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.