Buzzard Swamp

Despite its dismal name, Buzzard Swamp is one of my favorite places in the forest. It's a sort of bird sanctuary, a vast grassy area with fifteen ponds, all encircled by a grassy forest road. It also has a few rustic camp sites.

Buzzard Swamp is mostly level. Some of the ponds are clear and inviting, and others are covered in lily pads and algae. Some ponds are visible, even approachable, whereas others are completely hidden from view.

This might be what rural Minnesota is like. Aside from all the pools, the landscape actually reminds me of an area in Northern France and Belgium, where the grassy fields stretch off to the furthest horizon in endless expanses of wind and sky. I spent a lonely summer exploring that sad countryside on a bicycle, lo these twenty years ago...

But unlike Flanders Fields (where you can still hear the ghostly rumbling of the tanks if you listen) this part of the Allegheny National Forest is a place of intense peace. Fishers come here, and a few birders come in the spring and fall. But otherwise, it's a place of solitude and silence. The variety of birds is overwhelming. Their songs are the only noise. And the wind. And the insects.

There are dragonflies, and great clouds of butterflies, and some of the smaller birds move in unison, like schools of fish.

There are bumble bees in the wildflowers, and the honey bees seem to be making a comeback, at least here at Buzzard Swamp. Even the Canada geese--pests on so much of the continent--are peaceful here, as seen in the third photo.

I don't know what it is about water that draws us. But it does. Water feels like life, somehow. Buzzard Swamp is best on a bike; it's just a little too big to cover in a single 3-hour hike, especially because there are so many scenic spots to stop and linger.

Take South Forest Street southward out of Marienville, away from the crazy 5-point intersection at the heart of town. After about a mile, turn left onto FR127 and go a little more than 2 miles to the parking area. The Songbird Interpretive Trail isn't really that interesting, so pass it by and hike over by the ponds instead.