Trail 46: Richland Creek Trail - Schenck Forest to Reedy Creek Road

10/10/2014.  8:38 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 48.822, W 78, 43.921
End:   GPS N 35, 49.510, W 78, 43.780

This outing was a continuation of the Richland Creek Trail as it passes through the Schenck Forest on its way to the Reedy Creek Trail. Direct access to the point where I left off last time is not possible by car, so in the end, I had to park at the main entrance to the Schenck Forest and walk about 3/4 of a mile (1.2 km) through the forest to reach the right location. This turned out to be a good thing, because I saw more birds during that 3/4 mile segment getting to the trail than I did on the trail itself.

This latter segment of the Richland Creek Trail is a fairly dense woods running right along the creek. I would recommend that anyone wishing to bird in this area should spend some time birding along the main access road within the Schenck Forest, as it is bounded by open fields on one side and has some areas of widely spaced trees (planted in rows) that attract different birds from those in the deeper forest of much of the actual Richland Creek Trail at this end. This access road is for use by university vehicles but private vehicles are not permitted.

In order to reach this entrance to the Schenck Forest, follow Reedy Creek Road until you cross Edwards Mill Road, then drive about two-tenths of a mile and take the first unpaved street on the left. The entrance is a few hundred feet down this gravel drive on the right (see photo at left).

I will divide this outing into two segments. The first is the walk from the Schenck Forest main entrance to the intersection with the Richland Creek Trail. This section of the forest is not an official Greenway trail, so the species I saw there will be recorded, but not included in the Capital Area Greenway species list. The second segment is the heavily wooded path along Richland Creek which is the Greenway trail itself. The very end of this trail intersects with Reedy Creek Road, and the roadside segment of the Reedy Creek Trail.  Perhaps 100 feet up the road to the northwest on the right-hand side is a large pond. I included the birds that I saw on the pond in my count for the trail, because the pond is along one of the Greenway trails, and I did not bird this part of the Reedy Creek Trail previously because it is wholly roadside.  However, it is close enough to the Richland Creek Trail that it seems legitimate to include it.

Birds Sighted Along the Schenck Forest Access Road

The access road into the Schenk forest begins with open horse pasture to the left, and a woodsy landscape to the right. A short distance down the road on the right is a narrow wooded trail called the Frances Liles Trail.  A little further along is a picnic table area with a port-a-potty. Beyond this point the trees are more managed, with obviously planted areas of pines here and there. The road ends with a little cul-de-sac. There is a narrow trail that leaves the cul-de-sac and heads down to the creek, where it picks up the Richland Creek Trail. Another way to access the trail is to turn left just before this endpoint, travel between the line of natural trees on your right and the rows of planted trees on your left, until you enter the part of the Richland Creek Trail that is maintained as a maintenance accessway. This area between the natural trees and planted trees was a particularly good place to look for birds.

Red Winged Blackbird:  GPS N 35, 48.986, W 78, 43.224. A large flock was on the move, with members landing in the crowns of two tall trees for a few minutes, then moving on to somewhere else.  I counted 89 birds, but I'm sure there were more.

Eastern Bluebird:  GPS N 35, 48.960, W 78, 43.434. I saw a total of 11 of these. Most were perched on power lines above the horse pasture.

Mourning Dove:  I saw three of these, also perched on power lines.

Tufted Titmouse:  GPS N 35, 48.955, W 78, 43.434.

Red Bellied Woodpecker: GPS N 35, 48.957, W 78, 43.445.

Downy Woodpecker: GPS N 35, 48.934, W 78, 43.498.

Carolina Chickadee:  In the same area as the Downy Woodpecker.

Pine Warbler:  Just after the woodpile in the photo above.

Birds Sighted Along the Richland Creek Trail Segment

I turned from the Schenck Forest access road at GPS N 35, 48.912, W 78, 43.909 to make my way to the Richland Creek Trail. As I passed through the corridor of trees there, I glimpsed some kind of thrush with a spotted breast. I couldn't get a close enough look to be certain, though my guess would be Wood Thrush or Hermit Thrush.

From this point the trail is oriented northwest. If you look at the widest trunk in the photo at left, you will see a white painted spot. These spots are painted on trees here and there along the trail to keep you on the right track as you go. The trail integrity breaks down a bit in some areas, but you are generally funneled back to it if you keep walking.

American Redstart:  GPS N 35, 48.822, W 78, 43.921. This was a male. I've only seen this a couple of times along the Raleigh Greenways, and all have been in the past few weeks.

Carolina Chickadee:  GPS N 35, 49.093, W 78, 44.015. I'm repeating this one because it was actually sighted on the Greenway trail.

Black Throated Blue Warbler: A deep forest bird with a distinctive white spot on the wings. A new species for the Capital Area Greenway list.

Turkey Vulture: GPS N 35, 49.425, W 78, 43.806. These were flying low over a swampy area toward the end of the trail.

The trail officially ends at GPS N 35, 49.510, W 78, 43.780. Just beyond this point, maybe 100 feet to the northwest, is a large pond with some interesting birds. A few weeks ago I saw herons, egrets, geese, and ducks. This time it wasn't quite so busy, but I suspect there are quite a number of visitors in the winter.

Canada Goose: GPS N 35, 49.509, W 78, 43.806.  I counted 106 geese.

Great Blue Heron: From the same spot. This bird was out on a log in the water waiting for some fish to pass by.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip

Cooper's Hawk: GPS N 35, 49.449, W 78, 43.785. I was lucky to see this one.  You can just make him out in the photo to the left. There were two or three jays making a racket, and I hadn't actually spotted a Blue Jay yet on the day, so I was trying very hard to spot one of them, when I noticed the hawk perched on a relatively low branch. I'm pretty sure the Blue Jays were harassing it, trying to get it to leave.

Blue Jay:  In the same area with the hawk.

The last sightings on the return trip were made in the Schenck Forest, in a stand of planted trees just after I left the Richland Creek Trail.

Northern Flicker: GPS N 35, 48.863, W 78, 43.857.

Brown Headed Nuthatch:  I saw at least two, and there may have been a third.

Eastern Phoebe:  Hunting insects from the edge of a table.

Although I identified 18 species on the day, I was only able to spot eight species along this segment of the Richland Creek Trail. I think that the woods are a bit too deep, and the trees a bit too leafy at this time of year to get a large number of species by visual ID. I did add one new species to the Capital Area Greenway List - Black Throated Blue Warbler - and saw two species I don't see often - Cooper's Hawk and American Redstart. I think the Schenck Forest is an excellent place to bird because of the different habitats, but this part of the Richland Creek Trail is much more pleasant for walking than for birding.

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.