Toronto Islands Nature Checklist

Birds

Birds

Great Blue Heron

One of the largest Toronto Island Birds, it is known to abandon nests if disturbed, making it crucial to avoid nesting areas.

Kildeer
Rather than nest in trees like most birds, Kildeer build shallow nests in sand and gravel. Look for them at Franklins Garden.

Black-Crowned Night Heron Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

As its name suggests, this bird prefers to hunt at night, so it can be found resting high in trees by the water. Look for these birds in trees just north of Doughnut Island. Look for these birds near patches of wildflowers or island flower gardens. With an 8-11 centimetre wingspan, this bird is the smallest species found on Toronto Islands

Belted Kingfisher
Known for their loud, rattling call, these birds are shy and often heard but not seen. Up until 2001, this bird was featured on Canadas fivedollar bill.

Mute Swan
Introduced to Canada from England for its aesthetic value in private ponds, it has since become the most common in Canada.

Double-Crested Cormorant
After nearly going extinct due to pollution in the Great Lakes area in the 1970s, this bird has managed to recover spectacularly with over 14 000 now nesting in Toronto alone.

Great Egret
Expert hunters, you might see these birds waiting motionless for minutes at a time before striking at prey in the water. Look for egrets in the lagoons near Algonquin and Snake Island.

Canada Goose

Ring-Billed Gull

Herring Gull

Mallard Duck

Wood Duck

Red-Tailed Hawk

Common Tern
Find these birds nesting near the Trout Pond, where a floating raft has been installed as a safe nesting site.

Caspian Tern
This tern looks like the common tern but is much larger (up to a 145 cm. wingspan compared to a common terns 85 cm.)

Baltimore Oriole

Blue Jay

Barn Swallow
Look for these birds around the bridge at Centre Island, where they build their distinct mud nests.

Mourning Dove

American Goldfinch

Yellow Warbler

American Starling Common Grackle Gray Catbird

Black-Capped Chickadee Red-Winged Blackbird

The male lives up to its name, while the female has duller gray and brown colouring.

Brown-Headed Cowbird
Rather than care for its own young, this bird lays its eggs in the nests of other species who inadvertently feed and care for them. This allows it to lay up to 40 eggs in one season.

American Crow

Northern Cardinal

American Robin

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Downy Woodpecker Peregrine Falcon Pileated Woodpecker

Fish

Northern Pike
Pike are large, predatory fish best caught with live bait such as minnows or lures imitating small fish. Look for them in shallow areas with lots of vegetation.

Carp
Sometimes weighing up to 25 pounds, carp are the largest fish found at Toronto Islands. They range all over the island lagoons, feeding on food lying on the bottom.

Yellow Perch
Perch feed near the bottom and are often found swimming in schools, making it likely to catch several in a day.

Largemouth Bass
These fish like to hide is thick weeds or under docks and fallen logs. They can distinguished from smallmouth bass because their mouths extend beyond past their eyes.

Smallmouth Bass
These fish are similar to their largemouthed cousins, but are notorious for putting up a formidable fight when caught by anglers.

Bluegill Sunfish
These fish are abundant and easy to catch in the island lagoons. Typically one of the smaller game fish in the region.

Reptiles

Midland Painted Turtle

The most common turtle at Toronto Islands, the midland painted turtle can be found in mid-afternoon basking on logs and rocks in the sun in and around ponds and lagoons. Shy by nature, they are best approached silently and cautiously, often jumping underwater at the first sign of danger. These turtles have a diet consisting primarily of small water-dwelling insects though they occasionally are known to feed on small fish or tadpoles.

Common Snapping Turtle

The common snapping turtle is the largest turtle found at Toronto Islands with a shell growing up to 50 centimetres and weighing up to 30 kg! In addition to its size, identify this turtle by its spiky tail and shell. These turtles spend time during the day basking on logs, but also spend a significant portion of their day on the bottom of ponds hunting for food. In order to breathe while underwater, they extend their long necks to the surface while remaining on the bottom. A snapping turtles neck is so long that it is one of the only turtles unable to retract its head fully into its shell. Contrary to popular belief, snapping turtles will only bite people while out of water where they feel particularly threatened, making them no threat to swimmers.

Blandings Turtle
This turtle is the rarest on Toronto Islands and is considered endangered due to destruction of habitat. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that it takes 1420 years for these turtles to mature to the point where they can lay eggs. This causes it to take several years for conservation efforts to result in increased populations. Blandings turtle is typically smaller than a painted turtle and has a deeper shell.

De Kays Brown Snake

Typically smaller than a garter snake (only 512 centimetres long), this snake is often found hiding under rocks and logs to avoid predators, and where they can find worms to feast on.

Common Garter Snake

This snake eats frogs, toads, worms and even sometimes small birds. Since snakes are cold-blooded (like all reptiles) they hibernate in winter in large caves called hibernacula. Some of these caves can house up to 70,000 garter snakes clinging to one another for warmth.

Amphibians

Northern Leopard Frog

This frog can be found in ponds and wetlands as well as in open, grassy areas near water. They are notable for their jumping abilities, leaping up to 6 feet in a single bound. While many frogs subsist mainly on insects, leopard frogs have a strikingly diverse palate. They eat various insects as well as other frogs (even other leopard frogs), fish, small birds, and garter snakes! Leopard frogs are very sensitive to contaminants in the water and they are designated an endangered species. Their high sensitivity to pollution means that an abundance of these frogs is a good indicator of a healthy eco-system.

American Toad
Though they spend most of their lives on dry land, these toads return every year to the pond where they were born to breed. From mid-spring until early summer you can see their tadpoles swimming in the island lagoons. Their particular breeding habits make their success very sensitive to water conditions, causing populations to vary wildly from year to year depending on the levels of the ponds where they lay their eggs. Contrary to myth, these toads will not give you warts, though they may exude a foul smelling odor as a defense mechanism if handled.

Green Frog
These frogs are the most common on Toronto Islands and are found in marshy areas throughout the Island lagoons. As their name suggests they are mostly green, but the males have bright yellow markings on their underbellies which they use to attract mates.

Mammals

Mink
Minks are members of the weasel family and can be found throughout Toronto islands. Proficient on both land and water, minks make their homes close to shore and feed primarily on fish and small mammals.

Canadian Beaver
Beavers can be found throughout Toronto Islands with their range varying from year to year. When in water, only their heads are visible, though if one gets too close, a beaver is easily identified by the loud slapping sound it makes with its tail on the water.

Racoon
Racoons are abundant on Toronto Islands and can be found in wooded areas or by the shoreline near thick bushes. One can occasionally find one browsing an island garbage can for an easy meal . Racoons naturally are omnivores, eating fish, insects, fruits, and nuts.

Muskrat
Muskrats are amphibious rodents who live in home made of mud and sticks similar to (but smaller than) beaver lodges. They can be found throughout the Island lagoons. Despite their name, muskrats are not true rats and are only so called because of their long, thin tails.

Red Fox
A rare sight on the Islands due to their reclusiveness, these small canids can sometimes be spotted in the eastern region around Algonquin and Snake Islands.

Coyote
Thought to have wandered from the Leslie Street Spit on winter ice, coyotes are occasionally seen on the Islands. Being nocturnal. they are most likely spotted at night.

Black Squirrel
The most common mammal on the Islands, these mid-sized rodents are excellent climbers, building nests of leaves and sticks high in trees.

Nature Checklist
Mammals
American Goldfinch Yellow Warbler Black-Capped Chickadee Common Grackle Gray Catbird American Starling Red-Winged Blackbird American Crow Brown-Headed Cowbird Northern Cardinal American Robin Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Peregrine Falcon Pileated Woodpecker Northern Pike Carp Yellow Perch Smallmouth Bass Largemouth Bass Sunfish Northern Leopard Frog Green Frog American Toad Snapping Turtle Painted Turtle Blandings Turtle Garter Snake Brown Snake Mink Canadian Beaver Racoon Muskrat Red Fox Coyote Black Squirrel

Birds
Great Blue Heron Kildeer Black-Crowned Night Heron Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Belted Kingfisher Mute Swan Double-Crested Cormorant Great Egret Canada Goose Ring-Billed Gull Herring Gull Mallard Duck Wood Duck Red-Tailed Hawk Common Tern Caspian Tern Baltimore Oriole Blue Jay Barn Swallow Mourning Dove

Reptiles and Amphibians

Fish