Trail 10: Bent Creek Trail

02/04/2012.  10:16 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 52.450, W 78, 38.844
End:   GPS N 35, 52.002, W 78, 39.294

Access to this trail was quite easy. The entrance is at the corner of Longstreet Dr. and Bent Creek Dr, and there is parking available on the street. The trail is right in the city, surrounded by housing developments, but it has the feel of a more remote area in some places. This was the first creekside trail I have seen along the Greenway with jumbles of stones in the watercourse.

The day was cloudy and cool, with temperatures in the high 40s. Light rain fell at one point, but it was brief and didn't seem to affect bird activity too greatly.

The first part of the trail (left) was fairly quiet when I arrived.  I heard a woodpecker pecking away at one point, but could never find it.  It sounded like it was at a bit of a distance.  I also saw two seagulls fly over, perhaps on their way to Shelley Lake which is further down this trail, but I don't have much experience with seagulls, and they were backlit against the cloudy sky, so I didn't even try for an identification. In the end, I only saw a couple of species between the entrance and the first bridge. In this section of the trail, traffic noise made it a bit hard to hear the birds, and from about the midpoint on there was a dog who never stopped barking until I got across the bridge and a little further down the trail.

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 52.397, W 78, 38.924. These were probably the most numerous birds on this trail.

Red Bellied Woodpecker: I ended up seeing these in three or four places along the trail.  It would seem that this trail and the Sawmill Trail from last week are good places to see this bird.

The area between the first and second bridge was much nicer, though I didn't identify any new birds along this stretch. Traffic noise was absent for most of the way and the woods in this area seemed somewhat wider. I should note that the Sawmill Trail intersects with the Bent Creek Trail just before the second bridge.

The section between the second bridge and the overpass that supports Lynn Road was more productive. It was after 11 AM by this time so perhaps that had something to do with it. One of the most productive areas was along a little paved path that comes down from Lynn Road to meet the trail. I saw five species around this point.

American Robin:  GPS N 35, 52.137, W 78, 39.038.  The robin was solitary.

Downy/Hairy Woodpecker:  I didn't have but a few seconds to look at this one, so I couldn't tell which species. It was on the small side, so I would lean toward Downy.

Carolina Wren:  Just one of these. I don't remember seeing another one all day.

Eastern Towhee: Both a male and a female, moving around together.

Hermit Thrush: This was a nice find. Only the second I've seen so far in 10 outings.

After the overpass, the trail splits. The paved part moves away from the creek by a few hundred feet, while a dirt path continues right along the creek edge. I decided to follow the dirt path first, then to return by the paved pathway.

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker: GPS N 35, 52.057, W 78, 39.077. I have not seen one of these since the Neuse River Trail.

American Crow:  I heard these long before I saw them. There were only two of them visible at any given time.

White Breasted Nuthatch: I believe this was the only one I saw on this trip.

Brown Thrasher: GPS N 35, 52.045, W 78, 39.210.

The Bent Creek Trail technically ends at North Hills Drive. From there on the trail is called Shelley Lake Trail. A look at the map suggests that it may take two, or perhaps even three trips for me to get completely around Shelley Lake, and to also cover two short side trails. But the presence of the lake means I may see some new species out on the water.

I saw a few more new sightings for the day on the return trip. Many were along the stretch of road that I had skipped to walk the dirt path along the creek.


Carolina Chickadee: GPS N 35, 52.065, W 78, 39.218.

Tufted Titmouse: I was surprised that it took so long to see this bird, as well as the Carolina Chickadee. They are usually among the most common species. Instead, this trail had a healthy supply of Northern Cardinals.

Downy Woodpecker:  This time I got a longer look and could confirm.

Turkey Vulture (in flight): GPS N 35, 52.086, W 78, 39.191. Saw two of these flying together.

Dark Eyed Junco: GPS N 35, 52.213, W 78, 39.086. As was true last week, I only saw a single individual, where I normally would see a group.

Because this was my 10th trail, I thought I would take a look at the birds I've seen so far and make a few comments about relative abundance. All of the trails so far have been in the northeast quadrant of Raleigh, and most have followed a waterway of some sort.

The total for the Greenway list to this point is 38 species. Two species were seen on every outing, the Carolina Chickadee and the Tufted Titmouse (often together), and several more were seen on at least eight outings:  Dark Eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, White Throated Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, and Red Bellied Woodpecker.  The following species were identified only once:  Red Tailed Hawk, Red Shouldered Hawk, Great Blue Heron, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Red Winged Blackbird, European Starling, Common Grackle, and Hairy Woodpecker.  However, the Hairy Woodpecker can be difficult to specifically identify, and several times I recorded a woodpecker as either a Downy or a Hairy.  Pileated Woodpecker, Hermit Thrush, House Finch, and Brown Creeper were only identified twice. Most of the other birds were seen between four and six times, or on about half of the outings. These were:  Mockingbird, Robin, Turkey Vulture, Brown Thrasher, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, American Crow, White Breasted Nuthatch, Yellow Rumped Warbler, Red Headed Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Black Vulture, Ruby Crowned Kinglet, Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, Blue Jay, Eastern Towhee, and Song Sparrow.

Red Headed Woodpeckers are fairly common in the more swampy habitats, but non-existent at a distance from such places. Pileated woodpeckers seemed to be the least common type of woodpecker, and Red Bellied and Downy were the two most common. I have yet to see a Northern Flicker, though I see one at my home feeder fairly often. Perhaps there is something about the creekside habitat that doesn't appeal to the Flicker.