Toronto Island Bird Species

General information on the birds species found on the
Toronto Islands & Toronto Harbour

Toronto Islands General Info / Toronto Island Ferry Info

One of the many treasures of the Toronto Islands & Harbour are the bird populations.

Many of the birds that you will see are native to the area however during the spring and fall seasons if you're lucky you may catch a glimpse of some of the many fascinating species that stop by to rest during migration. 

Over the years some bird species that would normally have flown south for the winter have begun to stay in the harbour. This is in large part due to the development of the harbourfront and the ease of acquiring stale bread from well meaning residence.  During the coldest days of the winter you can still get a close up look at mallards and swans fighting for open water space on the shorelines in the harbour. 

Make sure you take your camera, a pad of paper and a good bird reference book and see how many birds you can discover while sailing with us or taking a leisurely walk on the Toronto Islands.   
 
Some easy to spot birds.......

Canadian Geese	Mallards (Male & Female)
Swans	Ring-billed Gull (Seagulls)
Double-Crested Cormorants	Spotted Sandpiper
Red-Breasted Mergansers (Female & Male)	Long-Tailed Duck
Great Blue Heron	Black-Crowned Night-Heron
Wood Ducks (Male & Female)	Belted Kingfisher
Common Loon	American White Pelican

Some of the Island Waterfowl you might see

-Greater Scaup
-Long-tailed Duck
-Redhead Mallard
-Common Goldeneye
-Red-breasted Merganser
-Common Merganser
-Canada Goose
-Bufflehead
-Gadwall
-White-winged Scoter
-Mute Swan
-Lesser Scaup
-American Black Duck
-Hooded Merganser
-Ring-necked Duck
-American Wigeon
-American Coot
-Trumpeter Swan
-Surf Scoter
-Horned Grebe

Some of the Island Fly Catchers you might see

-Olive-sided
-Yellow-bellied
-Willow/Alder
-Least
-Great-Crested
-Eastern Wood-Pewee
-Eastern Kingbird

Some of the Warbler species you might see

-Yellow
-Common Yellowthroat
-Tennessee
-Chestnut-sided
-Nashville
-Magnolia
-Blackburnian
-Bay-breasted
-Blackpoll
-Black-and-white
-Connecticut
-Cape May
-Black-throated Blue
-Yellow-rumped
-Black-throated Green
-American Redstart
-Ovenbird

More Birds that you may come across

-Cooper's Hawk
-Northern Mockingbird
-Baltimore Orioles
-American Goldfinch
-American Robins
-Sharp-Shinned Hawks
-Swainson's Thrush
-Belted Kingfishers
-Warbling
-Red-eyed Vireos
-Cedar Waxwings
-Black-capped Chickadees
-Gray Catbird
-Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
-Mourning Doves
-Blue Jays
-Northern Cardinals
-Downy Woodpecker
-Brown-headed Cowbird
-Red-breasted Nuthatch
-Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
-Purple Martin
-Tree
-Cliff & N. Rough-Winged Swallows
-Chimney Swift
-Song Sparrow
-Black-Crowned Night-Heron
-Great Blue Heron
-House Sparrow
-Rock Pigeon
-Common Nighthawk
-Ring-Billed Gull & Herring Gull

Toronto Island Cruises

One of the best ways to see the Toronto Island & Toronto Harbour birds is from the water, come take a Toronto Island Cruise with us! The Jubilee Queen Cruise Ship is one of the largest ships in the harbour  that can travel down long pond and around forestry island giving you the ultimate view of the birds on the Toronto Islands & Harbour.