Viaduct Flats 15/37 weeks

Marlen, Mark, Rae, Andrea, Alisa and me.

It would appear as though Vancouver Islanders enjoy their dual purpose hiking trails. This is our 15th hike of the year and now the third trail which turns into a completely different hiking experience about half way through. Im sure there have been many others, but the ones that come to mind are Durrance Lake and Island View Beach.
Viaduct Flats is part of the larger Pacific Horticulture college and lies between Interurban St and the back of Glendale Gardens. It is a beautiful setting and one of the best places to birdwatch on this part of the peninsula. There is a sturdy raised platform with local bird information as well as a powerful telescope in case you forgot your binoculars. It is not easy to get online information about Viaduct Flats so I havent found a map of the trails that I could consult. Also, the trail maps in the park itself are faded and difficult to read.

We ventured off on the obvious trail headed due south along Interurban.

As part of the old Vantreight Farms, there are still daffodils in abundance. Glendale Gardens is in the background.

It is easy to get off track on this trail. It heads south to the Technology Park and Camosun College campus. We stayed on trail past the Park road and turned at the ball diamond. We followed the natural curve around the building and back to the roadway. At this point we veered back onto a trail that looked more like a horse path than a walking trail. It was narrow and muddy but twisted along through thick forest, giving us something to see no matter which way we looked. We eventually ended up back on the grassland path and that brought us back to the marsh. There is no loop around the marsh in this park, just up to the college and back on the other side of the field. I suppose that is one of the features that makes it such a great bird habitat. Hikers can never get close to the water.

Look at the tallest tree sticking up from the woods on the right. At the treeline there is an eagle's nest.

Here is what I saw when I zoomed in for a closer look.

I didnt realize the egret was on the shoreline until later.

Next week: Logan Park