These are unofficial trails used by locals and mountain bikers. They start just beyond the bridge over the outlet of the pond into Graham Creek. This was our first venture onto them, and more trips will be needed to see them all. We approached the bridge from the east side of the creek accessed off Stapledon.
The creek was quiet except for a couple of Mallards and several Cedar Waxwings flitting on the west side where we could not get a decent photo.
At the pond, there were some distant ducks - Buffleheads, Scaups and perhaps Ring-necked Ducks. A Canada Goose had a nest on top of a beaver house, and mama goose was tending to her eggs.
We entered the new (to us) trail system and soon came to a junction. We marked a waypoint and took the left fork. At the next fork, we went right. It was quiet in the woods, but we did see a colourful moth and Mourning Cloak buterfly.
At the next fork, we could hear the highway close by, so we tried the right fork heading back towards the creek.. This trail was little used and soon petered out. So we bushwhacked back to the previous trail. That's when we saw a Broadwinged Hawk overhead being harassed by crows.
Barbara kept checking the many holes in trees and discovered a furry mammal having a nap, likely a raccoon.
Another couple came along on the same mission as ours. They turned back and so did we. At the first waypoint, we turned right and headed towards Cedarview just parallel to the main bike path. After awhile, we cut over to the main path and started back. By the bridge, we saw an Eastern Phoebe.
There were lots of families around, so we decided to return home the way we had come because of social distancing. Just past the big beaver house, we finally got our Cedar Waxwing photo.
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