Warm Spit Photos (dial-up warning)

[JeffR]

The Leslie Street Spit, to be exact, or as it's officially known, Tommy Thompson Park. In the early Sixties, Toronto started dumping old masonry into the lake, with the idea of creating a breakwater to prevent erosion of the Toronto Islands. Eventually, the breakwater extended about three miles into the lake. Various government agencies vied for control over the Spit, offering up plans for "improvement". And meanwhile, nature had its own ideas.

No cars allowed here. So it's a cyclist's and hiker's paradise. A footbridge over one of the lagoons:





The cormorant population, estimated at about 12,000, prefers cottonwoods for nesting. Ironically, their guano quickly destroys the trees:







There are also nearly 60,000 ring-billed gulls, plus ducks, egrets, herons, and nearly 300 more identified species of birds here:







Great for boat watching too:



A view of the city from near the end of the Spit. The green belt below the skyline is the Toronto Islands:

[Maestro]

1. Oooooh I need to visit!

That is one bad thing about the cormorants. They will destroy any tree in which a large group wishes to roost. I really like the first and last one artistically and the bird pics I like for obvious reasons. :)

[JeffR]

2. Thanks, Maestro.

I wish I'd been able to get closer to the breeding grounds, but they're off-limits from April to September. The Parks Department does a great job not managing the park, but they do ensure that the birds are allowed to do their thing, so a few strategic fences prevent close views. At one point, I saw an enormous vortex of flying birds through the trees. It would have been the photo of a lifetime, if I'd been in a boat to catch it from the outer harbor side.

My knowledge of birds is pretty pitiful, but I do know that the Spit now rivals Point Pelee as a Great Lakes migratory waystation.

They've also gently nurtured a lot of wetlands into existence. There are beaver lodges in several spots now, and coyotes, shy buggers that they are, are regularly spotted there. If you ever get to Hogtown, you should make it a point to visit it.