Bald Eagles Seen Nesting in Toronto for First Time in City’s History

In a positive sign for the protection and restoration of bald eagles, a pair of the iconic birds has been spotted nesting in Toronto for the first time in the city’s recorded history, reported the Toronto Star.

Once a common sight in North America, bald eagles were hunted to near extinction in the 1950s. Use of the toxic insecticide DDT — which made its way into the birds’ systems through the food chain, weakening the shells of their eggs — contributed to the record-low numbers, The Guardian reported.

As bald eagle populations continued to decrease due to habitat loss and degradation, the number of breeding pairs on the continent fell to just a few hundred in the early 1960s, according to Michael Dreshcher, a conservation expert and environmental planner with the University of Waterloo.

The birds eventually rebounded following DDT restrictions and a ban on eagle hunting in the 1970s — a development lauded as an early triumph of environmental protection, reported the Toronto Star.

“For decades, we’ve invested heavily in ecological restoration work,” said Karen McDonald, an ecosystem management manager with the division of restoration and infrastructure at the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), as The Guardian reported. “These eagles are a testament to that: if we didn’t have healthy waters and a healthy food web, I don’t think they’d be here.”

Last year, following 50 years of being listed as an at-risk species, the bald eagle was taken off Ontario’s endangered species list, the Edmonton Journal said.

The recent appearance of the birds of prey in Ontario’s capital indicates they have access to enough food sources like waterfowl, fish and small mammals, according to McDonald, as reported by the Toronto Star.

“We’re pretty excited about it. Bald eagles are known to be excellent biological indicators because they have such a low tolerance to environmental contaminants,” McDonald said. “All of this is telling us that the Toronto area is providing enough resources for these birds, that our ecosystem is healthy enough to support them and that our contaminant load is being drastically reduced so that they’re able to be successful.”

Bald eagles usually build their nests in large trees in close proximity to water, where they catch most of their prey.

The TRCA said the location of the bald eagle nest is not being disclosed to avoid the birds being disturbed.

“Bald eagles are sensitive creatures, particularly during their nesting period. It would be a disservice to draw public attention to them at this time,” TRCA spokesperson Afiya Jilani told CTV News Toronto. “It’s crucial to maintain their habitat as it is during a sensitive time and to prioritize their welfare, especially in the early stages of the nesting process.”

A symbolic species for Indigenous communities, bald eagles represent “everything that is good and kind and charitable,” said Duke Redbird, a Saugeen Ojibway Nation elder with the Urban Indigenous Education Centre, the Toronto Star reported.

Redbird said the bald eagle was borrowed by Americans to be used as a national symbol.

McDonald pointed out that hundreds of annual restoration projects have been implemented in Toronto by TRCA in order to improve the functioning of the city’s ecology and biodiversity.

“I’d like to think that all of this restoration work that we have been working on with our City of Toronto partners, with our federal partners and other non-governmental organizations, is paying off,” McDonald said.