Trail 45: Richland Creek Trail - PNC Arena to Schenck Forest

09/27/2014.  9:10 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 48.057, W 78, 43.526
End:   GPS N 35, 48.915, W 78, 43.940

My original plan was to finish the Reedy Creek Trail today. However, I learned that after Edwards Mill Road, where I finished my last outing, the trail continues to simply follow the Reedy Creek roadside, albeit the path is wide and separated from the road by a narrow median. It is probably a pleasant trail to bike or jog, but not ideal for birding. My rule for this project is that I generally skip the sections of the Capital Area Greenway that are exclusively roadside, so I decided to bypass the last section of the Reedy Creek Trail (which ends at an entrance to Umstead Park) and instead tackle a trail that links up to it called the Richland Creek Trail. It is also sometimes referred to as the Loblolly Trail.

The Richland Creek Trail begins at PNC Arena, travels north until it passes beneath Wade Avenue, and then enters the Schenck Forest. The trail then follows Richland Creek along the southern and eastern edges of the Schenck forest until it ends at Reedy Creek Road. For this outing, I started at the trailhead near the arena and ended a short distance into the Schenck Forest. I will complete the trail on my next outing.

There are eight or so parking spaces available next to the trailhead at PNC Arena. The address for the arena is 10 RBC Center Road. The trail's parking lot is actually on E. Stephen Stroud Way just off of Edwards Mill Road.


This day's outing can be divided into two major sections. The first is a mostly unpaved (and not well-marked) section from the trailhead to the underpass at Wade Avenue. The second section is what appears to be a drainage pipe maintenance right-of-way that follows Richland Creek along the edge of the Schenck forest. My outing for the day ended at a point where a tall white sign marks an entrance to the Schenck Forest. For a detailed description of how to navigate the poorly marked Richland Creek Trail, see here.

Birds Sighted Between PNC Arena and Wade Avenue

The first few hundred feet of the Richland Creek Trail are paved, but this ends abruptly at a fence that surrounds a murky pond. After this point, the trail becomes a mowed stretch of grass, and it remains a natural trail for the rest of its length, except for a very short section of paving at the Edwards Mill Road underpass.

Gray Catbird:  GPS N 35, 48.057, W 78, 43.526. Right at the entrance.

Hooded Warbler: This was a female, and was a difficult identification for me. It was not only a new species for the Capital Area Greenway list, but was also a new lifelist bird. When I saw it just briefly at the entrance to the trail, I wrote down as many details as I could, but was not sure what it might be. It wasn't until the return trip when I got a much better look at it that I was able to make the ID.

Eastern Wood Pewee: GPS N 35, 48.104, W 78, 43.539. This is also a new species for the Greenway List. I may have seen this before and thought it was an Eastern Phoebe.  If I had already confirmed an Eastern Phoebe earlier in a walk, I might not have looked closely enough to notice the difference.

Northern Cardinal: I did not see as many of these along this trail as I often do along the Greenways.

Red Bellied Woodpecker: In the same area as the Wood Pewee. This individual was a male.

Common Yellowthroat: GPS N 35, 48.129, W 78, 43.540. I haven't seen one of these on the Greenways since back on the Neuse River Trail.

Brown Thrasher: In the same area as the Yellowthroat. I saw only one.

Carolina Chickadee:  GPS N 35, 48.152, W 78, 43.532.

Northern Mockingbird: GPS N 35, 48.266, W 78, 43.553. I just saw one of these in the only really open area at the Edwards Mill Road underpass.

Blue Gray Gnatcatcher: GPS N 35, 48.377, 78, 43.567. This fellow was in a mammoth struggle trying to dislodge a fairly large caterpillar-like insect from a dead leaf.  It had to stretch out pretty far from its perch to reach the caterpillar, but couldn't seem to get it to let go of the leaf. It tried multiple times, then seemed to give up.

American Crow:  In the same area as the Gnatcatcher.  I only saw three but probably heard at least five.


At this point the trail continues through an underpass (see photo at left). This photo is taken from the northern side of Wade Avenue. Notice that there are two tunnels side-by-side. The left one is lit, because it is intended for pedestrians. The right side carries the creek. However, I should note that we had heavy rains three days before my visit, and the floor of the pedestrian side still had as much as an inch of water in some places. Hiking books or waterproof shoes might be in order if it has rained recently.

Birds Sighted North of Wade Avenue in the Schenck Forest Area

House Wren:  GPS N 35, 48.698, W 78, 43.605. I was surprised to discover that this was not only a new species for the Capital Area Greenway List, but also a new bird for my lifelist. I had seen the name so many times on lists of birds in the area that I just assumed I'd seen it already. But thinking back, I can't remember a specific sighting.  I have lots of Carolina Wrens and one or two Winter Wrens, but no House Wrens.

Tufted Titmouse: GPS N 35, 48.793, W78, 43.810.


New Species Sighted on the Return Trip

Red Shouldered Hawk: GPS N 35, 48.487, W 78, 43.558. This is just south of the Wade Avenue underpass.

Turkey Vulture: I saw it from the same area as the Hawk.

Northern Flicker: GPS N 35, 48.347, W 78, 43.573. First saw a female, then a male a couple of minutes later.

Magnolia Warbler: GPS N 35, 48.208, W 78, 43.522. This was a lucky ID, as it was a female and I was not able to determine which species in the field.  I wrote about half a page of notes about its features, then tried to figure out which species once I got home. It turns out that the Magnolia Warbler has a distinctive undertail pattern not found in any other warbler species, and I had described that pattern perfectly in my notes. All of the other features matched as well, but the undertail pattern was the clincher. This makes the fourth new bird for the Raleigh Greenway List and another new bird for my lifelist.

Blue Jay: I heard at least four of these on the day, but was not able to identify one visually until late on the return trip.

Brown Headed Nuthatch:  It has been several weeks since I saw one of these.

The Richland Creek Trail turned out to be an excellent place for birding. I saw a total of 19 species, four of which were new for both the Capital Area Greenway List and for my lifelist. I saw very few people on the trail, especially the first part from PNC Arena to Edwards Mill Road. There were a handful of joggers on the rest of the trail, but most of the time I was alone with the birds. Birders should be aware that there are a lot of spiderwebs just off the main, worn part of the path, presumably because this trail gets less traffic than most. Also, as noted above, hiking shoes or boots might be preferable if there has been any rain. I would like to come back in late October or early November to see how many species might be identified with some of the leaves down from the trees.

Trail 44: Reedy Creek Trail - I-440 to Edwards Mill Rd.

09/13/2014.  9:08 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 48.340, W 78, 41.549
End:   GPS N 35, 48.872, W 78, 42.762

My starting point for this part of the Reedy Creek Trail was a bit difficult to access. It is the point where the House Creek Trail splits away, and the main trail continues across I-440 via a long pedestrian bridge. The only way to reach this junction is by walking some distance along either the south section of the Reedy Creek Trail, or from Horton Street where there is parking next to a section of the House Creek Trail. I chose to access the trail from Horton Street. If I was not trying to continue viewing the trail from east to west, a better option would have been to park at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Because I had previously reported on birds seen along the House Creek Trail, I did not begin keeping track of birds until I reached my starting point at the pedestrian bridge.

This segment of the Reedy Creek Trail can be divided into two major parts. The first is the section from the pedestrian bridge over the I-440 freeway through the North Carolina Museum of Art grounds and ending at Blue Ridge Road. The second section is essentially a wide sidewalk along the south side of Reedy Creek Road.

Birds Sighted from the Pedestrian Bridge through the Museum Park

This part of the trail moves away from the freeway after the pedestrian bridge, and passes through a decent patch of woods. About halfway to Blue Ridge Road, the museum offers several trails, some paved and some not, for walkers and cyclists to enjoy. Although I don't believe these are technically part of the Reedy Creek Trail, I decided to try a paved path called the Blue Loop. A sign suggested this loop was about one mile in length. I also noticed a pond along the way that I hoped might attract some birds. The Blue loop leaves the forest and passes through open fields with an occasional large and interesting sculpture placed along the way. The pond is small and I did not actually see any birds there, but that may have been the fault of the weather. It started to drizzle just about the time I set foot on the Blue Loop and continued until I had left this section of the trail and moved on to the next.

Red Eyed Vireo: GPS N 35, 48.322, W 78, 41.763. I saw a group of what were probably four of these.

Tufted Titmouse:  Just one, in the same area I saw the Vireos.

Carolina Chickadee:  At least three together, and a total of five on the day.

Red Bellied Woodpecker: I saw one of these in the same area with the three previous species. This one was a juvenile with some fuzzy feathers still on its back.



Summer Tanager: GPS N 35, 48.301, W 78, 41.987. This was a female. I haven't seen one of these along the Raleigh Greenways in a long time.

Northern Cardinal: In the same area with the Tanager. I saw a total of five but heard many more.

The following birds were sighted along the Blue Loop during a light rain.

American Redstart: GPS N 35, 48.390, W 78, 42.076. This was a female. A new species for my Capital Area Greenway list.

Eastern Bluebird:  GPS N 35, 48.444, W 78, 41.515. These were quite numerous around the open fields of the museum, and also later along Reedy Creek Road. I counted 23 in total.

American Crow:  Also numerous around the grounds of the museum. I counted 13 in total.



European Starling:  Huddled on power lines as the rain fell. I counted nine in total.

Rock Pigeon:  GPS N 35, 48.533, W 78, 42.171. I saw 10 of these along the edge of the museum roof near the outdoor movie screen.  I would later count 84 more on power lines along Reedy Creek Road.

New Species Sighted Along Reedy Creek Road 

Beyond the Museum of Art, the Reedy Creek Trail simply follows along the south side of Reedy Creek Road. The sidewalk is wide, and flanked by a number of state government and university buildings. I walked the road starting around 10:30 AM and saw almost no traffic. I think I was passed by cars only two or three times. It appears that all of these buildings are closed on Saturday, so the walk was much more pleasant than it might have been.

Northern Mockingbird: GPS N 35, 48.638, W 78, 42.464. I saw a total of six of these.

American Robin:  Surprisingly, I only saw one of these on the day.

Blue Jay:  GPS N 48.831, W 78, 42.748. I saw three of these here. I had heard Blue Jays calling in two other places but could never get a look at them.

Eastern Phoebe:  GPS N 35, 48.897, W 78, 42.827. Hunting insects over pastureland near the end of Reedy Creek Road.

Mourning Doves:  I saw just two of these flying overhead.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip

White Breasted Nuthatch:  GPS N 35, 483872, W 78, 42.829.

Chipping Sparrow:  GPS N 35, 48.845, W 78, 42.829.  I saw at least eight of these, but there may have been several more.


This part of the Reedy Creek Trail shows some promise for birding, particularly if you include some of the short unpaved trails through the Museum of Art grounds. I was excited to see an American Redstart, which I had only seen a couple of times before, and the Summer Tanager was a nice addition as well. I suspect this trail would be even better in a month or so when some of the leaves come off of the trees and it is a bit easier to see into the woods. I count a total of 18 species for this outing, which is not bad by recent standards. Had it not rained for an hour or so, those numbers might have been a bit higher.

Trail 43: House Creek Trail - Lake Boone to Crabtree Valley Ave.

08/30/2014.  8:33 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 48.971, W 78, 41.252
End:   GPS N 35, 50.140, W 78, 40.552

This part of the House Creek Trail runs from Horton Street to Crabtree Valley Avenue where it meets the Crabtree Creek Trail.  It has much better shade than the southern section of the House Creek Trail, but still follows along I-440 such that there is no break from the traffic noise. Still, it was a nicer walk than the previous section. The trail seems to attract a good number of cyclists and a few runners on the weekend, so I had to be careful at times when crossing from one side of the path to the other to check out a bird.

Parking is not terribly convenient for accessing this section. There is no direct path down from Lake Boone Trail road. Instead, it is necessary to walk a short distance down Horton Street to pick up the part of the trail that passes under Lake Boone Trail road from the south. The easiest parking appears to be found at Lake Boone Shopping Center at the corner of Wycliff Road and Lake Boone Trail. Park as close as you can to the Circle K, then walk east on Lake Boone Trail, pass under the I-440 freeway, and then turn south down Horton Street. The entrance to the House Creek Trail is about 100 feet down Horton Street on the left.

This part of the House Creek Trail can be divided into two sections. The first runs from Horton St. to Glen Eden Drive. At this point, the trail exits onto the street, and it is necessary to cross over the I-440 freeway to pick up the trail again on the west side of the freeway. The trail then runs for perhaps 3/4 of a mile until it ends at a McDonald's restaurant along the edge of the Crabtree Creek Trail on Crabtree Valley Avenue.

Birds Sighted Between Horton Street and Glen Eden Drive

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 49.031, W 78, 41.260. I ended up seeing six total, but I heard many more.

Tufted Titmouse:  In the same area as the Northern Cardinal.

Carolina Wren:  GPS N 35, 49.133, W 78, 41.238. Saw a total of three. Two were together and one might have been a juvenile.

American Robin:  GPS N 45, 49.383, W 78, 41.103. A few of these were spotted-breasted juveniles.

Blue Grosbeak: GPS N 35, 49.569, W 78, 41.000. This was a female. I haven't seen one of these in a very long time. This is a new species for the Capital Area Greenway list.

Birds Sighted Between Glen Eden Drive and Crabtree Valley Avenue

This part of the trail is on the west side of the I-440 freeway and passes through part of Marshall Memorial Park. Some new condominiums are being built along the Greenway, and there are a couple of short unpaved side trails, apparently associated with the park, that pass through the woods as well. There is also a small pond (see left) along the trail.

Brown Thrasher:  GPS N 35, 49.833, W 78, 40.830. I saw two together in one place and there may have been a third. I thought there might be one juvenile in the bunch, but not sure.

Eastern Towhee:  A male in the same tree with the Brown Thrasher.

Gray Catbird: GPS N 35, 49.922, W 78, 40.603. I saw only one of these but heard two others further down the trail.

Mourning Dove: GPS N 35, 50.099, W 78, 40.603. Saw four of these in total on wires at the end of the trail.

New Species Sighted on Return Trip

Northern Mockingbird:  GPS N 35, 50.140, W 78, 40.552.

Chimney Swift: GPS N 35, 49.900, W 78, 40.706. I'm pretty sure I have seen these along the Greenways before, but was uncertain of their identification so did not list them. This is a new species for the Capital Area Greenway list.

Blue Gray Gnatcatcher: GPS N 35, 49.845, W 78, 40.817.

Carolina Chickadee: Saw two in total.

Eastern Bluebird:  Saw a total of three of these, one of which was probably a juvenile.

Blue Jay:  GPS N 35, 49.824, W 78, 40.838. I heard these several times along the trail, but only saw two of them.

Pine Warbler: GPS N 35, 49.683, W 78, 41.009. This area turned out to be a very good place to spot birds around 10:45 AM.

This part of the House Creek Trail was not fantastic for birding, but was better than the first section to the south. I ended up adding two new species for the Raleigh Greenway list and identifying a total of 16 species. I probably would not return to the House Creek Trail again for birding, but can see why it might be popular for running and cycling.