Wood Ducklings And Hawk Fights At The Susquehanna Wetlands

Warm June weather returned to Northeastern Pennsylvania on Saturday and what better way  to enjoy it then hiking in  the Susquehanna Wetlands in Salem Township Luzerne County. I  started at the wetlands and first checked out the river hoping to see an eagle or osprey out on a morning fishing flight.

No fishing birds on the river so we headed into the now lush green wetlands. 

I hoped to see some of the many wood ducks that were nesting in the wetlands and sure enough, shortly after I began my  hike this mommy wood duck appeared on one of the ponds followed by her thirteen tiny offspring. 

She led them across the pond and they followed sometime swimming fast to catch up,

or swimming into each other and forming a  cute and cuddly pile of ducklings.

As I  continued my hike I saw some male red-winged blackbirds singing, if you can call it that, from high in the tree tops. 

Also perched high atop a dead tree was this American robin. I rarely see them perched that high and  I’m not sure why it was up there.  It’s a good place to get eaten by a passing hawk or eagle. 

In addition to the lush green colors of the trees there were also wildflowers blooming along the trails including Dames rocket, 

fleabane flowers and

the delicate and pretty blue flags. 

And where there are flowers there are moths and butterflies. I believe this is an eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly 

and this lemon plagodis moth. I assuredly didn’t know this and I am thankful for Facebook identification pages for their help.  I  continued my  hike through the wetlands looking for birds, bugs and whatever other wildlife I could see. It was getting hot out, temperatures were nearing 80 degrees so there wasn’t a lot of wildlife activity. However, I did see a few birds including a goldfinch and this 

phoebe. 

Leaving the wetlands I  walked over to the river lands section of the preserve. Along the way I  found these  turtle eggs,. I am not sure if the hatched or if they were dug up by a predator like a skunk or raccoon. 

Walking along Lake Took-A-While, 

I saw  a great blue heron across the lake 

And, of course, as usual,  the flock of Canada geese were on the lake too. 

As I continued our hike a red tailed hawk flew overhead. 

Watching the hawk, I discovered it was being pursued by some angry grackles. 

The grackles were actually trying to pull out the wing feathers of the hawk. This is what you get for messing with a grackle nest. 

The strong June sun  beat down on the wetlands and river lands and temperatures climbed into the  mid 80’s. I decided to head back when I reached the start of the Riverside Trail.  On my return hike I saw a few more birds including, this female Baltimore oriole

and this grackle in the river lands. 

And in the wetlands I saw this yellow warbler and,

an elusive green heron. Considering the heat it wasn’t a bad day for seeing and photographing some of the resident birds in the wetlands and river lands.   Here is a link to a gallery with some more photographs of the wood ducks and other birds I saw on our hike in the Susquehanna  wetlands and river lands. Susquehanna Wetlands hike birds June 5 2021. 

As I neared my Jeep I noticed a few more critters, these being  members of the insect kingdom, this pretty ebony jewelwing  damsel fly and ,

this tiny insect, which I have no clue what it is,  sitting on a blue-eyed grass flower.I  ended our five mile hike with  many photographs of the flora and fauna I saw on my walk . There is always so much natural beauty in the wetlands, especially  in the Spring and Summer.  And I enjoy sharing this beauty I find  with my  friends who follow my blog and on social media.  I hope to return soon. Here is another  link to a gallery with more photos from my hike in the Susquehanna Wetlands. Susquehanna Wetlands hike June 5 2021. 

In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explodes, and every sunset is different.  John Steinbeck

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