Trail 56: East Fork of Mine Creek Trail Extension

09/05/2015.  9:14 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 52.725, W 78, 38.596
End:   GPS N 35, 53.659, W 78, 38.135

The East Fork of the Mine Creek Trail Extension was officially opened in March of 2015. Ostensibly, this trail is part of the East Fork of the Mine Creek Trail that used to terminate at the intersection of Bent Creek Drive and Longstreet Drive. In truth, there is about half a mile of intervening space between the old trail and the extensions that uses sidewalks through neighborhoods. And about half of this distance requires a walk along Six Forks Road. I chose not to try to bird this part of the trail.

The East Fork of Mine Creek Trail Extension really begins at 241 Newton Road. There is convenient parking at a strip mall just across the street from the entrance. The trail runs for just about a mile until you reach Clear Brook Drive. From there, signs seem to indicate that the Greenway continues along the residential streets. I followed these small signs until I reached Strickland Road, then decided I didn't want to spend any more time trying to bird along the roadside.  A short way north of Strickland road is the Honeycutt Creek Trail, which I plan to try to finish off next outing.

Birds Sighted on Outbound Trip:

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 52.803, W 78, 38.541. I saw at least 11 of these on the day.

Tufted Titmouse: In the same area as the first Cardinals seen. I saw at least four on the day.

Blue Jay:  Also in the same area. I saw at least four.

Carolina Chickadee:  I counted four, but there were likely more than this number. As is common, they seemed to be moving around with the Titmice.


Eastern Towhee:  Female.

Common Grackle:  GPS N 35, 53.001, W 78, 38.486. I counted 29 in total.

Carolina Wren:  GPS N 35, 53.102, W 78, 38.407.

Song Sparrow:  In the same area with the first Carolina Wren.

Downy Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 53.168, W 78, 38.327.

Eastern Bluebird:  Four in the same area as the woodpeckers.

Northern Flicker:  GPS N 35, 53.305, W 78, 38.256. Female.

American Crow:  GPS N 35, 53.336, W 78, 38.277. Only saw two and heard a third.

At this point, the trail is roadside through two different residential neighborhoods until I reached Strickland Road and turned around.

White Breasted Nuthatch:  GPS N 35, 53.428, W 78, 38.119.

Chipping Sparrow:  In the same area as the Nuthatch.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip:

Brown Headed Nuthatch:  GPS N 35, 53.348, W 78, 38.207. It was nice to see these little guys in this narrow band of trees.  They are probably the most uncommon bird seen on the day.

Red Bellied Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 52.947, W 78, 38.512.

Mourning Dove:  GPS N 35, 52.909, W 78, 38.530.

Turkey Vulture:  From the trail entrance just before I crossed the street to return to my car.

This trail seemed to be a fairly narrow band of trees, and often had residential housing on both sides.  However, I managed to see 18 species, including three species of woodpeckers and two nuthatches.  That compares to no woodpeckers or nuthatches two weeks ago.  While this is certainly not among my favorite trails, it does seem to support a decent amount of birdlife.

Trail 55: Crabtree Creek Trail - Milburnie Road to I-440

08/22/2015. 8:52 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 47.274, W 78, 35.440
End:   GPS N 35, 47.408, W 78, 34.801

The Crabtree Creek Trail is a 14.6 mile trail that stretches from the Neuse River almost all the way to Duraleigh Road. When completed, the trail will connect Anderson Point Park to Umstead State Park. It is currently about 1.5 miles short of its final planned length on the western side. The portion of the Crabtree Creek Trail from Milburnie Road to the Neuse River Trail was completed in December 2014, and I had a short section of about 1.5 miles left to walk between Milburnie Road and I-440. It is this section that I report on here.

The trail follows Milburnie Road for a short distance before re-entering the forest perhaps a quarter of a mile down the road. It then passes behind a defunct adult entertainment spot called Envy, crosses beneath New Bern Road, then travels behind an apartment complex before finally crossing Crabtree Creek and entering an area that feels a little less urban. This latter area has a string of what appear to be cement-capped sewer access points, with pipes projecting upward to vent fumes. There is a faint undercurrent of sewage smell in certain places along that part of the trail that made walking it a little less than pleasant. All in all, I did not find this segment of the trail to have many redeeming features when it comes to birding.

There were so few birds out on this day, despite the sunny skies, that it is probably not worth dividing the trail into separate sections.

Birds Sighted on the Outbound Trip:

Turkey Vulture:  GPS N 35, 47.287, W 78, 35.426.

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 47.339, W 78, 35.378. Only saw four on the day.

Common Grackle:  In the same area as the first Northern Cardinals.

House Sparrow:  GPS N 35, 47.368, W 78, 34.952.

Northern Mockingbird:  GPS N 35, 47.408, W 78, 34.801.

Mourning Dove:  In the same area with the Mockingbird.

Gray Catbird:  Also in the same general area with the Mockingbird.

Belted Kingfisher:  GPS N 35, 47.360, W 78,34.712. On the right side of the bridge as you head east. This was the most interesting bird seen on the day.

Tufted Titmouse: GPS N 35, 47.176, W 78, 34.669.

Carolina Chickadee:  In the same area with the Titmice.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip:

American Robin:  GPS N 35, 47.453, W 78, 35.196.

Blue Jay:  GPS N 35, 47.308, W 78, 35.394.

I only managed to identify 12 species on this outing, which may be a record low. I would say that a number of factors contributed, though the most important may have been a simple lack of bird activity in the area. There really seemed to be significantly less bird song than is usual along the greenways. In addition, the vegetation was thick because of the time of year, and the length of the trail and the degree of urban-ness was higher than in most areas.  No new species were observed today and the only uncommon sighting was the Belted Kingfisher.