Conclusion: Birds and the Raleigh Greenway System

1/26/2016

Below you will find a summary of the results of my birding trips along the Capital Area Greenway System in Raleigh, and (hopefully) some useful information about the individual trails of the system that I visited for this project. At the bottom of this post, you will find a list of the birds seen in order of the number of outings (out of 58) on which they were seen. Bear in mind that some birds are summer or winter residents only, and there tended to be more outings in the non-summer months due to my travel obligations. A Google map showing most of the trails and related parking spots can be found here. The RGreenway App is another way to get good information about trail locations and parking while on the move. It will also show you the closest greenway to your location. There is also some parking advice on the individual trail reports in this blog as well.

According to the City of Raleigh, the Raleigh Greenway system has 28 individual trails totaling over 100 miles in length. The longest is the Neuse River Trail that runs roughly north-south for 27.5 miles on the eastern side of Raleigh.  It extends beyond the Raleigh city limits to the Johnston County line. The shortest trail is the Marsh Creek Trail at 0.3 miles. Most of the 28 trails are paved, and most follow some form of creek or body of water, although many of them pass behind the backyards of suburban homes as well. Others are really just sidewalks along the roadside, such as the Birch Ridge Connector (0.3 mi), Centennial Bikeway Connector (2.3 mi), Edwards Mill Connector (1.3 mi), Martin Street Connector (0.4 mi) and Spring Forest Trail (0.4 mi). 

A few of the trails have a substantial roadside component in addition to a path that passes through a more natural area. A good example of this type is the Hare Snipe Creek Trail. The City of Raleigh says the trail is 2.3 miles long, but it travels along Leesville Road for about a mile of this length, and also seems to include the western side of Lake Lynn, which most people would assume is part of the Lake Lynn Loop. A similar trail is the Honeycutt Creek Trail, which is 3.8 miles in length - with a substantial segment between Honeycutt Park and Durant Road that is roadside.  Finally, the Beaver Dam Trail (0.8 mi), though not a sidewalk trail, seems to only be wooded on one side for the majority of its length and runs a short distance from the road with no trees between the road and path to act as a screen.

For this project, I avoided all trails that were purely roadside (see list above), and skipped any long sections that did not pass through woods or some kind of semi-natural area.  I also skipped the last 7.5 miles of the Neuse River Trail that went beyond the Raleigh City limits, and the section of the Honeycutt Creek Trail between Honeycutt Park and Raven Ridge Rd. The section between Durant Rd. and Raven Ridge Rd. is unpaved and might be worth a visit in the future. I didn't realize that section was there until I started writing this summary section. So if the Raleigh Greenway system is 100 miles long, I probably birded about 85 miles worth in 58 outings.



I began the project as a relatively inexperienced birder, with a lifelist of 264 birds, many of which I had seen overseas. During the four years of this project, I was able to visually identify 90 species of birds along the Raleigh Greenways. Not a bad result, but fewer than I would have guessed when I started. I suspect that there were five to ten more species that I saw but was unable to identify due to poor conditions or my inexperience. 

Neuse River Trail (27.5 mi):  This trail runs from near Falls Lake to the Johnston County line on the eastern side of Raleigh. Birding reports from north to south are: Trail 3, Trail 4, Trail 5, Trail 6, Trail 28, Trail 29, Trail 51, Trail 50, Trail 49, Trail 48, Trail 47.  My favorite birds identified along this trail were the Red Headed Woodpecker (Trails 3, 4, 5, and 29), Brown Creeper (5, 47, 50), Pileated Woodpecker (6, 29, 47, 51), Common Yellowthroat (29), Belted Kingfisher (47, 51), Cedar Waxwing (48, 50), Indigo Bunting (49) and Bald Eagle (50). You can see the character of the trail by following several bike ride videos posted by others, such as Falls Lake Dam to Anderson Point Park - Part I, Part II, and Part III.  This takes you to about the 17 mile marker. Another biking video shows the trail from Anderson Point Park to Mile Marker 26 near the end of the trail.  My favorite section of the Neuse was probably Trail 29 for the varied habitat and the chance to see Red Headed Woodpeckers, Pileated Woodpeckers, and my first Common Yellowthroat. The Neuse River Trail attracts a LOT of bike riders, so if you can go on a day other than Saturday or Sunday, the birding may be more enjoyable.

Walnut Creek Trail (15.6 mi):  This trail runs from the Neuse River Trail across southern Raleigh to Lake Johnson, and includes the north side of Lake Johnson (both the paved and unpaved section). The trail officially ends near the unpaved parking lot at the northwest corner of the lake. Birding reports from east to west are: Trail 52, Trail 53, Trail 30, Trail 31, Trail 32, Trail 33, Trail 35, Trail 36, Trail 37, Trail 38, and part of Trail 39.  My favorite birds identified along this trail were Brown Creeper (Trails 32, 52), Cedar Waxwing (32), Winter Wren (32, 37), Belted Kingfisher (37, 39), Northern Shoveler (37), Wood Duck (37), White Eyed Vireo (38), and Bald Eagle (37). You can see the character of the first part of the trail by watching the following cycling video: Walnut Creek to Worthdale Park.  Another section of the trail, between Rock Quarry Road and Hammond Road, can be seen here, although it has been speeded up considerably. My two favorite trails along the Walnut Creek Greenway were Trails 31 and 37.  I found Trail 31 to be a very pleasant walk with a good number of birds, and Trail 37 to be highly productive because of Lake Raleigh.Trail 33 of the Walnut Creek Greenway was also good for birding. It runs west from the Walnut Creek Wetland Center. I probably saw more raptors on the Walnut Creek trail than on either the Neuse River or Crabtree Creek Trails. Trail 35 was particularly good for raptors.

Lake Johnson Loop (ca. 2.3 mi): Lake Johnson has paved and unpaved sections. The west loop is mostly unpaved and 2.1 miles long. Part of that length is also counted as the Walnut Creek Trail (see above). The east loop is paved and 2.8 miles long. Both of these loops cross the lake via Avent Ferry Road. The birding report for the section not already covered by the Walnut Creek Trail is Trail 39. My favorite birds on this trail were Ovenbird and Red Eyed Vireo. You can see the character of the eastern part of this trail by watching the following series of cycling videos:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6. 

Crabtree Creek Trail (14.6 mi):  This trail runs from the Neuse River to within about one mile of Umstead Park across Raleigh's northern suburbs. There are apparently plans to extend the trail that final distance to Umstead eventually. Birding reports from east to west are: Trail 23, Trail 22, Trail 17, Trail 18, Trail 19, Trail 20, Trail 21, Trail 55, Trail 54. My favorite birds identified along this trail are: Great Crested Flycatcher (Trails 19, 23), Belted Kingfisher (19, 54, 55), Cedar Waxwing (18, 19), Hairy Woodpecker (18), Northern Rough Winged Swallow (19, 21), Palm Warbler (18), Pileated Woodpecker (54), Indigo Bunting (54), Summer Tanager (54), and Blue Grosbeak (54). The Crabtree Creek Trail has several nice sections along it. My favorites were probably Trail 18 for the nice setting, Trail 19 for the species diversity, which included a Great Crested Flycatcher and several Northern Rough Winged Swallows, and Trail 20 for its elevated walkway and the marsh at the end where many aquatic birds can be seen.  You can see the character of a portion of this trail by watching this cycling video, which I believe corresponds to my Trail 22. You might prefer to listen to it on mute because of the wind noise.

Trails North of the Walnut Creek Greenway

Little Rock Trail (1.6 mi): This trail runs north from the Walnut Creek Trail and connects Walnut Creek Wetland Center to East Martin St, although the trail is roadside after E. Lenoir St for about three blocks. See Trail 34. I saw lots of very common birds on this trail, as well as Hermit Thrush and Golden Crowned Kinglet. It has a very urban feel.

Rocky Branch Trail (3.8 mi): This trail also runs north from the Walnut Creek Trail. It passes through the southern part of the NC State main campus, and then connects to the House Creek Trail via the Gorman Street Connector and a short section of the Reedy Creek Trail. The House Creek Trail leads to the Crabtree Creek Trail, so it is possible to follow the Raleigh Greenway system between these two trails with just a short roadside section at Gorman St. Birding reports from south to north are: Trail 40 and Trail 41. Most of the birds sighted were common species. The only unusual sighting here was a Ruby Throated Hummingbird. This would not be a top choice for birding.

House Creek Trail (2.8 mi): This trail runs generally north from the Reedy Creek pedestrian bridge over I-440 (near Wade Ave.) to the Crabtree Creek Trail near Crabtree Valley Mall. However, there is a sign all the way back at the entrance to the Reedy Creek Trail that also mentions the House Creek Trail, causing some confusion. Birding reports from south to north are: Trail 42 and Trail 43. This had a few unusual birds, such as Field Sparrow (Trail 42), Red Winged Blackbird (42), Great Crested Flycatcher (42), Indigo Bunting (42), and Blue Grosbeak (43). You can see the character of the southern portion of this trail by watching the this cycling video.

Reedy Creek Trail (5.0 mi): This trail begins at the southeast corner of Meredith College, passes through the North Carolina Museum of Art and continues west all the way to Umstead Park. However, about half of this length runs along Reedy Creek Road, which is not unpleasant to walk along because it was not heavily traveled, but because it was not a true natural area I ended my walk at Edwards Mill Road. Bird reports from east to west are: Trail 42 and Trail 44. To get a sense of the more natural part of this trail, you can watch this cycling video posted by someone else. The video starts at the museum and ends at Meredith College.  In addition to the birds listed above for Trail 42, I had a chance to see a Summer Tanager (Trail 44), Red Eyed Vireo (44), and an American Redstart (44) on this trail. In general, this seemed like a good trail for birding, particularly after crossing the pedestrian bridge.

Richland Creek Trail (3.1 mi): This trail begins on the east side of PNC Arena at E. Stephen Stroud Way. It runs roughly south to north through the Schenk Forest, and intersects with the Reedy Creek Trail at Reedy Creek Rd. Google's Greenway Map seems to suggest that the trail continues on across Reedy Creek Rd and past a small lake to Umstead Park, but I never saw an entrance to this segment. Within the Schenk Forest, this trail is also called the Loblolly Trail, which is also the name of a nearby trail in Umstead Park. The trail can be hard to follow, but there are some excellent tips posted here. Bird reports from south to north are: Trail 45 and Trail 46. My favorite birds spotted on this trail were Brown Headed Nuthatch (Trail 45), Blue Grosbeak (46), Common Yellowthroat (45), Hooded Warbler (45), House Wren (45), and Magnolia Warbler (45). This is one of the few mostly unpaved trails in the Capital Area Greenway system and I very much enjoyed it, despite the lack of adequate signage. I will definitely revisit this trail again as part of my next project.

Gardner Street Trail (0.7 mi): This is a stand-alone trail located north of Walnut Creek Trail and east of House Creek Trail. The greenway connects Isabella Canon and Jaycee Parks. See Trail 58. I did not see any unusual species here and would not recommend this trail for birding.

Beaver Dam Trail (0.8 mi): This is another stand-alone trail just northwest of the Gardner Street Trail. It passes through the Hymettus Woods for maybe a quarter of a mile before following Banbury Rd. until it intersects with Nottingham Rd. I chose not to bird this section because it was short and primarily roadside. Google's Greenway Map shows where this trail begins and ends.

Trails North of the Crabtree Creek Greenway

Mine Creek Trail (4.1 mi): This trail runs north from Crabtree Creek Trail starting near North Hills Park. The trail is divided into segments with their own names. The first segment is the Ironwood Trail (for bird reports see Trail 16, Trail 15, Trail 14), followed by the Shelley Lake Trail (bird reports for Trail 13, Trail 12, Trail 11), and the Sawmill Trail (Trail 9). My favorite sections of the Mine Creek Trail were the Sawmill section, which is unpaved and more varied than many areas along the Raleigh Greenway system, and Trail 11, which follows the west side of Shelley Lake and includes a woodsy area to the north of the lake. Favorite birds seen on this trail were a Belted Kingfisher (Trail 11), Double Crested Cormorants (11, 12, 13), a Hairy Woodpecker (9), and Hooded Mergansers (12). To get a sense of what I believe is the Ironwood part of this trail, you can watch this cycling video.

Snelling Branch Trail (0.8 mi):  This trail runs east to west between the northeastern part of the Shelley Lake Loop and Optimist Park. I reported on it as part of a larger outing in the Shelley Lake Area (Trail 13). I saw several tree climbers here (three woodpeckers and white breasted nuthatches), so this short trail segment must be attractive to them.  

East Fork of Mine Creek (2.5 mi): The older section of this trail was also called the Bent Creek Trail (see bird report for Trail 10). It intersects with the Sawmill segment at its southern end. The trail has been recently extended, although there is about half a mile of intervening roadway between the Bent creek segment and the East Fork extension (see bird report for Trail 56). I mostly saw fairly common species on both segments of this trail, but I did see a somewhat uncommon Hermit Thrush (Trail 10) and a Brown Headed Nuthatch (56). I found the Bent Creek segment of this trail to be a pleasant walk and it had an interesting habitat compared to many other trails. Not a bad trail for birding. I was less enthusiastic about Trail 56, although if you live in the neighborhood it might be worth visiting.

Lake Lynn Loop (2.2 mi): This is part of a stand-alone pair of trails that do not connect to any of the other greenways. See Trail 27. This is the closest greenway to my home, so I have been here many times. The lake is nice but is surrounded on most sides by apartment complexes, so traffic is often heavy on weekends. My favorite birds that I saw on the outing I did for this project were Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, and Green Heron. You can see the character of this trail by watching the following cycling videos:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

Hare Snipe Creek Trail (2.3 mi): As noted above, this is somewhat of a phantom trail because about a mile of its length runs along Leesville Road between Lynn Rd. and Millbrook Rd. Most of the rest of the trail is composed of the west side of Lake Lynn, which most people include as part of the Lake Lynn Loop. The Lake Lynn segment of this trail is reported by me under Trail 27. Apparently the purpose of this trail is to connect Lake Lynn Park to Wooten Meadows Park.

The last two trails inside the I-540 loop are both less than a mile in length and associated with a park.

Baileywick Trail (0.6 mi): This trail is east of Creedmoor Rd. and south of I-540. About half of its length is contained within Baileywick Park. It has a relatively wooded area, but I only saw typical birds there during my visit. See Trail 25.

Marsh Creek Trail (0.3 mi): This trail is east of Atlantic Ave. and north of I-440. It runs along the edge of Brentwood Park for about half of its length. The remainder projects south beyond the park. Despite its short length, this was a fairly enjoyable outing. See Trail 26. My favorite sighting was my first Black and White Warbler.

Trails That Begin North of I-540

Simm's Branch Trail (1.7 mi): This trail passes along the northern boundary of Durant Nature Park, then between the Hunter's Knoll and Durant Trails neighborhoods, past Durant Rd. Middle School, finally ending at Cub Trail. It is connected to the Abbott's Creek Trail by means of Durant Rd. and the Falls River connector, both of which are roadside segments. Birding reports from southeast to northwest are Trail 7 and Trail 8. My favorite bird sighted on this trail was a Brown Creeper (Trail 7).

Abbott's Creek Trail (2.9 mi): This trail runs from Walkertown Dr. all the way to the Neuse River Trail. There is a very short section of the trail (about 500 feet) that runs roadside next to Falls River Ave., but otherwise, it is nicely wooded and the houses, for the most part, are set back from the trail. Birding reports from west to east are Trail 1 and Trail 2. My favorite birds sighted on this trail were a Pileated Woodpecker (Trail 1) and several Red Headed Woodpeckers (Trail 2). Trail 2 is definitely in my top five. I have visited it two or three times since my first outing because it is a reliable place to see Red Headed Woodpeckers, and I like the raised wooden walkways over the marsh. On another visit, I saw Wood Ducks perched in a tree. There is also a pond area where Great Blue Herons like to nest. You can see the character of the Trail 2 segment by watching this cycling video.

Wakefield Trail (1.4 mi): This is the most northerly trail of the Capital Area Greenway system. It runs from Old Falls of the Neuse Rd. through the Fairview at Wakefield Plantation and south to Dunard St. just short of Falls of the Neuse Rd. See Trail 24. It wasn't among the most pleasant trails to walk, and there was not much cover so I got a bit of a sunburn. My favorite species were a Red Headed Woodpecker (which was unexpected), Ruby Throated Hummingbird, and a Red Tailed Hawk perched down low. It was very patient while I checked its markings. 

My top ten sections of the Raleigh Greenway system for birding (in order by trail number) are as follows. This is based on a combination of setting and birds sighted.

01) Trail 2 (Abbott's Creek)
02) Trail 9 (Mine Creek)
03) Trail 11 (Mine Creek)
04) Trail 18 (Crabtree Creek)
05) Trial 19 (Crabtree Creek)
06) Trail 29 (Neuse River)
07) Trail 31 (Walnut Creek)
08) Trail 37 (Walnut Creek)
09) Trail 39 (Lake Johnson)
10) Trail 45 (Richland Creek)

List of Birds by Frequency of Sighting (out of 58 trips)*

Carolina Chickadee (56)
Northern Cardinal (56)
American Crow (48)
Tufted Titmouse (48)
American Robin (48)
Red Bellied Woodpecker (45)
Carolina Wren (41)
Downy Woodpecker (38)
Blue Jay (38)
Northern Mockingbird (36)
White Throated Sparrow (31) (W)
Mourning Dove (30)
White Breasted Nuthatch (28)
Eastern Bluebird (27)
Yellow Rumped Warbler (27) (W)
Brown Thrasher (26)
Eastern Towhee (26)
Turkey Vulture (26)
Canada Goose (21)
Ruby Crowned Kinglet (21) (W)
Dark Eyed Junco (18) (W)
Eastern Phoebe (17)
Gray Catbird (16) (W)
Northern Flicker (16)
Great Blue Heron (16)
Mallard (15)
Common Grackle (15)
Chipping Sparrow (14) (S?)
Song Sparrow (14) (W)
House Finch (13)
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker (13) (W)
European Starling (12)
Blue Gray Gnatcatcher (12) (S)
Red Shouldered Hawk (11)
Pine Warbler (10)
American Goldfinch (9)
Red Tailed Hawk (9)
Hermit Thrush (9) (W)
Belted Kingfisher (9)
Golden Crowned Kinglet (8) (W)
Black Vulture (8)
Brown Creeper (7) (W)
Double Crested Cormorant (6)
Barn Swallow (6) (S)
Red Headed Woodpecker (6)
Field Sparrow (6)
Pileated Woodpecker (6)
Red Winged Blackbird (5)
Cedar Waxwing (5) (W)
Ring Billed Gull (4) (W)
Ruby Throated Hummingbird (4)
Hairy Woodpecker (4)
Fish Crow (3)
Great Crested Flycatcher (3) (S)
Cooper's Hawk (3)
Indigo Bunting (3) (S)
Summer Tanager (3) (S)
Blue Grosbeak (3) (S)
Winter Wren (2) (W)
Bald Eagle (2) (W)
Red Eyed Vireo (2) (S)
Brown Headed Cowbird (2)
Common Yellowthroat (2) (S?)
Northern Rough Winged Swallow (2) (S)
Chimney Swift (2) (S)
Rock Pigeon (2)
Swamp Sparrow (2) (W)
Bufflehead (1) (W)
Mute Swan (1)
Northern Shoveler (1) (W)
Ovenbird (1) (S)
Pied Billed Grebe (1)
Sharp Shinned Hawk (1) (W)
Tree Swallow (1) (M)
White Eyed Vireo (1) (S)
Wood Duck (1)
Black and White Warbler (1) (S)
Green Heron (1) (S)
Hooded Merganser (1) (W)
Palm Warbler (1) (W)
Prairie Warbler (1) (S)
American Redstart (1) (S)
Hooded Warbler (1) (S)
Eastern Wood Pewee (1) (S)
House Wren (1)
Magnolia Warbler (1) (M)
Pine Siskin (1) (W)
House Sparrow (1)

*S = summer, W = winter, M = migration

Finally, for those who might be interested, I have started a new blog:  trailbirderwakecounty.blogspot.com. The goal of that project is to try to see 180 species in Wake County over the next three years. Check it out!

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.