Trail 13: Shelley Lake Trail (East Side)

02/26/2012.  9:20 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 51.360, W 78, 39.688
End:   GPS N 35, 51.858, W 78, 38.883

Access to the Shelley Lake Trail (East Side) can be found along the 900 block of W Millbrook Road, on the north side of the street. This would also make a good alternate access point for the Shelley Lake Trail (South Side) discussed last week. In order to avoid birding the same area as last time, I entered the trail from the east side of the parking lot, and took the lower elevation outside path to get back to last week's endpoint.

It was clear and sunny when I arrived. Temperatures were in the mid-40s and many birds were active. I got off to a really good start. Within about half an hour, though, a wind picked up and it was breezy to quite windy for most of the rest of the time I was out. The wind and the movement of the trees made it difficult to hear the birds moving, or the tree-climbers pecking, and I had a long period during which I didn't manage to see much activity at all.

I was also a long way from the bridge where most of the water birds tend to congregate. Still, I saw many of the species from previous weeks from a distance. The main one I missed was Great Blue Heron. The Hooded Mergansers from last week were also in hiding. It was a bit disappointing not to see anything new out on the water this time.

Later in the morning the wind died down for a short time while I was on the Snelling Branch Trail to the east of Shelley Lake, and during that time I picked up a few woodpeckers and a White Breasted Nuthatch. I liked the Snelling Branch Trail quite a bit, and would recommend it for spotting birds that favor wooded areas.

Birds Sighted From Parking Lot and Along Access Path to the Lake

American Crow:  GPS N 35, 51.360, W 78, 39.688.  In a tree near where I parked my car.

Mourning Dove:  On an electrical line across the road.

Northern Mockingbird:  GPS N 35, 51.346, W 78, 39.600. Down in the shrubbery beside the first part of the trail.

Birds Sighted From Lakeside Part of Trail and From Open Field Beside the Trail:

Mallard:  GPS N 35, 51.433, W 78, 39.617.

Ring Billed Gull:  Many of these were present, but most were too far across the lake for a good count.

Double Crested Cormorant:  Saw two of these in the water feeding.

Canada Goose: As with the gulls, there were many but most were across the lake.

Probable Tree Swallow:  I saw two of these fly overhead and then over a portion of the lake edge. Didn't get a long look at them, but I immediately thought they were swallows by their shape in flight, and I did notice that they looked mostly, if not completely, white underneath and dark on top. There didn't appear to be any recent sightings on my BirdsEye App, however.  The next day, though, six Tree Swallows were sighted up at Falls Lake. So maybe I was right after all. However, I didn't get a long enough look to be certain, so I won't count this one in the Capital Area Greenway list.

Brown Thrasher: GPS N 35, 51.461, W 78, 39.562. On the ground along the treeline at the edge of the large open field of grass.

Eastern Towhee:  Male. Singing from a branch.

American Robin:  Counted twelve (12) of these together in the grass.

Northern Cardinal:  The first one was by itself in the grass near the robins.

Tufted Titmouse:  Two together in the trees by the open grassy area.

Carolina Chickadee:  In same tree with titmice.

Birds Sighted From Creek Mouth to West Side Bridge:  It was during this part of the trail in particular that the wind was quite gusty and not many birds were seen. At the intersection that forks toward the Shelley Lake Trail (West Side) on one branch, and toward North Hills Drive along the other, I first followed the connector to the west side bridge, then turned around and returned to the intersection so that I could continue on to North Hills Drive.

Turkey Vulture (in flight):  GPS N 35, 51.816, W 78, 39.463.

Ruby Crowned Kinglet:  GPS N 35, 51.956, W 78, 39.424.

The Shelley Lake Trail (East Side) comes to an end on North Hills Drive around GPS N 35, 51.862, W 78, 39.237. Across the street is the start of the Snelling Branch Trail.

Birds Sighted Along Snelling Branch Trail:  The wind died down to something more like breezy for this trail, and part of it is submerged below the level of the land around it, so the birds were a bit easier to see and hear than was true up by the lake.

Carolina Wren: GPS N 35, 51.846, W 78, 39.155.

Red Bellied Woodpecker: GPS N 35, 51.805, W 78, 39.097.

White Breasted Nuthatch: Just spotted the one.

Downy Woodpecker: GPS N 35, 51.798, W 78, 39.064.

Dark Eyed Junco:  GPS N 35, 51.807, W 78, 38.908.  Two birds in trees beside a fenced in soccer field.

Northern Flicker (male): GPS N 35, 51.841, W 78, 38.883.

Probable Pine Warbler: I have never seen a Pine Warbler before, so I didn't know what to look for. I heard it calling for a while before I finally spotted it in a little cluster of pine trees. I only got to look at it briefly before it disappeared again. I started with the Tekiela book. It only has nine species with yellow as a primary color. The Pine Warbler looked promising, but the color in the photo seemed too dull. I tried to search for other possibilities using the iBird App. Searched for common and uncommon birds in North Carolina with yellow as a primary color and forests as a habitat. Got 28 birds as matches. I listened to the calls of all that seemed to fit its look, and the pine warbler was the closest. Still, I wasn't sure, so I'm listing it as a probable and will be more ready for one if I should see it again.

After the warbler, I returned along the trail to my car without seeing any new birds. This was a long outing, around 3.5 hours. I identified 21 species and saw two others that I was not certain about (probable Tree Sparrow and Pine Warbler). No new birds for the Greenway List, however.