DIRECTIONS: From I-80 and PA 309, go south on PA 309 for 0.9 mile and turn left (east) on Honey Hole Road. Follow Honey Hole Road 2 miles to the park entrance just after crossing under I-80. From this point on most of the lands on your right comprise NSP. Continue traveling another 3.5 miles to the Lake Francis parking area on the right. You are now at the relative center of NSP, a good place to begin a walking tour of several key habitats. From the parking area, begin walking toward the upper end of the road, checking, in season, for Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Northern Cardinal, and other brush-loving species. Singing Fox Sparrow are found here in April and Northern Parula occurs in mid-May with Field Sparrow nesting in the area. The various spruce trees in this area and around the residences are good for nesting Chipping Sparrow and visiting White-crowned, White-throated, Song, and Field sparrows. Purple and House finches are fairly reliable; and late summer and fall visits yield Olive-sided Flycatcher (visible at the top of dead trees) and Eastern Bluebird and American Kestrel. Other common nesters in this area include American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, American Redstart, House Wren, and Eastern Phoebe. From the far corner of the road, continue walking to your left to check out more of the overgrown field and spruce plantings or turn right and walk out to the upstream end of Lake Francis. Check the lake from this and other vantage points for visiting waterfowl. Pied-billed Grebe are fairly regular spring and autumn visitors as well as Ring-necked Duck and Red-breasted Merganser. Osprey have been noted here and nearby in spring. A footpath encircles the lake's edge and a walk along it will yield Belted Kingfisher, Common Yellowthroat, Song Sparrow, Gray Catbird, House Wren, and permanent residents such as Downy Woodpecker and Tufted Titmouse. From the upstream end of the lake, turn left and follow a path upstream along the edge of several tall spruce trees. This area was once destined to become a housing development and the paved roads you will walk along are remnants of that era. The brushy area on both sides of the path should produce Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned kinglets at the right times along with Common Yellowthroat and Gray Catbird. Chipping Sparrow nest in the spruces and Ruby-throated Hummingbird commonly perch at the tips of these trees. Around the old apple orchard at the end of this path, check for singing Blue-winged Warbler, Field and Chipping sparrows, and thrashers. Eastern Phoebe nest regularly on the old outbuilding here and are easily seen in fall and spring perched here and on the nearby barn. A left turn onto the old asphalt road will take you past the barn to the edge of a wooded pond. Look for Hooded Merganser, Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, and Mallard here. Beyond the pond, on both sides of the road, are more spruce trees, white pine and larch trees which attract nesting Cedar Waxwing and various sparrow and finches. Reverse your direction and either check out other sides of this pond or continue uphill and into a wooded area. One at the top (the road is now covered with moss in places), turn right and follow the road back towards the lake, listening for vireos, woodland warblers, including Ovenbird, Wood and Hermit thrushes, and Veery. Bear right with the road and then cut left, following one of several informal paths until you reach an obvious path that bears off to the left. A walk down this path will, in season, produce Least Flycatcher, various warblers, Blue-headed Vireo and Wood Thrush, and permanent residents. Listen carefully for the Brown Creeper. After 50 yards, a brushy path will bear right to the edge of a wooded pond with a grassy marsh visible at the far end. Great Blue Heron and Mallard are regular here in season and an occasional American Bittern. Retrace your steps to the main path and follow it downslope to a small creek. Cross the creek, checking as you do for possible waterthrushes, and follow the path up and to the left. After 200 yards you will break out into an open grassy area which borders a large wooded pond. Species seen on or near the water here have included Pied-billed Grebe, American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Spotted Sandpiper, nesting Tree Swallow, Northern Oriole, and Scarlet Tanager in the surrounding treetops, Eastern Kingbird, and Common Yellowthroat. The hemlock grove to the right offers favorable habitat for Black-throated Green Warbler Follow the main path as it traverses a marshy area along the right side of the pond, checking as you go for Swamp Sparrow. At the upstream end the path will cross over a small stream. The area immediately surrounding the stream, full of cattails on one side and gray dogwood on the other, is a magnet during the migrations for various warbler species, Swamp and Song sparrows and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Once across the stream begin listening for singing Alder Flycatcher and Red-winged Blackbird in the cattail marsh to the right and Rose-breasted Grosbeak and drumming Ruffed Grouse in the woods. The path will continue to follow the edge of the marsh for several hundred yards, eventually reaching a series of seep-like streams. Winter Wren are regular here in early spring along with Canada, Nashville, and Mourning warblers. From this point a PGC road will take you left and back toward Honey Hole Road, or you can follow the path right and down to the upstream end of the marsh, checking again for Winter Wren and other species which favor dark, boggy woods. To continue your visit to NSP, from the parking area get back on Honey Hole Road, turn left and retrace your drive into the area until you've reached a large open field on the left. Park in one of several PGC parking areas, then scan the horizon for raptors before walking down into the field by following a mowed path. Check the multiflora rose and sumacs as you walk downslope for singing Eastern Bluebird, Field Sparrow, and Indigo Bunting. A look at the slope in front of you may produce Red-tailed or Broad-winged hawks, Turkey Vulture, or Sharp-shinned Hawk. Off to your left as you reach the low point is Nescopeck Creek. Various paths will follow the creek from this point on, giving you chances of observing Wood Duck, Belted Kingfisher, Louisiana Waterthrush, Acadian Flycatcher, and Blackburnian and Black-throated Green warblers (in hemlock groves). Great Horned Owl inhabit this area as well as American Woodcock, which makes extensive use of the field's edges for spring courtship flights. The extensive and mature hemlock grove to the right of the field attracts nesting raptors as well, along with conifer-loving songbirds. In spring and fall listen for Golden-crowned Kinglet working the tops of these mature hemlocks. Eastern Bluebird breed in these fields, using old nest boxes at a nearby abandoned farm as well as natural cavities. The wooded areas along the field's edge also contain Pileated, Hairy, and Downy woodpeckers and Northern Flicker. Check also for various swallow species over the field in mid-summer. Cliff, Barn, and Tree have been recorded here. Besides the major habitats already described above, NSP also contains many smaller ponds and marshy areas, along with mixed mesophytic and upland oak forests; old fields now overgrowing with multiflora rose and red cedar; and barren areas. Note: Local gunners have been using an old quarry area along Honey Hole Road for many years as an improvised shooting range. You are cautioned to stay well clear of this site while birding in NSP. If time allows, SGL 187, which borders Honey Hole Road to the left as you drive in from PA 309, also offers good birding for a variety of woodland species. A winter walk down Honey Hole Road will also produce lots of Dark-eyed Junco and perhaps a glimpse of a Brown Creeper.