Each year TRCA monitoring biologists head out to the field to inventory and monitor regional forests, wetlands, and meadows to record information about the plants, birds, frogs, mammals, butterflies, and vegetation communities living there.
Knowing what species are where tells us how these various wildlife species are managing in an urbanizing region. TRCA collected more than 100,000 regional biodiversity records in 2020.
Based on recent aerial photography assessments of the land use in the jurisdiction, there is just 17.5% forests and wetlands remaining. Habitat quality also decreases with increasing urbanization. We are delighted, therefore, when we can still find rare species persisting within natural areas.
Here are some of the unique field finds we recorded in 2020:
Barred Owl (Strix varia)
Barred Owls are a Regional Species of Conservation Concern in Toronto and region. You can listen for their distinctive “Who cooks for you?” call when they are active at night — they’re a lot easier to hear than to see.
The local population of Barred Owls appears to be increasing in recent years. Once thought restricted to extensive forests such as Glen Major, Barred Owls appear to be adapting to somewhat smaller and more disturbed forests. The species’ preference for nesting in large tree cavities may prevent its spread into more suburban forests.
Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)
This adult Spotted Salamander was found under a log at the Nashville Tract. This is the first and only Spotted Salamander found here to our knowledge!
It’s always exciting to find this Regional Species of Conservation Concern due to its specific habitat requirements. Spotted Salamanders require two different habitats to complete their life cycles: higher quality wetlands with leaf litter for breeding, and forests for foraging and hibernation.
Fragmentation of habitats by urban developments and roads has a huge impact on the species, as this can interrupt migration between breeding and hibernation sites.
White Trout-lily (Erythronium albidum)
A rare glimpse of white trout-lily in the spring. It is one of the first spring flowers to appear! The single tubular flower points towards the ground and closes up at night.
This Regional Species of Conservation Concern can be easily overlooked. In the absence of its flower, the mottled leaves (similar in pattern to the skin of the local Brook Trout!) are almost identical to the more common yellow trout-lily (Erythronium americanum ssp. americanum).
This year in the Humber River watershed, we found small fragmented populations that were struggling to persist in the face of intense competition from invasive species such as dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis).
Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera)
In 2019, TRCA designated this species’ regional status as locally extinct (i.e extirpated) because it had not been encountered during the breeding season for the past 10 years. But in 2020, a male was discovered establishing a territory in the northeast corner of the region, so it appears that the species is holding on.
Biologists agree that one major contributing factor to the decline of the Golden-wing is fierce competition with a closely related species: the Blue-winged Warbler. Interestingly, the individual found this past summer was being bullied by two neighbouring Blue-wings!
The dynamics between these two sibling species are extremely interesting and worth reading further about in the 2019 Golden-winged Warbler Status Review and Conservation Plan.
Habitat issues in the wintering areas in Central America are also contributing to the decline of this species.
Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata)
This Western Chorus Frog was found while TRCA was conducting biological inventories at the GTA West site. This the first time our biologists have been able to capture a photo of this species.
As you can see, the drab brown skin colour is perfectly camouflaged against the murky water and surrounding wetland vegetation. This one was found in a roadside ditch, and it took biologists 15 minutes to spot it! This is why TRCA biologists survey frogs by listening for their breeding calls!
This little frog is a Regional Species of Conservation Concern. Thankfully a healthy population persists in this area, confirmed by data collected in 2020.
False Dragonhead or Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana)
The only natural population of this Regional Species of Conservation Concern is on the Toronto Islands.
This is a fun plant because you can point the flower in different directions and it will obediently remain in that position for some time.
The tubular nature of the flower suggests that this species relies on large bees and day flying moths for pollination.
Sea Rocket (Cakile edulenta)
This Regional Species of Conservation Concern, with its light purple flowers, is reliant on shifting beach sands and dunes. This one was found on a Toronto Island beach.
These plants of the mustard family can reproduce by seed or by vegetation that breaks off the plant and is carried away by the water to another locale.
It’s important to note that the Great Lakes population is disjunct from the main East Coast population.
Narrow-leaved Water Plantain (Alisma gramineum)
This small aquatic plant was thought to be locally extinct (i.e. extirpated) until it was rediscovered along the shoreline of Ward’s Island during the 2020 field season.
It does not tolerate competition from larger plants and does not grow more than about 15 centimetres tall.
Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina)
In this video we shine the spotlight on the Hooded Warbler, a bird that lives in the Carolinian forest, a region located at the southern tip of Ontario between Lake Erie, Lake Huron, and Lake Ontario.
In the Toronto region this bird is a Regional Species of Conservation Concern due to the loss of high-quality forest habitat, and to the disturbance of nests by hikers and off-leash dogs.
Despite these challenges, TRCA is happy to report healthy numbers of Hooded Warblers in several woodlands along the Oak Ridges Moraine. As plantations mature and thin out, they produce clearings with good understory where this species can forage for insects and build nests close to the ground.
Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens)
The Eastern Newt is also a Regional Species of Conservation Concern, requiring both high-quality forest and wetland for the various stages of its life cycle.
The adolescent “red eft” stage is a terrestrial part of its life, evolving after the aquatic larval stage. It will live several years on land before it returns to the water as an adult Eastern Newt.
The bright colour of its skin is a warning that it contains the extremely potent nerve poison tetrodotoxin and deters predators. This is a similar adaptation to the brightly-coloured “poison arrow”frogs of the tropics.
This red eft had wandered quite far from the nearest wetland and was observed in an upland meadow at Glen Major.
Bee-balm (Monarda didyma)
Bee-balm is a native flower within the mint family and a Regional Species of Conservation Concern. Its vibrant and showy scarlet flowers are an attractant to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Preferring moist soils, it can be found in moist woods, swamps, and along stream edges.
Jame’s Sedge (Carex jamesii)
Jame’s sedge is a woodland sedge with fruits (i.e. perigynia) that ripen in the spring to early summer. This Regional Species of Conservation Concern is associated with mature deciduous forests, comprised of sugar maple and American beech.
It is readily identified by small clusters of two to three long-beaked fruits and long leaf-like scales (i.e. bracts). Its seeds are dispersed by ants.
Crowfoot club-moss (Diphasiastrum digitatum)
Given its resemblance to cedar sprigs, this Regional Species of Conservation Concern also goes by the common name of southern ground cedar. It is found on forest floors of rich deciduous and mixed compositions.
Crowfoot club-moss is a relative of ferns, with spores instead of seeds. Populations are in apparent decline throughout Toronto and region.
Through scientific data collection, TRCA tells the stories about the changes affecting the natural areas and watercourses within our regions. For more information, please visit our Monitoring webpage or explore our YouTube playlist.