winter.

The only wildlife activity I saw on Friday afternoon were insects attracted to the goldenrod and  invasive cutleaf teasel plants along the trial.

Silver spotted skipper butterflies and

honey bees visited these flowers. 

I also saw eastern comma butterflies,

red-spotted admiral butterflies 

and this old spicebush swallowtail butterfly in along the trail,

as well as this eastern pond hawk,

and this twelve spotted dragonfly.

I decided to walk back down to the river and here I saw a great egret wading on the other side. I usually see one or two in the wetlands and river lands in the late Summer.

On my way into the river lands I also sad a few eastern cottontail rabbits and

this gray squirrel.

On my way into the river lands I saw only one of  the five wood ducks I had seen the previous week, I am not sure if it hadn’t fledged yet or whether it was an adult female ducks who have molted and were still unable to fly. She did not fly off from the canal when I approached, she just swam and hid in the vegetation, .

I walked along Lake Took-A While and didn’t see or hear any song birds. There were no people in the river lands either.

I did see this great blue heron along the lake,

which flew away as I approached.

There were  only a few wildflowers blooming along the lake, the invasive purple loosestrife

and native hedge bindweed.

There were a lot of dragonflies darting along the shores of the lakes, occasionally landing on a leaf or stem, including colorful Halloween pennant,

widow skimmer,

slaty skimmer, and

blue dasher dragonflies. Please correct me if I misidentified any of the dragonflies I am no expert and I rely on iNaturalists for the identifications.

There were still a few cicada killer wasps buzzing around there dirt  nests along the trail.

I only walked 1/2 way to the end of the lake.

It was around 3;30 p.m. and the sun was hot. The temperature was in the mid 80’s.  I began my hike back to the wetlands,

and saw this red-tailed hawk fly overhead.

I finished my four mile hike in the afternoon heat thinking it was the heat that kept the birds and cicadas quiet.    It is not the best time to see wildlife,  the are smarter then this old human who didn’t know better than to hike in the middle of a Summer day. Here is a link to a photo gallery on my blog website with more photos from my afternoon hike. Susquehanna Wetlands August 8 2025.

After visiting Hickory Run State Park on Saturday, I returned to the Susquehanna Wetlands early Sunday morning.   I hoped to see the wood ducks and the great egret I had seen on my Friday afternoon hike.  It was  another warm  day with clear blue skies and plenty of sunshine.  I stopped at the Water Fowl Pond again,

and only found this solitary wood duck perched on a log on the pond.  There were no birds in the surrounding woodlands. None of   American redstarts, yellow warblers, red-eyed vireos, rose breasted grosbeaks, and other migratory song birds I had seen since the Spring were seen.  However, the cicadas were there, and were very loud. It was the loudest I heard them all year. The sound was almost deafening but I loved it.

I drove to the wetlands parking lot, and down to the river. It looked like someone had a fire in the grills in the small picnic area by the parking lot since my visit on Friday. It would be a great place for a relaxing  picnic along the scenic Susquehanna River.

I walked into the wetlands and heard the loud buzzing of the cicadas. I was surprised they were so active this early in the  morning. Missing in the wetlands was the song of many of the birds I heard in the Spring and early Summer. No eastern phoebes  or warblers greeted me with their songs.  And the loud songs and calls of the many red winged blackbirds were not heard. Sadly, I believe the annual migration may have begun.

I walked through the wetlands to the Water Fowl Pond again.  There were no wood ducks or herons on the pond but I did  hear the cheerful sound of a Carolina wren again,

and this noisy gray catbird.

As I did on my Friday hike  I walked through the wetlands toward the river lands. The wetlands looked so different from my Friday afternoon walk . The different angle of morning sunshine filtering through the trees gave it a different appearance from the afternoon sunshine on Friday.

The sounds of the cicadas remained loud but there was little bird activity. I saw a great blue heron, and

a few wood ducks, but no migratory song birds or even year long resident birds were  in the wetlands.

I also saw a few more painted turtles.

I walked into the river lands, and on the duck weed covered pond  I saw only two  of the five wood ducks I had seen the previous week. They still had difficulty flying either because they were  a fledglings or a molting adults. I couldn’t tell.

I walked into the river lands and along Lake-Too- A- While. There were a few fishermen along the lake and more folks walking on the trail.

Here I saw another great blue heron,

which took off as I approached and

It would fly a short distance, land, and as I approached take off again.

I also saw this green heron flying across the lake.

I walked back into the wetlands where again only the sounds of the cicadas could be heard. I didn’t see any more wildlife. I did notice the some plants and wildflowers that signaled the approaching end of summer, fox grapes,

cutleaf coneflowers 

and poison ivy with their berries. I have learned many birds and other wildlife feed on these berries in the Winter.  Here is a link to a photo gallery on my blog website with more photos of the birds I saw on my hikes in the wetlands. . Susquehanna Wetlands birds  August 8-10  2025.

I finished my 5 mile hike in the wetlands as the August sun raised the temperature into the 80’s. I was perfect walking weather, however, it was a bitter sweet feeling I had, I loved the scenery and wildlife I saw an heard in the wetlands on my walk but , the the many  migratory birds  flying south, the late Summer wildflowers were blooming and the cicadas were singing and this Summer was ending. I was not  looking forward to the cooler temperatures and shorter days of Fall.  But whether I like it or not the Fall will arrive. I will make the best of it, and also enjoy every day remaining in the Summer, Here is a link to a photo gallery on my blog website with more photos from my morning hike. Susquehanna Wetlands August 10  2025.

 

“The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color”.  Natalie Babbitt