Photo by Jean Chamberlain
Washington Park is comprised of a bowl of land between hills, a collection of ball diamonds across Salem Creek, and a section of Salem Creek Greenway from the Duke Power substation all the way to Marketplace on Peter’s Creek Pkwy. To get to Washington Park, take Broad Street from Business I-40 one mile south. You will see the power station and the entrance sign on the right after the bridge.
To reach what is left of the great woods in the upper park, continue a few blocks south to Gloria or Cascade and turn right. Driving or walking around the upper park can be the fastest way to inventory the migration. Blackburnian, Bay-breasted (rare), and Blue-winged Warblers (rare), Scarlet Tanager, Blue-headed Vireo and all five Thrushes can be seen at the right time of the year.
At the power station you could see Red-tailed Hawk, Kestrel and Killdeer. Along the creek is a good spot to look and listen for Eastern Wood-Peewee, Eastern Phoebe, Yellow Warbler and Louisiana or Northern Waterthrush. Look on both sides of the creek for five or six sparrow species, depending upon the season. The area near the dog run often has Pine Warbler and Bluebird. Great Horned Owls have nested previously at the park but have not been seen for awhile. Washington Park is not recommended for birding after dark or alone.