Trail 51: Neuse River Trail - WRAL Soccer Park to Trailhead Lane

01/10/2015.  1:58 PM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 53.148, W 78, 32.576
End:   GPS N 35, 52.541, W 78, 32.023

This section of the Neuse River Trail was just completed a month or two ago, according to a local resident I met on the trail. This was the last section of the longest single trail in the Capital Area Greenway system. It has taken a little over three years for me to finally finish the 20 mile stretch from the Falls Dam area down to the Raleigh city limits at the southern end. The trail actually extends another 7.5 miles, but these are beyond the Raleigh city limits so I decided not to include them in this project.  It seems to me that 100 miles of total trail is probably enough for me.

The photo to the left shows the entrance to the Neuse River Trail from the far eastern end of the WRAL Soccer Park, which is apparently run by the Capital Area Soccer League. The park map in the link above makes reference to the Greenway entrance, and the sign in the photo certainly seems to suggest that this is a recognized access point. However, when I tried to leave the parking lot around 5:10 PM I discovered that whoever runs the park had already shut both gates and locked my car in about 20 minutes before it started to get dark. There are walking paths to get in and out, but no way to get a vehicle out! There are no signs indicating who to call if you are locked in.


Needless to say, I was not happy. I had to make my wife drive over from the other side of Raleigh to pick me up, then had to go back the next morning to rescue my car. There are no signs saying when the gates close, and since the Neuse River Trail is open dawn to dusk, I just assumed the parking lots associated with this official-looking entrance would be open too. No luck. The moral of the story is, don't park at the WRAL Soccer Park to access the Neuse River Trail unless you have inside knowledge about when the park closes, or you park your car somewhere outside the soccer park boundaries.

Despite the fact that it was Saturday, I only saw a few people out on the trail. The cold temperatures might be partly to blame. The high on Saturday was only about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. But the sky was a lovely blue and the birds were pretty active in some areas, so overall it was a nice day for birding.

This segment of the Neuse River Trail divides nicely into two sections - that from the soccer park to the Horseshoe Farm Park pedestrian bridge, and from there to Trailhead Lane. The pedestrian bridge leads to the Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve, but a posted sign said the nature preserve was under renovation until March of 2015, so it may not be open.


Species Sighted from the Soccer Park to the Pedestrian Bridge

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 53.071, W 78, 32.527.

Red Bellied Woodpecker: I saw a total of two of these.

Turkey Vulture: GPS N 35, 53.033, W 78, 32.561. I believe I saw four altogether, but didn't get a great look at one group. They could have been Black Vultures.

Eastern Towhee: GPS N 35, 52.942, W 78, 32.513. Two pairs in two different places.

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker: I ended up seeing two of these, one early, and one much later.

Tufted Titmouse:  GPS N 35, 52.890, W 78, 32.493.

White Throated Sparrow: Same area as the first Titmouse.

American Crow:  The crows were very quiet on this outing and I only glimpsed one.

Brown Thrasher:  GPS N 35, 52.864, W 78, 32.403.

Field Sparrow: GPS N 35, 52.837, W 78, 32.403.

Unidentified Hawk:  In the same area as the Field Sparrow. This hawk landed across the river maybe six or eight feet up from the ground but I could not get a great look at it before it flew. I think it was a Buteo, probably Red Shouldered Hawk, but I can't be sure.

American Robin:  Saw a total of 12.

Great Blue Heron:  In flight over the river.

Blue Jay:  In the same area as the Field Sparrow. This seemed to be a mini-hotspot.

Downy Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 52.860, W 78, 32.020.  I ended up seeing four of these in one outing, which I think is a personal record.

Ruby Crowned Kinglet:  I love how brave these little guys are.  This one seemed perfectly happy to hop around the branches just above my head level and about eight feet away.

Carolina Chickadee:  Managed to see a few more of these than usual. Often I can hear them but only glimpse one or two.

Eastern Bluebird:  GPS N 35, 53.099, W 78, 31.894.

Species Sighted Between Horseshoe Farm Park Pedestrian Bridge and Trailhead Lane

The access point to the Horseshoe Farm Park pedestrian bridge is at GPS N 35, 53.073, W 78, 31.767.

Northern Flicker:  GPS N 35, 52.743, W 78, 31.750. 

The Flicker was the fourth woodpecker species of the day. I'm pretty sure I caught a glimpse of a Pileated Woodpecker too, which would have made five, but it was far away and mostly obscured by trees, so I can't be sure. It's size suggested Pileated though.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip

Northern Mockingbird: GPS N 35, 52.724, W 78, 31.763.

Swamp Sparrow:  GPS N 35, 53.012, W 78, 31.666.

Belted Kingfisher:  GPS N 35, 53.126, W 78, 31.814. I got lucky on this one. I heard it call first, then saw it fly up the river. Without the call, I might not have been sure because it was moving pretty fast.

White Breasted Nuthatch:  GPS N 35, 52.959, W 78, 31.989.

Great Horned Owl:  This one does not count for the project because I heard it, but didn't see it.  It was across the river somewhere and started vocalizing at maybe 4:45 PM.

I found this section of the trail to be a very pleasant one to walk. There are frequent clear views of the river, some mild changes in habitat, and what seemed to be an abnormally large number of woodpeckers in the area. Probably not one of the Top 10 outings for this project, but it might make the Top 15.  Overall I saw a total of 22 species, but nothing new for the Capital Area Greenway list.

Trail 50: Neuse River Trail - Buffaloe Road Park to Trailhead Lane

01/02/2015.  9:31 AM.

Start:  GPS N 38, 50.438, W 78, 32.462 (approximate)
End:   GPS N 35, 52.539, W 78, 32.023 (approximate)

This part of the Neuse River Trail is accessible from Buffaloe Road Athletic Park. The park is quite large, maybe half a mile from entrance to trailhead, and contains sports fields as well as an aquatic center. The fastest way to access the Neuse River Trail from the park is to drive down to the aquatic center and park in the lot there. However, when I arrived, I parked near the entrance, so ended up spending 30 minutes or so birding my way through the park until I reached the access way leading to the Neuse River Trail. I did see quite a number of species before I ever reached the trail, though only two of them were unique to the park (Northern Mockingbird and Mourning Dove).

The outing can be divided into three segments. The first is the half-mile or so of distance that I covered birding my way through the park to the Neuse River Trail access point. The second is the slightly over two miles of distance covered on the Neuse River Trail from Buffaloe Road Park to Trailhead Lane. The last is the return trip from Trailhead Lane to the parking lot.

Species Sighted in Buffaloe Road Athletic Park:

Canada Goose:  In flight over the park.

Eastern Bluebird: Saw four of these in a tree near a grassy area.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler: I saw my first of these in the same tree with the bluebirds. I would later see 10 more all in one tree. I've never seen so many in one place.

Northern Mockingbird: I saw two of these around the park.

Northern Cardinal: In a pine tree along the road through the park.

Chipping Sparrow:  In grass near the park fence pictured above.

Dark Eyed Junco:  Near the Chipping Sparrows and possibly moving around with them.

Red Bellied Woodpecker:  Saw only one in the park.

White Throated Sparrow:  A lone sentinel, perhaps? I usually see them in groups.


Mourning Dove:  "Sunning" itself in a tall tree. The sun was pretty anemic.

Eastern Towhee: This was a female. I heard three or four birds scratching in the leaves beneath holly bushes, but could only see this one.

American Robin: Just one in the park, but I would see several more on the trail.

Blue Jay: Near the track.

Birds Sighted Between Buffaloe Road Park and Trailhead Lane:

I forgot to bring my GPS device with me this time, so don't have any coordinates for these sightings. However, the Neuse River Trail has mile markers every quarter mile or so, so I will use those to provide a rough idea of where each species was sighted.

Carolina Wren: Along the access path.

Carolina Chickadee:  Near the intersection with the trail proper.

Bald Eagle:  Only the second Bald Eagle I've seen on the Raleigh Greenways. The first was at Lake Raleigh. This one was in flight along the west bank of the river, between Mile Marker 10.75 and 11.

American Crow: Across the river in a small group.

Downy Woodpecker: I saw three of these in total. One was at a feeder in a someone's back yard.

Cedar Waxwing: A lone bird perched high in a tree. Just after the feeders not too far from the 11 mile marker.

Brown Thrasher: Just before the bridge.

Tufted Titmouse:  Near the Thrasher and just before the bridge.

White Breasted Nuthatch:  From the bridge.

Ruby Crowned Kinglet: Also from the bridge.

American Goldfinch: Not much gold on them in winter, but I saw two of these just before Mile Marker 11.

Turkey Vulture: In flight. Near the 10.75 Mile Marker.

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker: Just one near the 9.75 Mile Marker.

Hermit Thrush: Just before the 9.5 Mile Marker.

Field Sparrow:  At least two of these. Possibly more.  Shortly after the 9.5 Mile Marker.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip:

Brown Creeper: I got lucky with this one. I was busy trying to find a woodpecker that I had heard calling when I happened across this little guy.



Golden Crowned Kinglet: I thought I might have seen one earlier, but could not confirm as it flew off almost immediately. This one gave a couple of nice poses before disappearing.

My 50th visit to the Raleigh Greenways turned out to be one of the best for total species sighted. Thirty species in all! I did not find anything new for the Capital Area Greenway list, but the trail did pass through some different habitats, from swampy areas to an area of mostly pine trees, so has promise for species variety in any season. It was also great to see a Bald Eagle again.

It has been my custom to analyze the results of my birding trips along the Raleigh Greenways every 10th outing. During the last 10 trips, which have included trails on both the east and west sides of Raleigh, I added ten new species to the Capital Area Greenway list:  American Redstart, Blue Grosbeak, Chimney Swift (I'd probably seen it before but wasn't sure of the species), Eastern Wood Pewee, Hooded Warbler, House Wren, Indigo Bunting, Magnolia Warbler, Pine Siskin, and Rock Pigeon (I'm surprised it took this long). A total of 88 different species were identified along the Raleigh Greenways over the last three years.

It is a little tricky to draw conclusions about which species are most likely to be seen on the Raleigh Greenways, as some species are winter visitors, others are summer visitors, some are year-round residents, and a few are migrants just passing through.  My visits to the Greenways tend to be weighted toward the non-summer months. However, some sense of the most and least common birds are possible. Note that the aquatic species tend to be seen less often because many of the Greenways do not pass by large bodies of water.

The two most common species have been Carolina Chickadee (49/50 outings) and Northern Cardinal (48/50). Keep in mind that the bird has to be seen to be counted for this project. The next grouping was seen between 39 and 41 times:  American Crow, Tufted Titmouse, Red Bellied Woodpecker, American Robin, and Carolina Wren.  The third group was seen 32-34 times:  Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, and Northern Mockingbird.

Some birds were seen on approximately half of all outings (22-26 times).  These are: White Throated Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Eastern Bluebird, White Breasted Nuthatch, Yellow Rumped Warbler, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, and Turkey Vulture.  Those seen on approximately one-third of all outings (15-19 times) include Canada Goose, Ruby Crowned Kinglet, Dark Eyed Junco, Eastern Phoebe, Gray Catbird, and Mallard.

Species seen approximately every four or five trips (10-13 times) are: Northern Flicker, Chipping Sparrow, Common Grackle, Song Sparrow, Great Blue Heron, House Finch, European Starling, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, and Red Shouldered Hawk.  Uncommon species (seen 5-9 times) are American Goldfinch, Golden Crowned Kinglet, Pine Warbler, Red Tailed Hawk, Hermit Thrush, Double Crested Cormorant, Barn Swallow, Belted Kingfisher, Brown Creeper, Black Vulture, Red Headed Woodpecker, Red Winged Blackbird, Cedar Waxwing, Field Sparrow, and Pileated Woodpecker.

The least often encountered birds on the Raleigh Greenways were (1-4 times): Brown Headed Nuthatch, Ring Billed Gull, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Fish Crow, Great Crested Flycatcher, Winter Wren, Bald Eagle, Coopers Hawk, Red Eyed Vireo, Brown Headed Cowbird, Common Yellowthroat, Indigo Bunting, Northern Rough Winged Swallow, Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, Chimney Swift, Bufflehead, Mute Swan, Northern Shoveler, Ovenbird, Pied Billed Grebe, Sharp Shinned Hawk, Tree Swallow, White Eyed Vireo, Wood Duck, Black and White Warbler, Green Heron, Hooded Merganser, Palm Warbler, Prairie Warbler, American Redstart, Rock Pigeon, Hooded Warbler, Eastern Wood Pewee, House Wren, Magnolia Warbler, Pine Siskin, and Indigo Bunting.

This blog may be most useful for birders who are interested in seeing some of these less-common birds. Using the search function above, you can enter a bird's common name and discover which segments of which Greenways have been home to some of these birds in the past, and then check it out for yourself!