It looks like Toronto has some wild visitors and you might be able to see them too.
A Toronto man spotted a rare sighting of white pelicans at Tommy Thompson Park recently.
“This isn’t as unusual as you might think – some Pelicans nest in northwestern Ontario and likely fly through Toronto occasionally. But they don’t stay long, if they even stop, so they are usually only spotted a few times each year,” bird watching enthusiast Mike McInnis posted in the Facebook group “Beauty of the Don” on June 9.
In the Facebook group, Torontonians post their wildlife photos, including grazing deer, caterpillars sprawled on freshly wet leaves, hummingbirds resting on branches, and long trumpet-like flowers, among others.
McInnis commented it appeared some of the pelicans were in breeding because of the knobs on their oversized, yellow bills.
“It doesn’t surprise me as there are white pelicans in Ontario at some times of the year, and at other times they would migrate to [and] from that area,” Director of the Toronto Wildlife Centre Nathalie Karvonen told Now Toronto in an email.
According to eBird, there was a group of five American White Pelicans in Don Valley River last month, as reported by several people.
“These pelicans primarily breed in Canada’s Prairies in shallow wetlands, but there is also a small and growing breeding population in Ontario on the western end of Lake Erie. They forage almost exclusively by day on their wintering grounds, but during the breeding season, they commonly forage at night. That said, the best time of day to look for the group in Toronto would be in the evenings,” Birds Canada’s NatureCounts Engagement Coordinator Kyle Horner told Now Toronto in an email.
The pelicans stayed in the area for about 90 minutes until they were ready for their next migration destination, according to McInnis.
American White Pelicans almost always travel in groups and fly gracefully in line, reaching speeds up to 50 kilometres per hour, according to the Ontario government’s website on wildlife.
The City of Toronto’s website claims Toronto has more than 300 species of birds and encourages people to enjoy the different wildlife that greets parks throughout the summer.
When embarking on an adventure to capture snapshots or just observe rare wildlife, the city says it’s important to not feed wildlife, don’t use flash photography, refrain from surprising them, and stay at least 30 metres away.
People can check out more tips on photographing wildlife in the city here.
