Surprise sighting of an Osprey in Toronto, July 2014

This week I had quite a shock when I came across an Osprey, a type of hawk which I had never seen in a city before. These hawks are considerably larger than the Red-Tailed Hawks which are quite common in the Toronto area, and are one of the most common in North America. I was cycling along the waterfront trail when I came to the mouth of the Humber River. There had been a big rain storm the night before, so the river was running quickly, and the water discharging into the lake was quite brown.



There were lots of seagulls around, as well as one much larger bird that was hovering above the muddy water that had entered the lake. It took a while to get the hawk into view on my zoom lens, but when I did, it was immediately apparent that this couldn't be a Red-Tailed Hawk. There were two reasons. The first was the size and look of the bird. Ospreys have very distinctive markings on their wings. The second reason was that Red-Tailed Hawks don't eat fish. This hawk, however, was hovering, waiting to swoop down to grab a fish with its talons. They actually dive into the water, although I did not see this one perform that feat.

The Opsrey was large, but that didn't stop the local seagulls from giving it a hard time. The gulls were circling the Osprey and crying out. Someone told me he had seen them chase off the Osprey a little earlier. After a few minutes, I saw the Osprey fly up the river, where it alighted on a hydro pole. I followed on my bike, where I saw a smaller bird chase it off, until it flew out of view. I was thrilled, and amazed to have seen it at all. When I posted a picture on my Toronto Nature Diary Facebook page, the community agreed that most of us had never seen one in Toronto before. Only one person had spotted one in High Park.

I had seen Ospreys before, but only in the country. Here are some images I took earlier this year in Prince Edward County. Pesticides like DDT had all but killed them off in Ontario by the 1970s. However, some dedicated volunteers in the Peterborough area started building platforms at the top of poles to help them return. The birds will build their own nests on hydro-electric poles, but that can be risky when it rains, due to the possibility of electrocution. These platforms are safer.

Ospreys are one more proof that nature can bounce back if we give it a chance. Fishing birds like these can only thrive when the water is clean, since toxins in the fish will build up in their predators. Keeping the water unpolluted can bring back some of the spectacular wildlife that was common here before we built cities and factories everywhere. These creatures are beautiful, and part of the natural life cycle. To see them so close to a city shows that there is hope yet.

Stephen Milton is a freelance documentary film maker and writer. He runs a website devoted to Toronto's Nature, which includes guides to local parks, and profiles of all the major species found in the area. If you would like to get a new nature picture every day, please join our Facebook Page, The Toronto Nature Diary.