Trail 57: Honeycutt Creek Trail - Chatterson Drive to Honeycutt Park Area

10/10/2015.  9:27 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 53.841, W 78, 37.906
End:   GPS N 35, 54.066, W 78, 37.606

This section of the Honeycutt Creek Trail was completed in March of 2015 and runs north from Chatterson Drive to the end of the old, very short section of this trail, which I reported on in 2012. That older section passes through Honeycutt Park, and then supposedly continues on north, although it appears to simply be roadside sidewalk beyond the park. Therefore, this will be complete my reporting on the Honeycutt Creek Trail.

The birding along this section of the trail was disappointing. There was very little activity when I first arrived, though it picked up some toward the end.

Birds Sighted on the Outbound Trip:

Tufted Titmouse:  Near the trailhead.  Saw at least two of them, and possibly more.

Carolina Chickadee:  GPS N 35, 53.940, W 78, 37.852.  Saw only one, but there were probably more.

Small Hawk (species unknown):  GPS N 35, 53.966, W 78, 37.855.  This was probably a Cooper's Hawk, possibly Sharp-Shinned.

Carolina Wren:  GPS N 35, 54.005, W 78, 37.840. Only saw one of the these.

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 54.078, W 78, 37.726.

American Crow:  GPS N 35, 54.059.  Strangely, I only saw one of these.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip:

Northern Flicker:  GPS N 35, 54.061, W 78, 37.571. A bit later, I got to see a Flicker bathing in a slow-moving part of the stream, along with several American Robins.

Blue Jay:  In the same area as the Flicker.

American Robin:  GPS N 35, 53.960, W 78, 37.858. Saw six of these bathing in the creek.

Downy Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 53.920, W 78, 37.869.

This is perhaps my worst outing ever. Certainly the section of trail was a bit shorter than normal, amounting to probably less than a mile out and back, when 1.5 to 2 miles is more typical. Despite this, the birdlife seemed a little thin in the area on the day I was out, even though the weather was decent.  If I had continued on through Honeycutt Park it might have been better. Honeycutt Park has some open fields that might have attracted some different species. Still, this is probably not a trail I would choose again for birding unless I happened to live in the area already.