Green Creek Trail, CMNWR.  Sunny and breezy, temp. 57. 10am.
Fun seeing these late butterflies and dragonflies today!  Kinglets still moving through, hermit thrushes and white-throats here for the winter. The fields along the trail have a healthy scattering of milkweed plants, seed pods now dry and empty.

The Green Creek Trail lies about 100 yards south of the Green Creek Fire House on Bayshore Rd, just south of Rt. 47 (think Little Danny's Ice Cream).  There is a small parking area.  The trail is short, but goes through a nice variety of habitats.  There are overgrown fields and a vernal pond near the start.  Look for woodcocks near the pond in the fall, winter, and early spring.

The trail then enters a nice woodland, composed of some good-sized oaks, sweetgums and sassafrass trees. There are always a few hermit thrushes here in the fall and winter months.  I have also seen red-headed woodpeckers here in previous years, although I didn't see or hear any today.

At the end, if the ground is dry (which it was NOT today), you can walk through the phragmites to a low dike that overlooks the Green Creek salt marsh, bordered by many dead trees that make excellent perches for hawks and an occasional bald eagle.   

 
Birds:
-Northern mockingbird
-Northern cardinal
-House sparrow
-Red-Tailed hawk
-Turkey vulture
-Downy woodpecker
-Northern flicker
-Gray catbird
-Sharp-shinned hawk
-Red-wing blackbird
-Tufted titmouse
-Ruby crowned kinglet
-Carolina chickadee
-American robin
-White throat sparrow
-Hermit thrush
-American crow

Butterflies:
-Red admiral
-Monarch
-Orange sulphur

Other:
-Spring peeper (early? late? confused??)
-green darners by the dozen!