North Carolina county #69 River Park North
In the Greenville area, I stopped by River Park North. I wasn’t sure what to expect except that it had a lot of checklists associated with it in ebird, but when I got there I understood why. This is a city park that feels like it is in the country. There are several trails around a number of ponds, and the scenery is quite nice. There were a few fishermen and women and I even ran into a wildlife photographer there.
I was happy to see a Summer Tanager here, along with some other favorites like a Great Crested Flycatcher, a Belted Kingfisher, and some Wood Ducks.
I spotted three separate Great Blue Herons on my walk. I am always awestruck by these birds no matter how many times I see them.
It was actually supposed to rain, but the weather held out and it was cool and pleasant. I could see coming to this park to spend the whole day if I was not in a rush to get all my counties covered.
Killdeer are funny to me. First of all, they are a shorebird that I see everywhere, including parking lots of supermarkets. But the other thing is that despite how common they are, I somehow managed to never notice them until I started birding. They are funny creatures too, the way they fake injuries near their nests to lure you away and refuse to leave eggs they are incubating no matter how close you get.
Anyway, this is a great park I definitely recommend. Easy walking, nice scenery, lots of wildlife – what’s not to like?
ebird checklist
