Looking for Water Birds at John Heinz NWR

On May 18, 2020, I went to John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia, PA with the goal of finding some interesting water birds. John Heinz NWR is a huge park with a large lake in the center of it. The edges of this lake are commonly dry and turn into mudflats. Additionally, there are large portions of the edge of the lake that are covered in phragmites and other vegetation. Next to one half of the lake is an extensive marsh which is largely inaccesible. However, there is an elevated trail that follows the perimeter of the lake and has some trees on both sides. The half of the lake that is not adjacent to a marsh is surrounded by forest. I arrived at 7:16 am and walked the trails until 12:04 pm. It was an overcast day with relatively low temperatures for this time of year, in the low 50s. I was immediately disracted by warblers and it took me about an hour just to walk the ~200m to get to the water. The warblers definitely stole the show today as I got good views of every species I saw. I was especially blown away by the number of Blackpoll Warblers that I saw and heard as these birds are usually in low numbers near me. Wilson's Warbler, Canada Warbler, and Bay-breasted Warblers were also pleasant sights! Although I did end up focusing on warblers this morning, I did still see some cool water birds. The mud flats on the edge of the lake offered views of a few species of shorebirds, and in slightly deeper water I was able to see some ducks and wading birds including a family of Wood Ducks.

Posted on May 18, 2020 10:33 PM by phil_stoll