Beschreibung
Burnaby Lake is home to a great deal of breeding passerines and forest birds in the summer time. It is one of the better places in the Vancouver area to see Red-eyed Vireo, for example. It's a great place to go during migration (both spring and fall) as well, with lots of good habitat to accomodate a diversity of species passing by. In winter, the dock at Piper Spit is frequented by a variety of waterfowl species, many of which are fed by visitors, offering close-up views of the birds.
Details
Zugang
There are three main parking areas. The westernmost area is just off Kensington Avenue in Burnaby, near a large sports complex with a few outdoor athletic fields. These fields can attract big flocks of geese during their fall migration. On the eastern side, there's a parking area at the end of Avalon Avenue, which offers quick access to a dense network of trails through some good songbird habitat, in the southeast. The northern parking lot is at the end of Piper Avenue, and offers easy access to Piper Spit, where the ducks are fed. Just west of Piper Spit there is a small observation tower that affords good views of Burnaby Lake to the south, which can sometimes be useful for viewing waterbirds further out on the lake. Press a P on the map for directions to a parking lot.
It's also possible to walk to the park from the Sperling-Burnaby Lake SkyTrain station, which is about 1 km to the north.
Once on the trails, it's best to walk, because cycling is prohibited along many parts of the loop. Some of the trail can occasionally get muddy or wet when water levels are high (typically in early spring or after heavy rains), and part of the southern edge of the loop uses a well-maintained boardwalk to cross through some of the wetter portions.