Nine members and two guests participated in this walk on St. Patrick’s Day. Some of us met at the Sperling SkTrain Station and walked over to Bill Copeland Sports Arena to meet the rest of the group.

We started our walk along the North shore of the lake and had to be careful not to block the path of the runners and joggers, some of them dressed in all sorts of green outfits and funky hats.

The cold weather in February and early March delayed the bloom of our two native, early flowering shrubs – Indian Plum and Salmonberry. Only signs of the spring were the catkins and female flowers of Hazelnuts and about five or six Tree Swallows. We tallied a total of 27 bird species. We also had good views of a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, several Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and two Bewick’s Wrens. Spotted Towhees seemed to be everywhere along the trail.

From the viewing tower we could see the Bald Eagle’s nest on the South shore of the lake. Thanks to Harvey, who brought his spotting scope, we could see the eagle on the nest.

It was a sunny and warm day as we walked along Brunette River to Hume Park in New Westminster. After a stop for lunch we continued on to Braid Street Station where we caught the SkyTrain to our respective destinations.