Lunchtime discovery at Kiwanis Riverway Park

This is a good location to include in an early post. The park is within 15 minutes of my workplace, so I visit it regularly throughout the week. You can see from the map that it's located on the bank of the Scioto River. It's small, but it has a good mix of habitats. In addition, the nearby offices have bird feeders.


It's interesting to see the park change through the seasons. Currently it's hard to see very far, as the plants are at their peak. Birdwise, many of the year-round residents and early migrants are feeding young (lots of ducklings!), while some of the later migrants are still singing or setting up territories.

Rabbits are growing up here too, apparently

One bird that I've been hearing continuously over the past few weeks is the Prothonotary Warbler, a tiny golden bird that is notable for being the only warbler that nests in cavities. Today, I found the nest in an old cedar that looks like it broke off at the top. The male bird was bringing food into the hole, so either he was feeding the female or he was feeding the young. My guess is that he was feeding the female, since I didn't see her and I didn't hear any begging nestlings.

I managed to grab a picture using my smartphone through my binoculars

I'll be sure to keep tabs on the nest and include it in future posts!

The full list of birds I saw is included in my eBird checklist