Trail 41: Rocky Branch Trail - Hunt Drive to Gorman St.

06/28/2014.  9:13 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 46.346, W 78, 39.440
End:   GPS N 35, 47.347, W 78, 41.158

Hunt Dr. is a short stretch of road between Western Blvd. and Umstead Dr. There is a soccer field just south from Western Blvd where parking is plentiful. I parked along the edge of Dorthea Dix Soccer Field #1 and walked the short distance north along Hunt Dr. to the Rocky Branch Trail.

This part of the Rocky Branch Trail is very urban. The trail parallels Hillsborough St. following Rocky Branch Creek, then passes along the southern edge of the NC State University campus until it reaches Gorman Rd. Most of the trail has roadway on one side and trees on the other. There are two places where the trail is lined with trees on both sides, but even so, traffic noise is present throughout. I would not select this part of the trail for birding unless I lived near campus and this was the easiest place to access on foot. The extent of development around the trail means that the likelihood of seeing anything unusual is rather low. On this outing, I saw only common birds that I typically see on any of the Capital Area Greenway trails.

Birds Sighted Between Hunt Dr. and NCSU Campus

It was cloudy and mid-70s Fahrenheit when I began my outing. It turned partly cloudy as the morning drew on. Lots of foliage on most of the trees made it hard to see some of the birds, even when they were calling, so I may have missed two or three species because of it.

American Crow:  I saw the first of these in a tree near the parking lot by Dorthea Dix Soccer Field #1.

Northern Mockingbird:  GPS N 35, 46.591, W 78, 39.663.

American Robin:  GPS N 35, 46.591, W 78, 39.663.

Northern Cardinal:  I heard these at several places along the trail, but only saw four of them.

Eastern Bluebird:  GPS N 35, 46.680, W 78, 39.746.

Red Bellied Woodpecker:  In flight.

Mallards:  GPS N 35, 46.742, W 78, 39.896. These are probably domesticated birds. They were on the pond at Pullen Park.

Canada Goose:  Also on the pond at Pullen Park.

Gray Catbird:  GPS N 35, 46.821, W 78, 40.126. Saw several of these at different points along the trail.

New Species Sighted Along NCSU's Part of the Trail

Mourning Dove:  GPS N 35, 46.953, W 78, 40.356.  Saw five of these in total.

House Finch:  GPS N 35, 47.042, W 78, 40.561.

Blue Jay:  GPS N 35, 47.130, W 78, 40.772.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip

American Goldfinch:  GPS N 35, 47.337, W 78, 41.087.


Eastern Towhee:  GPS N 35, 47.286, W 78, 40.983.

Carolina Chickadee:  GPS N 35, 47.242, W 78, 40.930.

Tufted Titmouse:  In same area with the Chickadee.

Carolina Wren:  GPS N 35, 47.125, W 78, 40.755.

Northern Flicker:  There were two Northern Flickers in the same little section of trees with the two Carolina Wrens. In fact, there must have been something tempting in this little spot, as I saw five or six species within an area of perhaps 5 meters by 5 meters, including some juvenile American Robins.

Brown Thrasher:  In the same area with the Northern Flickers and Carolina Wrens.

Downy Woodpecker:  I saw three of these in total, and two of them were in the same area with the Thrashers, Wrens, and Flickers.

All-in-all, a pretty average day of birding.  Believe it or not, the most unusual species I saw was the House Finch, which I normally only see in residential areas with feeders. Strangely, I didn't even see a single hawk or vulture.  But I did see 20 species, which is better than I have managed on some outings. This was the last section of the Rocky Branch Trail, as I am not planning to walk the 0.4 mile section comprised of a sidewalk along the busy Gorman St.  My next trail will be the House Creek Trail, which passes by Meredith College and extends all the way to the Crabtree Creek Trail.