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Umstead State Park



I've gotten several queries recently regarding Umstead Park, where I
often choose to spend lunchtime during the breeding season.  Let me
preface my answer to these questions (usually where in Umstead do I go)
by saying:  were it a weekend, and were my time not so limited, I almost
certainly would go elsewhere - there are better spots around.  But
Umstead isn't bad, it's doable if I stretch my lunch hour slightly, and
it's definitely a better way to spend the hour than just about anything
else I could think of.  Having said all that, I always visit the
northern section, which is (I believe) the Crabtree section.  This is
entered from US-70 about a mile or a bit less east of the US-70/I-540
interchange.  I go straight in, past the visitor center and the road
immediately thereafter leading off to the left, and I continue on to the
first parking area on the left, where I park.  I then walk the Pott's
Branch trail and the other trail from that area which leads down to
Pott's Branch creek (marked with white blazes, IIRC).  Most of the best
birds are almost always near the creek bottom.  I have had, in addition
to what I've seen there thus far this Spring, seen in past years
Worm-eating Warbler, both Tanagers, and had very close looks at a Barred
Owl there, among other goodies.

    Umstead is not a "hotspot" - it may never rival Jackson Park, HBSP,
or any of the other commonly reported spots for birdiness, but it's a
GREAT place to spend a quiet lunch hour in Spring birding if you work in
RTP.  And that's why I go.  If anyone ever feels like meeting there for
an hour's walk some weekday, please feel free to email me at my work
address:

lhcash@us.ibm.com

Happy Birding!

-Sandy

--
Sandy Cash
Durham, NC
scash@mindspring.com