The eagle has landed: First bald eagle found in Toronto in at least 100 years

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Posted By: jasabacklink March 7, 2024

A bald eagle nest recently discovered in Toronto is the first ever documented in the city, according to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

The discovery went viral after a Toronto resident told CBC News that he spotted the nest near his home in December.  He was astonished as he hadn’t heard of there being a bald eagle nest in Toronto in the last century.

According to a report from the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO), bald eagles nest throughout northern Ontario, with the highest density in the northwest near Lake of the Woods. Historically they were also relatively common in southern Ontario but were nearly wiped out 50 years ago due to pesticide use.

“After an intensive re-introduction program and environmental clean-up efforts, the species has rebounded and can once again be seen in much of its former southern Ontario range,” COSSARO noted in their 2022 report.

The Bald Eagle was initially assessed as a species of special concern (referring to a species that lives in the wild in Ontario—that is not endangered or threatened but may become threatened or endangered) when the Endangered Species Act took effect in 2008.  Just last spring, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks removed bald eagles from the provincial endangered species list, changing their status from “special concern” to “not at risk”.

Environment Minister David Piccini told a press conference last May that the reclassification was due to things put in place, such as banning DDTs, which cause their eggs to be fragile.

As for the nest’s location—the exact site wasn’t given, perhaps to prevent people from disturbing it.

“Please please please don’t approach the nest. Good on the article for not disclosing exactly where it is,” one person implored, commenting on the issue via Reddit.

Good advice.