<p>A blue-headed vireo eats a caterpillar from a tree branch on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.</p> <p>Courtesy of Liz Baumeister</p>

A blue-headed vireo eats a caterpillar from a tree branch on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.

Courtesy of Liz Baumeister
<p>A female eastern towhee perches on a small branch along the Wilderness Trail on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.</p> <p>Courtesy of Liz Baumeister</p>

A female eastern towhee perches on a small branch along the Wilderness Trail on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.

Courtesy of Liz Baumeister
<p>An American robin takes a bath in the stream on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.</p> <p>Courtesy of Liz Baumeister</p>

An American robin takes a bath in the stream on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.

Courtesy of Liz Baumeister
<p>A male red-winged blackbird regains its balance while picking the fluff off a cattail on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.</p> <p>Courtesy of Liz Baumeister</p>

A male red-winged blackbird regains its balance while picking the fluff off a cattail on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.

Courtesy of Liz Baumeister
<p>A house finch perches on a branch along the Wilderness Trail on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.</p> <p>Courtesy of Liz Baumeister</p>

A house finch perches on a branch along the Wilderness Trail on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.

Courtesy of Liz Baumeister
<p>A female house sparrow perches on top of the firewood pile Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.</p> <p>Courtesy of Liz Baumeister</p>

A female house sparrow perches on top of the firewood pile Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.

Courtesy of Liz Baumeister
<p>A mallard splashes around in Eston Wilson Lake on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.</p> <p>Courtesy of Liz Baumeister</p>

A mallard splashes around in Eston Wilson Lake on Wednesday morning at Hillside Park.

Courtesy of Liz Baumeister
<p>A gray catbird preens its feathers from a low branch hanging over the stream at Hillside Park on Wednesday morning.</p> <p>Courtesy of Liz Baumeister</p>

A gray catbird preens its feathers from a low branch hanging over the stream at Hillside Park on Wednesday morning.

Courtesy of Liz Baumeister

SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. — The golden-hour sun was diffused by a thick layer of fog over Eston Wilson Lake when I arrived at Hillside Park at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday. The sharp whistle of a northern cardinal, the chortles and screams of blue jays, and the melody of a song sparrow blended together to create a morning symphony. Fishermen cast their lines on the water, couples walked their dogs, and construction workers were busy under the park’s pavilion giving the concrete floor an upgrade.

As I inhaled deep breaths of fresh air and slung my camera around my neck, I tried to remember how long It’d been since I last visited my favorite birding spot in Lackawanna County.

Too long.

This 100-acre park is overseen by the Abington Area Joint Recreation Board, supported by five municipal governments — Clarks Green and Clarks Summit boroughs and Glenburn, South Abington, and Waverly townships — and managed and maintained entirely by volunteers.

Its sports fields host local school and recreation teams. The pavilion shelters countless community events, including an annual summer concert series. The lake is utilized for fishing and boating in the summer and ice skating and pickup hockey games in the winter. A spacious dog park serves our local canine pals. And the nature trails are perfect for hiking and nature observation.

I always leave my birding expeditions at Hillside Park with a long eBird checklist, and Wednesday was no exception.

In the three hours I was there, I identified 30 species including various woodpeckers and sparrows, Canada geese, mallards, belted kingfisher, American crows, black-capped chickadees, tufted titmouse, lots of American robins and gray catbirds, eastern Phoebe, Carolina wrens, European starlings, eastern bluebird, cedar waxwings, house finches, American goldfinches, common yellowthroats, eastern towhees, red-winged blackbirds, yellow-rumped warbler, northern cardinal, blue jays, and my favorite find of the day, blue-headed vireos.

One blue-headed vireo caught a caterpillar for breakfast and made a show of slinging it around in the air and slamming it against a tree branch before picking it apart and eating it. Gross, I know, but it was fascinating to watch and photograph.

My second-favorite sighting of the day was also probably the most common species on my list, a small flock of American robins taking a bath in the stream that runs through the park. I sat on the wooden bridge that crosses the stream and watched them splash around for about a half hour. As I sat there still and silent, other birds entered the scene, including a blue jay that came for a drink from the stream, a gray catbird that perched right in front of me on a low tree branch above the water, an eastern towhee foraging for food on the ground, and a couple more blue-headed vireos.

When it came time to leave, I felt like a child being dragged away from the playground.

Hillside Park is always worth the drive from Luzerne County, and I can’t wait to return soon.

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Liz Baumeister is the news editor at the Times Leader. She loves nature, photography, and nature photography. Reach her at lbaumeister@timesleader.com.