I read the news posting a few weeks ago about a new trail in the greenway system that the city of Huntsville creates and maintains. So today I checked it out for the first time. Even though it isn’t finished yet, it is certainly walkable.

A repurposed road serves as the walking entrance to the new greenway

Soon after starting to walk west, you cross under the Whitesburg Bridge.

The ubiquitous Vetch, thriving along side the trail. I love seeing this common ‘weed’, although I’d rather it not be in my yard. Fortunately it’s easily removed by hand from the lawn.

After a walk of about one kilometer, you come to a small trail, much older that the official greenway, that leads narrowly through a marshy area between two ponds.

I was pleasantly surprised to find such a great birding spot here I had never visited before! Just a casual inspection of birdlife here revealed Herons, Red-winged Blackbirds, Mergansers, plus various warblers. I suspect a persistent and patient search would turn up even secretive marsh species such as rails here. Here is the link on Google Maps of this spot.

Although I only went about one kilometer in on this trail, when it is completed, it will tie in to greenways on both ends. Westward, it will join Elgie’s Walk, part of the new Singing River Trail starting near Grissom High School. Eastward, it connects into Ditto Landing and the ever-popular Aldridge Creek Greenway.

While on the narrow side trail, I was right at the water’s edge. Having read only a week or two ago of someone coming upon a 4-foot alligator in the river by-waters, I was very aware of the possibility of encountering an adult gator, which can over-winter here in North Alabama. In actuality, as much time as I have spent near the water’s edge, I have never glimpsed one.

Honeysuckle and Vetch

I’m very glad to see this latest addition to the local greenway trail system and I’ll certainly be exploring it more. To have what to me resembles a small version of the great Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge so close by is great. As a matter of fact, if you look at the actual boundary of Wheeler, you’ll see that it extends very narrowly eastward to Ditto Landing – to this greenway! So whether or not it actually is within the bounds of WNWR, it’s certainly cut from the same bolt of cloth, so to speak.