12/22/2011. 9:45 AM.
Start: GPS N 35, 55.952, W 78, 33.655
End: GPS N 35, 55.069, W 78, 33.601
The access path from Falls River Avenue to the Neuse River Trail is several hundred feet long. It passes between two rows of houses along the way. Several of these houses have bird feeders in their yards, so there is quite a lot of bird activity. I saw a Northern Mockingbird, several Dark Eyed Juncos, a House Finch, two Mourning Doves, and what I originally thought was a group of four Chipping Sparrows, but as far as I can tell, they aren't common winter residents in Raleigh, so I am probably wrong about that one.
Perhaps half a mile down the Neuse River Trail from the Falls River Avenue entrance listed above is another entrance with a decent-size parking lot. The intersection of this parking lot and the Neuse River Trail is at GPS N 35, 55.829, W 78, 33.529. If I had known, I might have made that entrance the end for last week's outing, and then started there this week. That would have shortened the length of the trail for today's outing. However, I saw quite a few birds along the access path from the Falls River Ave. entrance, whereas the area near the other parking lot was not very active, so I still might recommend starting at the 3500 block of Falls River Avenue to bird this section.
The weather was mostly cloudy and the temperature was around 65 degrees Fahrenheit at the start. Is there anything better than birding in a t-shirt on the first day of winter? Well, maybe a few things, but this was pretty nice. There was quite a lot of bird activity at the place where the access trail meets the woods just before the main trail, so I spent quite a bit of time there. Some parts of this trail were strangely quiet, while others were quite active.
Between Falls River Avenue Entrance and First Parking Lot at GPS N 35, 55.829, W 78, 33.529
Northern Mockingbird: GPS N 35, 55.802, W 78, 33.759
Dark Eyed Junco
Chipping Sparrow?: GPS N 35, 55.881, W 78, 33.736 - I was pretty sure this was a Chipping Sparrow, with drab winter markings, but according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology range maps, they shouldn't be in North Carolina in the winter. However, the BirdsEye App on my iPod Touch indicates there have been a number of recent sightings in the Raleigh area.
Turkey Vulture: In Flight.
House Finch: N 35, 55.898, W 78, 33.707
Mourning Dove
Red Headed Woodpecker: GPS N 35, 55.917, W 78, 33.685
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Bluebird
Red Bellied Woodpecker: GPS N 35, 55.941, W 78, 33.673
Tufted Titmouse
Black Vulture: In flight.
White Breasted Nuthatch
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker: GPS N 35, 55.941, W 78, 33.625
Carolina Chickadee
White Throated Sparrow: GPS N 35, 55.903, W 78, 33.573
Song Sparrow
American Robin
Downy Woodpecker
Between the Parking Lot and Bedfordtown Drive Entrance: New Birds Only
Yellow Rumped Warbler: GPS N 35, 55.633, W 35, 33.241
I identified 19 species on this outing, including four species of woodpecker - Red Headed, Red Bellied, Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, and Downy. I'll have to check when I return home from the holidays, but I believe this trip added two new birds to my Capital Area Greenway bird count, for a total of 29 species. The Song Sparrow may be a new one for my lifelist as well.
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