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.