Trail 58: Gardner Street Trail - Isabella Cannon Park to Jaycee Park

11/15/2015.  11:08 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 47.574, W 78, 40.202

End:   GPS N 35, 47.969, W 78, 39.869

The Gardner Street Trail is the last trail in the Capital Area Greenway system that I had not visited (excluding those few trails that are almost exclusively roadside). This trail is relatively short at 0.7 miles in length, and perhaps half of this distance is roadside. It's not a trail I would recommend for birding, because most of the species I saw seem to be of the neighborhood bird variety, rather than the forest bird variety.

The southern terminus of this trail is at Isabella Cannon Park. There is no parking within the park, but there is room to park a car across the street on the roadside.

Birds Sighted on the Outbound Trip:

American Crow:  GPS N 35, 47.574, W 78, 40.202.

Ruby Crowned Kinglet:  GPS N 35, 47.689, W 78, 40.144.

White Breasted Nuthatch:  Same area as Kinglets.


Tufted Titmouse:  At least three.  Same area as Kinglets.

American Robin:  Also in same area with Kinglets.

White Throated Sparrow:  GPS N 35, 47.788, W 78, 40.075.

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 48.008, W 78, 39.968.


New Species Sighted on the Return Trip:

Red Bellied Woodpecker:  The GPS battery went dead, but I saw this one at 820 Fairall Drive.

It only took about an hour and 15 minutes round trip to complete this trail. I did not see many species, and they were all common ones. Most of the trail was either roadside, or very close to the houses that it passed behind, so it was not a relaxing experience to walk it.  I would not recommend this trail for birding or for exercise unless you happen to live in the neighborhood.

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.

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.

Trail 54: Crabtree Creek Trail - Anderson Point Park to I-440

05/02/2015.  9:20 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 46.347, W 78, 32.520
End:   GPS N 35, 46.968, W 78, 34.456

The eastern extension of the Crabtree Creek Trail was completed in December 2014.  It lengthens the trail to 14.6 miles, and connects the Buckeye segment to the Neuse River Trail at Anderson Point Park. For this outing, I began at Anderson Point Park and followed the trail for about 2 miles until I reached the I-440 and US 64 Interchange. The GPS coordinates above labeled "Start" indicate the location of the parking lot where I left my car. It is perhaps 50 yards from there to the trailhead.

It has been almost three months since I birded this part of the trail. I didn't have time to report on it before leaving the country for the summer, so my recollections are a bit hazy. I will simply divide the trail into two sections - the first from Anderson Point Park to Mile Marker 1, and the second from the marker to the I-440 interchange. As I look at my bird list, I see that there was a natural break at about the 1 mile mark, as I did not see any new species between Mile Marker 1 and the next marker a quarter of a mile later.

The first mile of the trail seemed to be more open. This may be due to the power lines that cross the trail and allow for some open vistas. The second mile of the trail was more woodsy.

Species Sighted Between Anderson Point Park and Mile Marker 1:

Brown Thrasher:  GPS N 35, 46.347, W 78, 32.520.

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 46.336, W 78, 32.612. I saw at least five of these on the day, probably more.

European Starling:  In the same area with the first Northern Cardinals.

Canada Geese:  In Flight.  GPS N 35, 46.338, W 78, 32.675.


Cooper's Hawk:  GPS N 35, 46.368, W 78, 32.768. It was doing a great deal of calling and may have been nesting in the area.

Carolina Chickadee:  In same area as Cooper's Hawk.

Northern Mockingbird:  GPS N 35, 46.373, W 78, 32.864.

American Crow:  Saw at least 13 of these on the day.

Rock Pigeon:  Saw only one of these, perched on a bridge strut.

Great Blue Heron:  GPS N 35, 46.483, W 78, 32.960.

Black Vulture:  GPS N 35, 46.499, W 78, 33.028.

Eastern Towhee:  GPS N 35, 46.535, W 78, 33.057.

Indigo Bunting:  In the same area with the Towhee. I believe this is only the second time I have seen this species on the Raleigh Greenways.  A nice find.

Mourning Dove:  Perched on one of the powerlines.

Belted Kingfisher:  GPS N 35, 46.633, W 78, 33.179. In flight near a pond in the woods.

American Robin:  Same area as the Kingfisher. There were surprisingly few Robins visible on the day.

Summer Tanager:  GPS N 35, 46.600, W 78, 33.230. Another bird I have seen only a couple of times on the Greenways.

Blue Grosbeak:  GPS N 35, 46.601, W 78, 33.263.  Yet another uncommon bird.

Pileated Woodpecker:  In the same area as the Blue Grosbeak.  I heard it calling a few times, then caught sight of it in flight.

New Species Sighted Between Mile Marker 1 and the I-440 Interchange:

Blue Jay: GPS N 35, 46.819, W 78, 33.583.

White Throated Sparrow:  Near where the Blue Jays were seen.

Yellow Rumped Warbler:  GPS N 35, 46.977, W 78, 34.096.

New Species Sighted on the Return Trip to Anderson Point Park:

Blue Gray Gnatcatcher:  GPS N 35, 46.978, W 78, 34.273.

Red Tailed Hawk:  GPS N 35, 47.000, W 78, 33.904.

A total of 24 species were observed on this outing. No new species were seen, but four birds that I have only seen occasionally were identified along the trail - Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, and Pileated Woodpecker.  All in all, a good day.

Trail 53: Walnut Creek Trail - I-440 to New Hope Road

04/03/2015.  9:35 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 45.839, W 78, 35.007
End:   GPS N 35, 45.839, W 78, 35.007

This one remaining section of the Walnut Creek Trail was a little tricky to access. On my previous outing, I did not think there was a way to access the trail directly from New Hope Road, so I thought I would need to try to find another access point. It turns out that there is an accessway perhaps 1/16th of a mile to the west of the New Hope Road overpass that intersects the trail from the north. However, because I ended my previous outing on the east side of New Hope Road, I did not see this access point.

Instead, I tried to access this new section of the trail from the western side, beginning in the area near the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre. There is a softball park that provides easy access to a pedestrian tunnel that passes beneath I-440, but because I was out on a Friday morning, the softball park was closed to parking. That meant I had to park even further away from the new trail segment, on the other side of the road at Worthdale Park. The positive side of this was that I discovered a little extension of the Walnut Creek Trail that now connects Worthdale Park to the Softball Park. This was a part of the trail I hadn't walked before. The down side was that my one mile of remaining trail required about a mile of walking just to reach, resulting in a four mile round trip.

This outing is divided up into discontinous sections because part of the time I was retracing steps from previous outings. Therefore, I will report locations only for bird species seen in the new sections.

The first part of the trail was a connector between Worthdale Park and the Walnut Creek Softball Complex. It is perhaps a quarter mile long or less. I then passed through the part of the trail that skirts the softball complex to reach the next new section just past the I-440 overpass.  The section from there to New Hope Road is also a new segment, and is probably about a mile in length.


While passing through Worthdale Park, I saw White-Breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Chickadee, American Robin, and American Crow.

Species Sighted Along the Short Connector Segment:

The birds were not very active in this short connector segment.  I heard perhaps four or five species total but only identified two of them visually.

Red Bellied Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 45.766, W 78, 35.158.

American Robin:  I saw just one of these from the same vantage where I saw the woodpecker.

There was a great deal more bird activity at the softball complex than along the new segment of trail. In only one or two spots, I saw White Throated Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, American Crow, Brown Thrasher, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Tufted Titmouse, and Carolina Chickadee.

New Species Sighted from I-440 to New Hope Road:

American Crow:  GPS N 35, 45.348, W 78, 34.585.

Blue Jay:  GPS N 35, 45.146, W 78, 34.384.

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 45.006, W 78, 34.281.

Black Vulture:  GPS N 35, 44.983, W 78, 34.256.  Finally something I have not seen in awhile! Two of them flew low overhead.



Pine Warbler:  GPS N 35, 44.975, W 78, 34.234. There may have been two of them, but I could only confirm one.

Yellow Rumped Warbler:  In the same area with the pine warbler(s).

White Throated Sparrow:  GPS N 35, 44.867, W 78, 33.961.

Great Blue Heron:  Same area as sparrows.  In flight.

New Species Sighted on Return Trip:

Common Grackle:  GPS N 35, 44.870, W 78, 33.969.

Hermit Thrush:  GPS N 35, 44.970, W 78, 34.193. I ended up seeing two of these.

Tufted Titmouse:  Same place as the Hermit Thrush.

Carolina Chickadee:  GPS N 35, 45.294, W 78, 34.443.

As I passed back through Worthdale Park on my way to the car, I saw a Dark Eyed Junco, which I had not seen anywhere else along the trail.

I only ended up seeing a total of 14 species along the new trail segments, and 16 species in total. Most were very common types. I also did not find this part of the trail to be very aesthetically pleasing. The section after New Hope Road that leads to the Neuse River Trail would be preferable for both birding and walking, in my opinion.

Trail 52: Walnut Creek Trail - Neuse River to New Hope Road

3/21/2015.  9:10 AM.

Start: GPS N 35, 44.934, W 78, 32.034
End:  GPS N 35, 44.934, W 78, 32.034

The Walnut Creek Trail was finally connected to the Neuse River Trail sometime in the last year. My last visit to the Walnut Creek Trail was on April 25, 2014 when I finished the west end of the trail at Lake Johnson Park. With the newly completed eastern section, it is now 15.6 miles in length and stretches across the southern part of Raleigh. Over the next two outings I expect to finish off these last four miles or so of the trail from the Neuse River to the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre.

It is not possible to park by the intersection of the Walnut Creek Trail and the Neuse River Trail. The closest access point is from an unmarked gravel path just east of Barwell Road on Barrington Drive. This appears to be an accessway for city vehicles, but there is room for one or two cars to park on a graveled area just out of the way of the path leading to the trail. The actual intersection of the two trails is about a quarter of a mile east of this access point.

The weather was rather cool and somewhat cloudy when I first started down the trail. I went east first, until I reached the intersection of the Walnut Creek and Neuse Trails, then headed west from there all the way to New Hope Road. However, I will report my sightings in order from east to west to make everything a bit more logical.

Birds Sighted From Neuse River to Mile 1 Marker:

American Crow:  GPS N 35, 45.041, W 78, 31.969. I only saw five of these the whole morning.

White Throated Sparrow:  GPS N 35, 44.994, W 78, 32.014. Counted a total of 20 on the day.

Hermit Thrush: In the same area with the sparrows. I saw two of them on the day at opposite ends of the trail.


Song Sparrow:  In same area with White Throated Sparrows and Hermit Thrush.

Tufted Titmouse:  Heard them a number of times but only spotted three.

Northern Cardinal: GPS N 35, 44.934, W 78, 32.034.  I counted nine of these in total.

Northern Mockingbird:  In the same area as the first Cardinal.

Great Blue Heron:  GPS N 35, 44.974, W 78, 32.084.

Carolina Chickadee:  GPS N 35, 44.992, W 78, 32.249.

American Robin:  GPS N 35, 45.035, W 78, 32.575.


Turkey Vulture:  GPS N 35, 45.051, W 78, 32.636.

Brown Creeper: GPS N 35, 45.104, W 78, 32.693.

New Species Sighted From Mile Marker 1 to New Hope Road:

This section had a nice stand of pine trees. I also heard, but did not see, a Barred Owl.

Red Shouldered Hawk:  GPS N 35, 45.116, W 78, 32.760.  There were two of these in the woods and they may have been constructing a nest.

Pine Warbler:  GPS N 35, 45.150, W 78, 32.939. I ended up seeing two.

Red Bellied Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 45.088, W 78, 33.023.

Mourning Dove:  GPS N 35, 45.101, W 78, 33.069. A house here had a feeder that attracted several common species.

Dark Eyed Junco:  Was visiting the bird feeder.

House Finch:  Two females at the bird feeder.

Canada Goose:  In flight.

Downy Woodpecker:  Male.

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker:  GPS N 35, 45.133, W 78, 33.161.

Eastern Phoebe:  GPS N 35, 45.009, W 78, 33.347. Saw two pairs on the day.

I turned around when I came to New Hope Road, although there was no obvious access from the road to the trail.  Next outing, I will have to try to approach from the other end (Walnut Creek Amphitheatre) in order to complete the trail.

New Species sighted on the Return Trip:

Yellow Rumped Warbler:  GPS N 35, 44.983, W 78, 33.645.

Carolina Wren:  GPS N 35, 44.959, W 78, 33.558.

House Finch:  GPS N 45.011, W 78, 33.446.

Chipping Sparrow:  GPS N 35, 45.092, W 78, 33.061.

No new species were found for the Capital Area Greenway list, although I did see 26 species total, which is more than I normally see on one of these outings. The two most unusual sightings were the Hermit Thrushes, and the Brown Creeper, which I have only seen a handful of times along the Raleigh Greenways.  I was a bit surprised not to see more variety.  Much of the trail passes through somewhat swampy land, and I thought this might lead to some atypical species, but it did not. I will say, however, that the many raised walkways through this area are very nice, and they make for a very pleasant walk.