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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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