Trail 26: Marsh Creek Trail

08/23/2012.  8:20 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 49.732, W 78, 35.985
End:   GPS N 35, 49.352, W 78, 35.486

The Marsh Creek Trail intersects with both Ingram Drive and Glenraven Drive, but the easiest access point is from the parking lot for Brentwood Park. The Marsh Creek Trail runs along the eastern boundary of the park, then continues on a short distance beyond. A small bridge across the creek connects the trail to Glenraven Drive, and about 100 feet later, the trail comes to an abrupt end.  There is room for an extension of the trail, and there is a vague footpath that continues on along the creekside, but the morning was wet and the grasses were fairly tall, so I did not explore it.

The morning started slow, with very few birds making an appearance in the open.  During the first hour, I only saw four different species. After about 9:15 AM though, activity picked up and I began to see a nice variety of birds. The morning was partly cloudy and the temperature was in the low 70s when I arrived.  It was mostly sunny by the time I left at 10:45 AM.

Birds Sighted During First Hour:

Ruby Throated Hummingbird:  GPS N 35, 49.751, W 78, 35.890. I saw hummingbirds in three different places in the park and along the trail. Brentwood Park has a number of "islands" of flowering plants, which probably attract them.

Gray Catbird:  GPS N 35, 49.765, W 78, 35.890. This bird was calling from a fairly dense line of bushes along the edge of the trail.  I finally got a look at it when it briefly came to the ground.

Northern Cardinal:  This bird, too, was being rather cryptic in the same set of bushes as the Grey Catbird.  Later, a couple in the park told me that a large hawk likes to hang around the area, so maybe the birds have learned to stay hidden in the morning until they know the hawk is not around.

Tufted Titmouse:  GPS N 35, 49.682, W 78, 35.851. I have not seen one of these for several outings now.  In the winter, they were among the most common.  I do think that I hear them from time to time, but they seem to be more cryptic in the summer.

New Species Sighted After 9:15 AM

Red Bellied Woodpecker: GPS N 35, 49.681, W 78, 35.915. I believe there were two of these, though I only saw one clearly enough to identify it. They were in the stand of trees toward the southern end of the park where the fenced in baseball diamond is located.

Carolina Chickadee:  Same place as the woodpecker. I was also surprised at how few of these I saw, given their usual numbers.

Eastern Bluebird:  GPS N 35, 49.707, W 78, 35.945. There was at least one adult and one juvenile in the park, perhaps more.

Blue Gray Gnatcatcher: GPS N 35, 49.704, W 78, 35.919. Two of these were seen in the brightly flowering trees along a path that cuts across the middle of the park.

American Crow:  Saw this bird fly over when I was watching the Blue Gray Gnatcatchers.

House Finch:  GPS N 35, 49.772, W 78, 35.946. Perched on fencing around one of the playing fields.

Blue Jay:  GPS N 35, 49.824, W 78, 35.917. Saw at least three of these as they moved across the park on their way somewhere else.

Downy Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 49.608, W 78, 35.817. There was a mini-flurry of bird activity in this one spot, beginning with this woodpecker.

White Breasted Nuthatch:  Same area as the woodpecker.


Possible White Eyed Vireo:  This bird had a longish body and fairly long tail.  The most distinctive thing about it was the golden yellow coloring along the shoulder area just under the wings, and some yellowish color along the tail.  I saw it for only a few seconds, and could not get a positive identification from my books or iBird App.  The White Eyed Vireo seems closest, but my experience with the juvenile Eastern Bluebird last outing means that it could be a juvenile of a species that normally has more yellow on the body in adulthood.

Black and White Warbler:  GPS N 35, 49.615, W 78, 35.822.  A new bird, both for the Raleigh Greenway list, and for my lifelist!

Northern Flicker:  GPS N 35, 49.741, W 78, 35.940.  Although I see one of these a lot in my backyard, I believe this is only the second time I have seen these while walking the Capital Area Greenways.  Both of the individuals I saw had the telltale black moustache indicating that they were males.  Perhaps a parent and maturing juvenile?

The total for this outing was 15 species, excluding the possible White Eyed Vireo. This outing brings the Capital Area Greenway list to 60 different species sighted.

Trail 25: Honeycutt Creek and Baileywick Trails

08/11/2012.  7:10 AM.

Honeycutt Creek Start:  GPS N 35, 54.216, W 78, 37.362
Honeycutt Creek End:   GPS N 35, 54.066, W 78, 37.606

Baileywick Trail Start:    GPS N 35, 54.138, W 78, 40.172
Baileywick Trail End:     GPS N 35, 54.608, W 78, 40.099

This report features two independent trails that are both fairly short.  The Honeycutt Creek Trail is only 0.36 miles in length, and passes along the edge of Honeycutt Park. The Baileywick Trail is 0.6 miles in length and passes through Baileywick Road Park. Each trail seemed a bit short for a full outing, so I decided to combine them into a single day. However, because they are several miles apart, I separately recorded all species seen on each of the trails. This means that a species first seen on the Honeycutt Creek Trail may be repeated if also seen on the Baileywick Trail.

The Honeycutt Creek trail can be easily accessed from Honeycutt Park, which is located on Clear Creek Farm Drive just west of Honeycutt Road in northeast Raleigh. The trailhead is a short walk down Clear Creek Farm Drive from the parking lot, but it is also possible to access the trail by walking through the park past the athletic field. I actually saw more birds flying around the grounds of the park on my way to and from the trail than I did along the trail itself.

This trail is a little odd. It is apparently in planning for expansion, but at present is rather uninspiring. I would divide it into three short segments. The first runs from the trailhead to the eastern edge of the athletic field. This section has tall trees on both sides, but parallels Honeycutt road, so there is significant traffic noise. The second segment begins on the east side of the athletic field (see photo above). Here, there is a screen of trees on one side, and open grass and the athletic field on the other. The mixed habitat should attract different types of birds, although I saw relatively few species among the trees.

After skirting the park, the trail again enters the woods for a short distance, coming to an abrupt end under a set of large power lines (see photo at left). The end of this trail is only a short distance north of I-540, and there is considerable traffic noise here. Based on my experience, I'd recommend focusing on the park rather than the trail, although I did see one new species for the Capital Area Greenway list on the trail.

Birds Sighted Along the Honeycutt Creek Trail:

Summer Tanager: GPS N 35, 54.196, W 78, 37.367. A male started calling soon after I stepped onto the trail, and then seemed to follow me for a short distance along the wooded segment near the trailhead. This is a new species for the Greenway list.

Northern Mockingbird: GPS N 35, 54.170, W 78, 37.473.

Mourning Dove:  GPS N 25, 54.089, W 78, 37.511. Resting on one of the large power lines.

Birds Sighted In Honeycutt Park:

Indigo Bunting: GPS N 35, 54.222, W 78, 37.503. A pair of these were resting together on the cyclone fencing in the park. I thought I saw one of these last week, but this was the first confirmed sighting and so it is a new bird for the Raleigh Greenway list.

Carolina Wren: GPS N 35, 54.239, W 78, 37.489.

House Finch: GPS N 35, 54.221, W78, 37.473. A small flock of perhaps 10 - 12 birds.

Northern Cardinal:  In same area as finches.

Chipping Sparrow: A medium-size flock of perhaps 20 birds.

Ruby Throated Hummingbird:  Around the bushes in the parking lot.

Baileywick Trail:  I attempted to access this trail from its southern terminus on Strickland Road. There is no place to park on Strickland, and the nearest side streets are mostly quite narrow. In the end, I parked on Windjammer St. in the Wentworth Park housing development. However, after walking the trail, I would recommend either Davishire Dr. or the main parking lot for Baileywick Road Park as better places to leave a car.

I arrived at the southern entrance to Baileywick Trail at 8:40 AM, about 20 minutes after leaving Honeycutt Park. Much of this trail has trees on both sides, and many of them are pines. However, as the trail passes through the park, it also opens up onto large grassy areas, potentially attracting birds who prefer open spaces as well. In addition to the paved trail through the park, there is also an unpaved trail that runs to the west of the main route.

Birds Sighted Along Paved Part of Baileywick Trail:

American Crow:  GPS N 35, 54.192, W 78, 40.177. I initially saw three of these on the roof of one of the houses along Davishire Dr.

Carolina Wren:  GPS N 35, 54.223, W 78, 40.174.

Mourning Dove:  GPS N 35, 54.343, W 78, 40.170.

Probable American Goldfinch:  Only got a brief glimpse of this one up high in a tree, so could not be sure.

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 54.255, W 78, 40.171.  At a feeder in one of the back yards along the trail.

Red Bellied Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 54.238, W 78, 40.181. Ended up seeing a male, female, and a juvenile over about a five minute period in one house's yard.

Eastern Towhee:  GPS N 35, 54.208, W 78, 40.181.  Female.

Song Sparrow:  In front yard facing Davishire Rd.

Birds Sighted on Unpaved Trail:

American Robin:  GPS N 35, 54.455, W 78, 40.229.

White Breasted Nuthatch:  GPS N 35, 54.423, W 78, 40.256.

Blue Jay:  In same area with Nuthatch.

Downy Woodpecker:  In same tree with the Nuthatch.

Carolina Chickadee:  GPS N 35, 54.406, W 78, 40.253.


Eastern Bluebird:  GPS N 35, 54.353, W 78, 40.216. I had a terrible time identifying this bird. It was a juvenile and showed only a bit of blue along the posterior parts of the wings, but didn't look anything like the species with prominent blue color in my iBird App, or my Tekiela bird guide. The head and back were a brown color, it had a large, dark eye with a light colored ring, and the upper chest was streaky like a sparrow. I had not seen a juvenile Bluebird before and so just wrote down all of the details I could, and was only able to get a positive identification when I did a search online.

A total of 19 species were identified along the two trails combined. More species were sighted along the Baileywick Trail, but the only two species that were new additions to the Raleigh Greenway list, the Summer Tanager and Indigo Bunting, were spotted on the Honeycutt Creek Trail.  That brings the total for the Greenway list to 61 species. The two trails combine for about 1 mile of total distance, or 2 miles round trip.

Trail 24: Wakefield Trail

08/04/2012.  7:25 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 57.835, W 78, 33.721

End:   GPS N 35, 56.753, W 78, 33.419

The Wakefield Trail is the most northerly trail in the Capital Area Greenway system. It begins near the intersection of Falls of Neuse and Mountain High Road. There is no parking at this trailhead, so I left my car on Mountain High Road, which is relatively wide and has only a few large houses along it. The trail's asphalt path ends at about 2925 London Bell Drive, but there is a short section of unpaved trail that continues on to around 12405 Dunard Street.    

The northern entrance to the Wakefield Trail is not marked. However, the trail runs alongside the large power line stanchions for this area, so it is easy to locate. As you travel along Falls of Neuse Road, look for the power lines as well as the little red fire hydrant just to the right of the trail entrance (see photo at left).

For much of its length, the trail runs between a golf course on the left side, and housing on the right. The golf course has open grassy areas that attract American Robins, European Starlings, and other birds that like open spaces, while some of the houses have bird feeders that attract the typical assortment of feeder birds. Because of the power lines, trees have been cut back along the trail, so the nearest trees are found only along the margins of the area. The habitat on either side of the trail is mostly bushy plants and grasses. This makes it an unusual environment compared to the other trails I have visited so far along the Raleigh Greenway.

The Wakefield Trail can be divided into three different segments. The first is from Falls of Neuse Road to Wakefield Plantation Drive. This is the longest section, and once on Wakefield Plantation Drive, visitors must walk a short distance west to pick up the trail again. The second section runs from here to London Bell Drive, where the paved portion of the trail ends. The third section is a short footpath ending at Dunard Street. As with the northern trailhead, this footpath section is not clearly marked as belonging to the Raleigh Greenway system, but seems to be indicated on the map of the system provided by the City of Raleigh.

Because I knew this trail would not have much shade, I decided to get an early start. I arrived at about 7:25 AM under partly cloudy skies and with temperatures probably in the mid- to high-70s Fahrenheit. The sun was hidden by clouds for the first hour or so, but the cloud cover burned off quickly and the rest of the outing was under clear skies.

Birds Sighted Along First Segment of the Trail: All of my first sightings for the day were made along this first segment, except for the hawk seen on the return trip. This section of the trail included two or three houses with filled feeders in the back yards, and seemed to be the part of the trail with the greatest variety and overall abundance of birds.

Northern Mockingbird: GPS N 35, 57.835, W 78, 33.721. There were a lot of Mockingbirds along the trail, and many of them were juveniles.

Mourning Dove: GPS N 35, 57.812, W 78, 33.721. Saw several of these along the trail, usually in singles or pairs.

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 57.764, W 78, 33.680. The first species I saw at the first set of feeders.

House Finch:  Saw several of these at the feeders.

Blue Jay:  Two or three of these around the feeders. The feathers of at least one seemed rather shabby so it might have been a juvenile.

Eastern Bluebird:  Just one, perched near the feeders.

American Crow:  Two of these landed on the rooftop of one of the houses while I was watching birds at the feeders.

Red Headed Woodpecker: This was a pleasant surprise. I have not seen one of these in several months.

European Starling: A small group of these were on a grassy area at the golf course.

Red Winged Blackbird: Another species I have not seen for some time. A single individual was mixed with the starlings on the golf course green.

Barn Swallow:  Flying over golf course.

Carolina Chickadee:  Only one.  At feeders.

Ruby Throated Hummingbird:  The first hummingbird I have seen along the Raleigh Greenway system. This one was attracted to a hummingbird feeder in one of the back yards.

American Robin: GPS N 35, 57.659, W 78, 33.583.

White Breasted Nuthatch:  In the same area as the Robin, climbing a tree along the edge of the golf course.

Probable Indigo Bunting:  From quite a distance, I saw a gorgeous blue bird with some dark streaks in the wings. I couldn't get close enough to confirm before it flew away, but I am pretty sure that the color scheme was correct.

Carolina Wren:  In the same tree with the Indigo Bunting, but did me the favor of staying put until I could get close enough to identify.

Field Sparrow: GPS N 35, 57.586, W 78, 33.591. These were fairly numerous along the first part of the trail.

Brown Thrasher: At edge of golf course property.

New Species Sighted on Return Trip:

Red Tailed Hawk:  Perched fairly low on one of the power line stanchions. Did not seem bothered by the attention I gave it with my binoculars, nor the fact that I passed fairly close to the stanchion on my way by.

I spotted a total of 19 species on this outing. Eighteen were first sighted along the first and longest segment of the trail, and 11 were spotted while I stood mostly stationary near two houses with feeders in the back yard. If the feeders had not been filled, the number of birds sighted would have been lower by several species at least. Not counting the probable Indigo Bunting, only one new species (Ruby Throated Hummingbird) was added to the Capital Area Greenway list on this outing.  However, I did manage to see several species that I have not seen for many months, including Red Headed Woodpecker, Red Winged Blackbird, and Field Sparrow.