Trail 36: Walnut Creek Trail - Lake Wheeler Rd. to Lake Raleigh

02/05/2014.  2:27 PM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 45.634, W 78, 39.649
End:   GPS N 35, 46.065, W 78, 40.827

There is an entrance to the Walnut Creek Trail on the south side of Lake Wheeler Rd. where it shares a T-intersection with Centennial Parkway. The entrance runs beside a gas station with an associated Subway restaurant behind it. I parked in the Subway lot, had a late lunch, and then hit the trail. Conditions were bad for birding through most of the outing, with a strong, fairly sustained wind and temperatures in the upper 40s Fahrenheit. I probably would not have gone out except that it was the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count and I wanted to add some data from the Raleigh Greenways to the event. The one consolation on the day was that the skies were clear, but a lot of birds seemed to be hiding deep in the trees trying to ride out the wind. It finally let up some toward the end of the outing, and I did end up seeing some good species variety.

The access trail (see photo at left) brought me back to last outing's endpoint. From there, the Walnut Creek trail passes under Lake Wheeler Rd. just a little southwest of the access point and leads to the portion of the trail that runs through NC State's Centennial Campus and toward Lake Raleigh. I should note that the RGreenway App that I've been using let me down with this particular part of the Walnut Creek Trail. It does not show the trail as it passes onto Centennial Campus and does not pick it up again until the trail leaves campus at Trailwood Dr. The trail is also poorly marked on campus, so once I reached the lake and passed the parking area there, I mistakenly followed a paved pathway north along a small waterway (North Creek) instead of continuing around the lake toward the edge of campus. This side trail had some nice natural areas along it, though, and I did see several bird species as I walked, so it wasn't a complete loss.

Birds Sighted Between Lake Wheeler Rd. and Main Campus Dr.

This first section was the least developed of those I walked during this outing. See photo at left. Walnut Creek is on the left of the path, a fairly deep woods is on the right.

Unidentified Hawk:  I saw this bird as I was leaving the car and walking toward the trailhead. It was a rather thin hawk with a long tail, and must have been either a Cooper's or a Sharp-Shinned. It was in flight through the trees and disappeared quickly. It could have been the same Cooper's Hawk that I saw further down the trail, but I could not be sure of its identification.

Carolina Wren:  GPS N 35, 45.517, W 78, 39.759.  One of the few birds out in the open and braving the wind in this section of the trail.

Eastern Phoebe:  GPS N 35, 45.573, W 78, 39.917. I saw two of these not very far apart from each other along the edge of the trees.

Eastern Bluebird:  GPS N 35, 45.628, W 78, 40.009.  Saw a total of three of these.

White Throated Sparrow:  In the same area with the bluebirds. I counted a total of seven, but there were likely more.

New Species Sighted from Main Campus Drive to Lake Raleigh

There were more students out and about between Main Campus Drive and the edge of Lake Raleigh. The woods on either side of the trail is also home to a Frisbee golf course, and there were a few runners and bikers as well, despite the windy conditions.

Carolina Chickadee:  GPS N 35, 45.882, W 78, 40.508.  Saw only two of these at any one time.

Song Sparrow:  Same area as chickadees.

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 46.066, W 78, 40.709. Male and Female.

Red Bellied Woodpecker:  Same area as Cardinals.

Double Crested Cormorant:  Saw at least two of these flying over the lake.  Two other birds flying in the distance were probably also Cormorants.

New Species Sighted on the Centennial Campus North Creek Watershed Trail

Blue Jay:  GPS N 35, 56.328, W 78, 40.778. Only saw one of these, but heard at least one more calling.

Northern Flicker:  Saw just one in the distance.

Dark Eyed Junco:  GPS N 35, 46.537, W 78, 40.726. Saw these right at the end of the trail when I climbed a grassy incline to see if the trail continued further.

American Crow:  GPS N 35, 46.382, W 78, 40.774. Confirmed identification by call.

Eastern Towhee:  GPS N 35, 46.170, W 78, 40.779. Male.

Cooper's Hawk:  GPS N 35, 46.065, W 78, 40.827. I first saw this hawk from the North Creek Watershed Trail, but moved up to the Walnut Creek Trail at the edge of Lake Raleigh to identify it.  It is an immature hawk with yellow eyes, but its size and rounded instead of squared tail indicates Cooper's rather than Sharp Shinned.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip from Lake Raleigh

European Starling:  Near the place where I saw the Cooper's Hawk. A group of eight were together high in a tree, perhaps looking for a place to settle down for the night.

Red Shouldered Hawk:  GPS N 35, 45.518, W 78, 39.802. Much larger in the body than the Cooper's Hawk with a shorter tail. Confirmed by its call using my iBird Pro app.

Mourning Doves:  Saw four of these sitting together on a wire. I'm surprised I did not see more of these given the developed nature of the campus.

Golden Crowned Kinglet:  GPS N 35, 45.531, W 78, 39.659. Saw three of these along the last part of the trail just before I turned north to return to my car.

I saw a total of 19 species on this outing.  Most are common birds that I see frequently, but the Double Crested Cormorants were new birds for the year, and I managed to see two different hawk species on the same outing.  That is the second time in a row that I've seen two or more species of hawk in a single outing. It would seem that this part of the Walnut Creek Trail, from S. Wilmington to Lake Raleigh, is a very good place to look for hawks. I have seen a total of four different species in two trips.

Trail 35: Walnut Creek Trail - S Wilmington to Lake Wheeler

02/01/2014.  8:58 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 45.495, W 78, 38.627
End:   GPS N 35, 45.549, W 78, 39.593

The Walnut Creek Trail changes briefly from nature trail to sidewalk at S Wilmington St. Across the street from the endpoint of the nature trail is Fayetteville St, which you must follow for a block to Water Works St. and then turn left and walk about 500 more feet before reacquiring the Walnut Creek nature trail on the left. Access to this entry point is easy from Eliza Pool Park, located at 1600 Fayetteville St. (at the corner of Fayetteville and Water Works). There is a parking lot at the far corner of this one block park on Summit Avenue. Exit the parking lot, take a left, and walk 300 feet or so down Summit Ave. to find the trail entrance.

My iPod battery gave out early in this outing, so the photo of the trail entrance at left is the only one I have for the day. Temperatures were in the high 20s Fahrenheit at the outset, but warmed to maybe 40 degrees by the time I was finished.

This trail segment can be divided into two major parts. One section begins at Water Works Road and passes under S. Saunders St., paralleling I-40 for maybe a third of its distance. This part of the trail is more thinly wooded, but has a nice raised wooden bridge area over what is probably a marsh during warmer weather. The second part of the trail between S. Saunders and Lake Wheeler Rd. quickly moves away from the freeway and passes through more heavily wooded land with quite a bit of underbrush for sparrows and other small birds to hide in. This section also passes beneath a railroad bridge as it nears Lake Wheeler Rd. Although I was on the trail for nearly three hours, I only saw two other people out, both running with their dogs.  I suspect that the cold weather and some icy snow still present on the wooden bridge may have deterred most local visitors from coming out this morning.

Birds Sighted Between Water Works and S. Saunders

European Starling:  GPS N 35, 45.495, W 78, 38.627.  There were two of these perched in a tree across the street from the trail entrance. I would later hear a larger group off in the trees, but I never actually saw more than two at a time.

American Robin:  These birds were everywhere along the first section of this trail. They seemed to be focused on foraging in the grass along the trail edge (along with a healthy number of sparrows) for quite a long distance. The largest number I counted in one place was 12, but I'm pretty sure there were dozens of them in the immediate area.

Chipping Sparrow:  These were on the ground in a yard across the street from the trail entrance. I counted at least five of them, but there were probably more around.

Red Bellied Woodpecker (see photo at left):  In a tree across the street from the trail entrance. This was a male, but I would later see a female further down the trail. The photo is from the web.

Northern Mockingbird:  GPS N 35, 45.429, W 78, 38.666. It was chasing an American Robin from tree to tree.

White-Throated Sparrow:  I saw these at a number of locations along the trail, the first being from the wooden bridge. The largest number I counted in one place was eight.

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 45.401, W 78, 38.706. Not as common as they are along some trails, but I saw at least three different individuals on the day, and probably as many as six or eight. I saw females more often than males for some reason.

American Crow:  Heard them call, then saw them fly overhead in a small group of three.

Eastern Towhee:  GPS N 35, 45.275, W 78, 38.707.

Yellow Rumped Warbler:  GPS N 35, 45.240, W 78, 38.788.

Red Shouldered Hawk:  Near where I saw the Yellow Rumped Warbler between the trail and the I-40 freeway. It was perched high in a tree.  Later, I saw what I believe was the same bird in flight.

Tufted Titmouse:  GPS N 35, 45.252, W 78, 38.865. There were three of these in one spot along the trail. One was chasing another with some enthusiasm. Not sure if this was a male chasing a female or if it was a male chasing another suitor away from a female.

Birds Sighted Between S. Saunders and Lake Wheeler Rd.

Carolina Wren:  GPS N 35, 45.256, W 78, 39.015.

Brown Headed Nuthatch (see photo at left): GPS N 35, 45.336, W 78, 39.132. I have not seen one of these in a very long time. If I recall correctly, I've only seen it one other time on the Raleigh Greenways. This bird is a high priority species for conservation in eastern North Carolina. They are almost exclusively found in southern US pine forests, and they need old growth forests with lots of dead trees for nesting. Fire suppression and deforestation has put them under some pressure. This year, Audubon North Carolina has a project to improve the nesting success of the Brown Headed Nuthatch by placing 10,000 nest boxes at locations around the state. This approach was successful with the Eastern Bluebird, and it is hoped that it will work for these nuthatches as well. The photo is from the web.

Blue Jay:  Saw two of these near where the nuthatch was searching for food.

Brown Thrasher:  GPS N 35, 45.364, W 78, 39.164.

Hermit Thrush (see photo at left):  Saw two of these together for the first time. The photo is from the web.

Downy Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 45.469, W 78, 39.252. This one was a female.

Carolina Chickadee:  Same area as the Downy Woodpecker.

Turkey Vulture:  GPS N 35, 45.489, W 78, 39.272.

Ruby Crowned Kinglet:  Got a good look at the head and could not see a crown, but it was definitely this Kinglet.

The trail passed beneath the railroad tracks a little beyond the area where I saw the Ruby Crowned Kinglet.  On the west side of the tracks, I saw quite a bit of bird activity, but only two new birds.

Golden Crowned Kinglet:  GPS 35, 45.566, W 78, 39.540.

Pine Warbler:  Just saw one of these.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip

Northern Flicker:  Only got a quick glimpse of this one and was not able to tell whether it was male or female.

Field Sparrow:  GPS N 35, 45.514, W 78, 39.310. I think it has been awhile since I saw this one along the Raleigh Greenways. It may be that I missed them, though, as it took a bit of time for me to decide what they were this time around.


American Goldfinch:  This was a female. Hardly any yellow color at all.

Red Tailed Hawk:  GPS N 35, 45.250, W 78, 38.732. This one I saw in flight, but the red tail made it unmistakable.

Sharp Shinned Hawk (see photo above - the photo is from the web):  Probably 15 minutes passed between seeing the Red Tailed Hawk and this one. The Sharp Shinned Hawk was perched in a tree right beside the entrance to the trail on Water Works St. I saw it at first from a considerable distance.  My first impression was that it was really skinny. I had never seen a hawk so slim. The tail was fairly long, so I guessed it must be either a Cooper's Hawk or a Sharp-Shinned Hawk, both of which are present here in winter, though the Cooper's Hawk is apparently more common.  The Sharp Shinned Hawk is supposed to be smaller, and this one was very small. It was wide at the shoulders and narrower at the hips. It also had a yellow eye, which indicates a juvenile. I took a lot of notes, then looked it up when I got home to confirm. Although I've probably seen one of these before, this was the first time I had enough information for a positive ID.

I believe this is the first outing along the Greenways in which I was able to identify more than one hawk. I'm sure that I've never seen three on one outing. It was nice to be able to add a Sharp Shinned Hawk to my lifelist as well as the Raleigh Greenway list. In total, I was able to identify 28 different species on this outing. This is the second week in a row with a well above-average count. I can't help but wonder if the new binoculars might be a contributing factor!