Quakertown Swamp
The largest freshwater inland wetland in southeastern Pennsylvania
The Quakertown swamp is the largest freshwater inland wetland in southeastern Pennsylvania, containing over 400 acres of diverse plant and animal communities. The swamp is home to a significant Great blue heron rookery and provides habitat for 91 additional bird species, including 14 rare breeders. The Audubon Society has designated the swamp as an Important Bird Area. A recent natural areas inventory of the swamp confirmed the presence of three globally rare species and several unusual local wetland plant communities. The diverse habitat includes open water, shrub wetland, cattail marsh, wet meadow and forested swamp. The entire swamp is underlain by diabase, or trap-rock, an igneous intrusion that forms the boulder-strewn landscape in this part of Bucks County and creates a perched water table that supports the wetland.
In the 1990's the swamp was the subject of an Advanced Identification (ADID) study conducted by Heritage Conservancy and the EPA in an effort to increase public awareness of the wetland and provide additional regulatory protection. The swamp is located in upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania, two miles southeast of Quakertown along Bog Run, a tributary to Tohickon Creek. The swamp spans the townships of West Rockhill, East Rockhill and Richland. It includes wetlands all along Bog Run from just west of Route 309 to its confluence with the Tohickon Creek north of Route 313.
To Visit the Swamp
With the exception of the State Game Lands, Quakertown Swamp is entirely on private property. Do not enter private property without the landowner's permission. Start your tour at State Game Lands #139 near the intersection of Muskrat and Rich Hill Roads. A small parking area is located on Muskrat Road near the intersection. Walk past the gate and follow the trail to a man-made pond. On the far side of the pond is one of the largest scrub-shrub wetlands in southeastern Pennsylvania. You may see a variety of turtles, frogs, ducks and possibly muskrat or beaver. Songbirds, including warblers and flycatchers, can be heard in the woodlands to the south.
When you return to the parking area turn to the right and walk along Muskrat Road for 50 yards. Look to the left to view an extensive heron rookery. Great blue herons have created a growing nesting colony here since 1994. If you are adventurous, walk back to the intersection and turn left onto Rich Hill Road. Follow Rich Hill Road to the overpass. Before the overpass, climb up the embankment on the left to reach the railroad tracks. Be alert! One of the two tracks is still active and extreme care should be used in walking along the tracks. At the tracks continue to the left for about 100 yards until you see a culvert that drains water under the tracks. From this point enjoy the panoramic view of the swamp. In the distance, on the left, you see the heron rookery and the pond on the Game Lands. To the right is an extensive cattail marsh. To obtain a copy of A Self-Guided Tour of Quakertown Swamp, contact Heritage Conservancy, 85 Old Dublin Pike, Doylestown, PA 18901, 215-345-7020, www.heritageconservancy.org.
Sharon Yates
Heritage Conservancy
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