Hamilton County Parks Caravan – February 14, 2026
On February 14, 2026, eight people showed their love for birds by participating in a Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) field trip to three parks in Hamilton County. The group started at Hazel Landing Park where the trail runs along the White River and intertwines with the disc golf course. At that park we observed 20 species and were able to talk birds to some of the disc golf enthusiasts.
From there we traveled to River Heritage Park. This park has very nice rubber composite trails that loop through woods along the White River. At this location we had 29 species (some repeats). The highlights were a Redhead, six Common Mergansers, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Although Founders Park was to be our last stop, the group all agreed that Flowing Well Park would be a more desirable location with hopes of spotting the Great Horned Owl that nests around there. We were able to tally 23 species there and did have “great” looks at the Great Horned Owl thanks to one of the participants who found it in a clump of brown leaves—a perfect camouflage. We also added Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a flyover Killdeer, and House Finch, which we did not have at the other two parks.
Between the three parks, our total species count for the day was 40. We all agreed it was a “lovely” way to spend Valentine’s Day by contributing to citizen science and enjoying birds and nature in three Hamilton County parks. Thank you to Becky Heck for doing a fabulous job of finding the locations and leading the hikes.
Great Horned Owl Photo: Glenn Noris
