ON TODAY’S SUMMER SHORT: What’s the name of the bird that wakes you up every morning with its high pitched call? What species make up Toronto’s feathered population? Spacing Radio reporter Andrew Walsh was curious, so he enlisted the finely tuned ears of bird song expert Ralph Toninger in avian-dense Tommy Thompson Park.
Toninger, senior project manager of restoration and environmental monitoring projects at Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, provides insights on what we can learn about our city by the kinds of birds that live here. And because many birds are more often heard then seen, Toninger provides an aural tour of the amazing variety living on the Leslie Street Spit — from the catbird, which is known for mimicking sounds (including a cellphone ringtone) to early-rising robins and familiar chickadees and red-winged blackbirds.
