Where to go bird watching in Toronto this spring

By Chris Riddell

Ah, spring! The flowers are in blooming, the grass is growing and the trees are alive with the sounds of birds tweeting. Toronto is filled with all kinds of fascinating avian specimens if you know where to look, and the birding community always accepts newcomers. Whether you’re a neophyte or an experienced bird enthusiast, there’s an active community of birdwatchers and no shortage of excellent places to spot birds in Toronto. Here’s where you can find them, and a few organizations you can join, if you want to take up bird watching this spring. [Photo credit: Erica Salyi-Pannozzo]

On the east end waterfront Tommy Thompson Park offers a unique urban wildlife setting making it one of the best places in the city to go birding. Also known as the Leslie Street Spit, construction on this man-made 500 hectare park started in the 1950s by dumping fill from construction sites and dredged material from the harbour to create an entirely new land mass (hence its unusual shape on the map). Tommy Thompson Park is a massive habitat not only for birds, but many other flora and fauna as well.

This well-known Toronto park is also an avian hotspot. High Park is a major stopping point for more than 150 species of migratory birds, 50 of which remain in the park, so spring and summer are high season for bird watchers here. Some of the most notable sightings include the bald eagle, barred owl, great blue heron and white-breasted cormorant. If water birds are your thing, Grenadier Pond in the park’s southwest corner has a large concentration of ducks and geese, plus Mute swans. Click here for a list of bird species on site, photos and helpful tips.

There are many reasons to go to Toronto Island in the spring, and bird watching is certainly one of them. Thanks to its large size and the rich environment, Toronto Island is another one of city’s best locations for springtime bird spotting. People have seen more than 200 different species here, and up to 60 species nest on the island. The best areas are Hanlan’s Point, Snake Island, Gibraltar Point and Ward’s Island. You can expect to find warblers, wrens, sparrows, flycatchers and many more.

Rouge Park lies on the outskirts of the city, with entrances near the Toronto Zoo, and for bird watching it’s well worth the trip. It’s a national urban park containing the GTAs largest marshland, one of the last remaining farms in the area and Toronto’s only campground. Spend a day on the hiking trails spotting kingbirds, goldfinches, flycatchers, cardinals and many others, then lounge on one of the park’s unblemished beaches and take in the fresh country air.

You might not expect to find lush biodiversity in Toronto’s northwestern reaches, but that’s exactly what the Humber Arboretum has in store. Located in the Humber College North campus at Highway 27 and Finch, the 101 hectare park is home to some 1700 different plant and animal species. Along its 6 km of walking trails you can find robins, cardinals, sparrows, chickadees and northern mockingbirds, just to name a few. If you’re lucky you might even spot a deer or two.

Found in 1934, and registered as a non-profit organization in 1987, the Toronto Ornithological Club is a place for passionate bird watchers to congregate and share their knowledge. The club’s mandate is to educate the public about birds and bird habitats, monitor avian populations and maintain a database on their findings, and facilitate projects that protect and preserve birds and their habitats. Meetings happen on the second Monday of the month from September to June. They also organize public events, such as the Jim Baillie Memorial Bird Walks.

Although it doesn’t deal strictly with birds, the Toronto Field Naturalists is another great organization for birders. Founded in 1923, this non-profit organization has been happily connecting nature lovers and informing the public on environmental issues through seminars, newsletters, public lectures and outreach programs. It’s also proud to offer stewardship of nature reserves and more 150 nature walks each year which are open to the public.

The OFO is an organization for professional ornithologists, but for casual birders it’s still a rich resource of information on all things avian. It publishes two publications three times a year with the aim of sharing information with the public, promoting bird appreciation in Ontario and encouraging ornithological field studies. The OFO also offers field trips with expert leaders to some of Ontario’s best bird watching locations, and every fall they hold an annual convention which features guest speakers, birding displays and networking opportunities with other bird lovers.

The Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop is a franchise company that specializes in bird feeders, and there’s a location in Etobicoke. You can find so much more here than just birdfeeders - Wild Birds is a tremendous resource on everything you need to know about identifying birds, where to spot birds and what equipment you need to go bird watching. The owners of the Toronto store share stories about their bird watching escapades on their website. You’ll want to bookmark their page and come back to it whenever you need help identifying something, or when you want to get inspired for your next bird watching trip.

If you want to find local bird lovers to join in a romp through the woods espying winged creatures, try joining the Toronto Birding Facebook group. It has more than 1000 members, and the community is very active with members posting photos and stories about their sightings nearly every day. If you’re new to the world of bird watching, it’s a great way to get your beak wet and connect with a few like-minded people. Spread your wings and experience the beauty of nature.