Stanley Park

Went for a drive to Stanley Park for the afternoon. I drove across the Lion's Gate Bridge and headed through the park for Prospect Point. Parking anywhere in the park is ticketed. I headed out towards the view point towards North Vancouver and the bridge. There has been quite a lot of restoration work done since a windstorm severely damaged the park in December 2006. Around 10%. or 10,000 trees were downed during the storm and the Prospect Point escarpment and sea wall were also damaged.
I walked along one of the tracks towards Third Beach. You can see the damage from the winds. Some parts look like they have been logged. In some parts it has actually created quite a scenic view towards North and West Vancouver. I saw lots of birds including a Pileated Woodpecker.
I went further around the park to where there was a small bridge over a pond that had lots of ducks. I walked around here for a while and noticed a couple holding their hands out with breadcrumbs on them for the tiny little birds to come and feed. I spotted a couple of chipmunks, and took a walk deeper into the woods of the park. It was amazing to see how shallow the roots of the huge trees here were. This area was quite wet underfoot and it looked like these massive trees had been standing on such a small base just waiting to be pushed over.

On the way back to the car, I again walked past the ponds, and noticed a raccoon perched in branches overhanging the water, grooming itself. It is nice to spot wildlife in it's own surrounds and not have to find it in a cage. I drove around the park and past the totem poles and stopped to watch a huge freighter steam out of the port, under the Lion's Gate Bridge and of to parts unknown.