Trail 22: Crabtree Creek Trail (West) - Crabtree Valley Trail

06/13/2012.  9:35 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 50.318, W 78, 39.845
End:   GPS N 35, 50.202, W 78, 40.623 (estimate)

The westernmost starting point for the Crabtree Valley Trail is a bit difficult to pinpoint from the Capital Area Greenway Map provided by the City of Raleigh. However, the trail appears to begin at the 3-way intersection of: 1) the Ironwood Trail, which comes south from Shelley Lake, 2) the North Hills Trail Segment, which joins the Crabtree Creek Trail to North Hills Park, and 3) the Crabtree Valley Trail, which runs along the bank of Crabtree Creek.

From the Greenway itself, this location is easy to find if heading south down the Ironwood Trail. A sign at the intersection points to Shelley Lake, North Hills Park, and the western part of the Crabtree Creek Trail. The North Hills Trail segment seems to branch off from what feels like the main trail by crossing a zigzagging bridge (see photo at left, which was taken back in March). The closest access points to this intersection by car are from North Hills Park to the west, which requires a walk down a very steep incline, or an entrance from near 2501 North Hills Drive to the east. The eastern end of the trail is at Crabtree Valley Mall and has many entry points. I chose to access the trail from North Hills Park.

The following does not include any birds seen along the North Hills Trail segment in either direction, as I had already birded this part of the Raleigh Greenway in late March. I should also note that my GPS device ran out of batteries by the time I reached the intersection, so I do not have coordinates for the birds seen on this outing. I did not see anything really unusual this time, so the lack of coordinates should not be a major loss.

Birds Sighted Between 3-Way Intersection and 12.5 Mile Marker:

Northern Cardinal:  9:58 AM.  Numerous as usual.

Carolina Wren:  10:02 AM.  Saw three moving around together. Might have been a parent and two young.

Unidentified Swallow: 10:08 AM.  I saw this swallow flying high overhead for just a couple of seconds. It did not have the forked tail of the Barn Swallow, so based on probability, it was likely a Northern Rough Winged Swallow, which I have seen a couple of times along the eastern part of the Crabtree Creek Trail.

Birds Sighted Between the 12.5 Mile and the 13 Mile Markers:

American Robin:  10:23 AM.

Downy Woodpecker (Male): 10:33 AM.

Carolina Chickadee: 10:33 AM. This chickadee was trying to harvest something from the very same small branch that the Downy Woodpecker was interested in. The chickadee would fly in quickly, peck once or twice, then flit away before the woodpecker could peck at it. Must have been something tasty up there.

Along this part of the trail, there is an access point from Century Drive, a bridge that passes over the trail carrying a pipe, and a wooden bridge that crosses Crabtree Creek. Beyond this bridge the surroundings feel a lot more urban, as there are many streets near the trail and fairly heavy traffic.

Barn Swallows: 10:51 AM. There appeared to be several nests under one of the overpasses near Glenwood Avenue.

I did not see any new species after the 13 Mile Marker until I passed the McDonalds, which is south of Glenwood Avenue. Here, the trail runs parallel to a road called Crabtree Valley Avenue. From McDonald's to Edward's Mill Road, the trail is out in the open on one side. There is very little shade along this part of the trail.

Birds Sighted Between McDonalds and Edward's Mill Road:

Mourning Dove: 11:05 AM. Across the road from the McDonalds in an undeveloped area.

Brown Thrasher: 11:06 AM. Landed on a power line and called a couple of times before departing.

Northern Mockingbird: 11:07 AM. In a tree near the McDonalds parking lot. There appeared to be one adult (possibly two) and two juvenile birds waiting in the tree to be fed. They weren't in a nest, but they were much less active than the larger one(s), who kept flying away and then returning.

Song Sparrow: 11:08 AM. Landed on a nearby wire for a short time before departing. I got a good look at the dark spot on the chest.

Eastern Phoebe: 11:16 AM. Doing its characteristic tail bobbing.

American Crow: 11:17 AM. A group of at least five were circling around the roof of a small inn across the street from the trail.

The trail ends at Edward's Mill Road. The trail can be easily accessed from this end by parking at Crabtree Valley Mall and exiting from the back (south) side anywhere that will cross the creek.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip:

Unidentified Woodpecker (in flight): I saw a woodpecker land in a tree on the back side of Crabtree Valley Mall near the intersection with Edward's Mill Road. My first instinct was to think it was a Northern Flicker, which I have not seen very often along the Raleigh Greenway, but it disappeared into a large tree before I could confirm and I didn't see it leave again.

Mallard (in flight): 11:30 AM. This duck appeared to be alone. I saw it flying fairly low along Crabtree Creek as I approached the wooden bridge pictured above. The Crabtree Valley Trail provides some pretty good looks at Crabtree Creek, despite heavy vegetation, and I was a little surprised not to see more ducks and geese. The creek was flowing pretty fast on this particular day because of some recent rain, and that may explain their absence.

Unidentified Hawk (in flight): 11:40 AM. I saw this one on the north side of Crabtree Creek and Glenwood Avenue. Got only two brief glimpses of this hawk through some very leafy trees, but I had heard what I was pretty sure was a Red Shouldered Hawk crying earlier in the outing, and this one was the right size and shape for a Red Shouldered, so it may have been the same one.

This outing was one of my least productive. There seemed to be less birdlife along the first part of the trail than I have seen elsewhere. I ended with a total of 13 species identified, and two or three more that I could not identify, mostly because of the thickness of the vegetation. Summer birding along these trails is certainly more challenging than spring birding! No new species for the Capital Area Greenway list this time, and no new birds for my lifelist.

Trail 16: Ironwood Trail (South Part)

03/24/2012.  10:20 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 50.552, W 78, 39.709
End:   GPS N 35, 50.318, W 78, 39.845

Access to the south part of the Ironwood Trail is near 4806 North Hills Drive. Visitors can park on the street right next to the entrance.

The outing began with a drizzle and wet conditions from rain overnight. Temperatures were in the mid-60s Fahrenheit when I arrived. The rain stopped shortly after I started walking, and it looked like conditions might improve. I even saw the sun trying to poke through the cloud cover about an hour into the walk. So when I reached the end of the Ironwood Trail where it intersects with the Crabtree Creek Trail, I decided to continue on Crabtree Creek Trail headed east until I could find a good access point with convenient parking for my next outing.

By the time I turned around, the rain was back, and much heavier than before. Most of the birds stopped moving around at this point, and I did not see anything new on the return trip. I saw fewer species on this day than on any other this year, but did pick up a new species for the Capital Area Greenway list, so the outing was not a total loss.

Birds Sighted on South Part of Ironwood Trail:

Northern Cardinal:  At entrance to the trail. These were the most numerous birds seen on this day.

American Robin:  Perched alone in a high tree.

Red Bellied Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 50.523, W 78, 39.698. Clinging to the highest point on a dead tree and calling out to others.

Brown Headed Nuthatch:  GPS N 35, 50.462, W 78, 39.765.  I have only seen this bird once before, back in 2006 in Cary. This time, the nuthatch was hanging around on a dead tree that a Red Bellied Woodpecker was trying to make a nest in, and seemed to be trying to bully it into leaving. The nuthatch kept flying and landing at a point near the woodpecker, then flying away again. I wondered if the nuthatch might be trying to chase the woodpecker away because it had a nest of its own in the area. When I passed by on the return trip with the rain falling, it was still harassing the woodpecker.

Great Blue Heron:  Two of these flew over while I was watching the nuthatch bully the woodpecker.

White Throated Sparrow:  A little group of six of these appeared to be eating some kind of seed from a low tree. Strangely, I have not seen so many sparrows in one place for several weeks now.

Carolina Chickadee:  GPS N 35, 50.446, W 78, 39.790.

Carolina Wren:  GPS N 35, 50.410, W 78, 39.833.  This one was perched about five feet from the ground and singing at the top of its lungs. Quite a large sound from such a small bird.

Downy/Hairy Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 50.325, W 78, 39.832. Could not get a close enough look to be sure, although its size suggested a downy.

Birds Sighted Along Short Segment of Crabtree Creek Trail: The bridge you see in the photo on the left leads to the eastern branch of Crabtree Creek Trail. I followed only a short segment of this trail until it reached the intersection with the North Hills Trail Segment a few hundred feet north of I-440. The trail ends at GPS N 35, 50.265, W 78, 39.722. The North Hills Trail Segment leads to North Hills Park which has plenty of parking. It would make an excellent access point to this end of the Ironwood trail.

Canada Goose:  GPS N 35, 50.300, W 78, 39.816. A pair of these were swimming together on Crabtree Creek.


Tufted Titmouse:  I was surprised it took so long to see one of these, as they are usually much more numerous.

I was only able to identify 10 species on this outing. I do think I might have seen a pair of White Breasted Nuthatches at one point, and a group of what might have been Common Grackles flying by in the distance another time, but in both cases the birds were too far away and the low clouds made it hard to see any colors or features well enough to be certain. The addition of the Brown Headed Nuthatch brings the Capital Area Greenway List to 48 species.