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.