Toronto parks are home to all kinds of things (pugs and slack-liners included), but one park in the city’s east end is known as a hotbed for birds and other critters.
Grab those binoculars and chart the course to Toronto’s Tommy Thompson Park for a chance to witness some soaring birds!
A high-traffic zone for birds, there have been a gob-smacking 334 species of birds recorded in the park, including at least 55 breeding species! In fact, back in 2000, the park was declared a globally significant important bird area for its number of nesting colonial waterbirds, migrating water fowl, and concentration of songbirds during migration.
Trumpeter swans, double-breasted cormorants, Cooper’s hawks, bald eagles, Northern Saw-whet Owls, wood ducks, and great egrets are just a few of the many, many birds that either live or visit Tommy Thompson.
What makes Tommy T even more bird-friendly is the number of habitat enhancements located throughout the park, like a specially-constructed bank for nesting swallows and duck platforms to encourage marsh-nesting waterfowl.
Tommy Thompson is truly a special park in the city, given the fact that it’s manufactured! To “make” the park, millions of cubic metres of concrete, earth, and sand were used to construct the land, which now extends roughly five kilometres into Lake Ontario.
Since its construction, the park has been known as an “accidental wilderness,” becoming a natural hotbed for birds and critters, and is recognized as a prime example of green space improvement. Keep your eyes peeled for chances to spot snakes, foxes, deer, coyotes, beavers, rabbits, and more cuties.
Other than bird-watching, you can also bike, run, or walk the trails, explore wildflower fields, marshes, and waterfront shorelines at Tommy Thompson, and if you’re feeling up for it, explore the surrounding Leslie Street Spit.
Easy to get to by TTC, just hop on the line and get off at the Commissioners Street stop.
Where: 1 Leslie St.
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