Trail 23: Crabtree Creek (West) - Oak Park Trail

06/21/2012.  6:18 PM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 50.316, W 78, 40.832
End:   GPS N 35, 50.483, W 78, 42.316

Access to the eastern entrance of the Crabtree Creek - Oak Park Trail (see photo below) is relatively easy from the south side of Crabtree Valley Mall. I parked in the parking area just over the bridge from Crabtree Valley Avenue and Edwards Mill Rd, and began my walk from that intersection heading west. However, I now believe that this segment of a few hundred yards up to Creedmoor Road is actually part of the Crabtree Valley Trail, based on the map from the City of Raleigh site. So the area covered on this outing was the Crabtree Creek - Oak Park Trail, which is west of Creedmoor Road, and a small segment of the Crabtree Valley Trail.

Temperatures had been in the mid-90s during the day, but a thundershower had brought them down into the mid- to upper-80s Fahrenheit by the time I arrived, and the rain had just ended. I don't usually bird in the evening hours, but chose this time because it had been so hot during the preceding week and I knew part of the trail along Crabtree Valley Avenue would be unshaded. I figured some cloudy skies after a thunderstorm would make for good protection from the heat.

My route began near the 13.5 mile marker for the entire Crabtree Creek Trail system. The 14.0 mile marker is well into the Crabtree Creek - Oak Park portion of the trail. It was between these two markers where I saw the majority of birds on this outing. The trail was quite pleasant to walk along, and there were some interesting things to see, such as a small wetland (see photo below), and an old bridge over the trail that was blocked off because it seemed to be decaying badly. But the vegetation was thick in most places further west along the trail, so although I heard a number of birds, I saw very few. I guess this is one of the challenges of trying to spot forest-dwelling birds during the North Carolina summer. Birding in the evening hours may have contributed to the lower numbers of species spotted this time around.

Birds Sighted Between the 13.5 and 14.0 Mile Markers:

Barn Swallow: GPS N 35, 50.340, W 78, 40.874. There were several before the Creedmoor Road overpass, and they appeared to have some nests underneath the roadway.

American Crow (in flight): I heard this bird (or one of its buddies) call about 30 seconds after it disappeared from view over a hillside, so could confirm it was not a Fish Crow.

Northern Cardinal: In some trees across Crabtree Valley Avenue from the trail.


After passing under Creedmoor Road there is an abandoned looking parking lot on the left side, and the wetland pictured at left is just beyond it. A couple of large trees on the creek side of the trail from the parking lot seemed to attract the interest of several bird species.

American Robin:  GPS N 35, 50.564, W 78, 41.096.

Carolina Chickadee:  I saw fewer of these today than usual.

Blue Gray Gnatcatcher:  There may have been two of these in the same tall tree with the Chickadee.

Birds Sighted Between the 14.0 Mile Marker and Trail's End:  There was not much in the way of bird activity, other than a few species already seen, on this part of the trail. Lots of wooden bridges and a number of access points from various neighborhoods, however.

Eastern Bluebird:  GPS N 35, 50.575, W 78, 41.953.

Both the Crabtree Creek - Oak Park Trail, and the greater Crabtree Creek Trail officially end at GPS N 35, 50.483, W 78, 42.316 (see photo at left). According to the Raleigh Greenway Map provided by the city, a final segment will eventually be added that will bring the western end of Crabtree Creek Trail all the way to Umstead State Park As you can see in the photo (left), the space that this new section will occupy has already been cleared somewhat. However, it does not look like construction of this part of the trail will be completed anytime soon. Focus currently is on the extension of the eastern end of the Crabtree Creek Trail to connect it with the Neuse River Trail.



New Species Sighted on Return Trip:

Carolina Wren: GPS N 35, 50.743, W 78, 41.749. I had heard these birds calling a few times but could never spot one in the dense foliage as the sun was getting low. I got lucky with this one because it was very close to the edge of the trail.

Great Crested Flycatcher: GPS N 35, 50.677, W 78, 41.490. Cleaning its feathers at the top of a tree that had a number of bare branches protruding.

My total count for this outing was only nine species. My poorest showing yet. I'm pretty sure I heard at least three more species (Red Shouldered Hawk, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse) that I couldn't see, and there was at least one species that looked unfamiliar, but which I only glimpsed briefly. This is the second outing that has not produced any new birds for the Capital Area Greenway list, but I don't know if that is because the western part of the Crabtree Creek Trail has lower species diversity, or because of the heavy foliage and unique conditions on the particular days I went birding.

This will be my last update on the Raleigh Greenway until sometime in August, as I will be traveling to Asia for work. However, if I get a chance to do some focused birding while away, I may post something about what I find.

Trail 22: Crabtree Creek Trail (West) - Crabtree Valley Trail

06/13/2012.  9:35 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 50.318, W 78, 39.845
End:   GPS N 35, 50.202, W 78, 40.623 (estimate)

The westernmost starting point for the Crabtree Valley Trail is a bit difficult to pinpoint from the Capital Area Greenway Map provided by the City of Raleigh. However, the trail appears to begin at the 3-way intersection of: 1) the Ironwood Trail, which comes south from Shelley Lake, 2) the North Hills Trail Segment, which joins the Crabtree Creek Trail to North Hills Park, and 3) the Crabtree Valley Trail, which runs along the bank of Crabtree Creek.

From the Greenway itself, this location is easy to find if heading south down the Ironwood Trail. A sign at the intersection points to Shelley Lake, North Hills Park, and the western part of the Crabtree Creek Trail. The North Hills Trail segment seems to branch off from what feels like the main trail by crossing a zigzagging bridge (see photo at left, which was taken back in March). The closest access points to this intersection by car are from North Hills Park to the west, which requires a walk down a very steep incline, or an entrance from near 2501 North Hills Drive to the east. The eastern end of the trail is at Crabtree Valley Mall and has many entry points. I chose to access the trail from North Hills Park.

The following does not include any birds seen along the North Hills Trail segment in either direction, as I had already birded this part of the Raleigh Greenway in late March. I should also note that my GPS device ran out of batteries by the time I reached the intersection, so I do not have coordinates for the birds seen on this outing. I did not see anything really unusual this time, so the lack of coordinates should not be a major loss.

Birds Sighted Between 3-Way Intersection and 12.5 Mile Marker:

Northern Cardinal:  9:58 AM.  Numerous as usual.

Carolina Wren:  10:02 AM.  Saw three moving around together. Might have been a parent and two young.

Unidentified Swallow: 10:08 AM.  I saw this swallow flying high overhead for just a couple of seconds. It did not have the forked tail of the Barn Swallow, so based on probability, it was likely a Northern Rough Winged Swallow, which I have seen a couple of times along the eastern part of the Crabtree Creek Trail.

Birds Sighted Between the 12.5 Mile and the 13 Mile Markers:

American Robin:  10:23 AM.

Downy Woodpecker (Male): 10:33 AM.

Carolina Chickadee: 10:33 AM. This chickadee was trying to harvest something from the very same small branch that the Downy Woodpecker was interested in. The chickadee would fly in quickly, peck once or twice, then flit away before the woodpecker could peck at it. Must have been something tasty up there.

Along this part of the trail, there is an access point from Century Drive, a bridge that passes over the trail carrying a pipe, and a wooden bridge that crosses Crabtree Creek. Beyond this bridge the surroundings feel a lot more urban, as there are many streets near the trail and fairly heavy traffic.

Barn Swallows: 10:51 AM. There appeared to be several nests under one of the overpasses near Glenwood Avenue.

I did not see any new species after the 13 Mile Marker until I passed the McDonalds, which is south of Glenwood Avenue. Here, the trail runs parallel to a road called Crabtree Valley Avenue. From McDonald's to Edward's Mill Road, the trail is out in the open on one side. There is very little shade along this part of the trail.

Birds Sighted Between McDonalds and Edward's Mill Road:

Mourning Dove: 11:05 AM. Across the road from the McDonalds in an undeveloped area.

Brown Thrasher: 11:06 AM. Landed on a power line and called a couple of times before departing.

Northern Mockingbird: 11:07 AM. In a tree near the McDonalds parking lot. There appeared to be one adult (possibly two) and two juvenile birds waiting in the tree to be fed. They weren't in a nest, but they were much less active than the larger one(s), who kept flying away and then returning.

Song Sparrow: 11:08 AM. Landed on a nearby wire for a short time before departing. I got a good look at the dark spot on the chest.

Eastern Phoebe: 11:16 AM. Doing its characteristic tail bobbing.

American Crow: 11:17 AM. A group of at least five were circling around the roof of a small inn across the street from the trail.

The trail ends at Edward's Mill Road. The trail can be easily accessed from this end by parking at Crabtree Valley Mall and exiting from the back (south) side anywhere that will cross the creek.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip:

Unidentified Woodpecker (in flight): I saw a woodpecker land in a tree on the back side of Crabtree Valley Mall near the intersection with Edward's Mill Road. My first instinct was to think it was a Northern Flicker, which I have not seen very often along the Raleigh Greenway, but it disappeared into a large tree before I could confirm and I didn't see it leave again.

Mallard (in flight): 11:30 AM. This duck appeared to be alone. I saw it flying fairly low along Crabtree Creek as I approached the wooden bridge pictured above. The Crabtree Valley Trail provides some pretty good looks at Crabtree Creek, despite heavy vegetation, and I was a little surprised not to see more ducks and geese. The creek was flowing pretty fast on this particular day because of some recent rain, and that may explain their absence.

Unidentified Hawk (in flight): 11:40 AM. I saw this one on the north side of Crabtree Creek and Glenwood Avenue. Got only two brief glimpses of this hawk through some very leafy trees, but I had heard what I was pretty sure was a Red Shouldered Hawk crying earlier in the outing, and this one was the right size and shape for a Red Shouldered, so it may have been the same one.

This outing was one of my least productive. There seemed to be less birdlife along the first part of the trail than I have seen elsewhere. I ended with a total of 13 species identified, and two or three more that I could not identify, mostly because of the thickness of the vegetation. Summer birding along these trails is certainly more challenging than spring birding! No new species for the Capital Area Greenway list this time, and no new birds for my lifelist.