SGI OUTSIDE

The angular and stately Great Blue Heron tops my list of Five Finest Feathered Friends. I love to watch them wading in the ocean shallows, stalking their next meal. Of the nearly two hundred resident and part-time bird species in the Southern Gulf Islands, those that spend much of their time along the ocean shorelines, with their eyes on a meal, are the ones I enjoy seeing most.

Abundant wildflowers and a panoramic vista set Greenburn Lake hike apart from the trek around Roe Lake, the other freshwater lake on the Penders.

What’s the most common sight along Brooks Point Regional Park’s stunning shoreline? Orcas? Bald eagles? Wildflowers? Nope. It’s people dozing, slumbering against enormous driftwood logs.

The 4.6 km Beaumont Marine Park Trail is my nostalgic favourite Pender Island hike.