Birds of Toronto's Neville Park Beach: Part 2

There are several reasons for the relatively large number of bird species listed in Part 1:

1) This area is just east of Tommy Thompson Park, which is an internationally recognized important birding area, with over 300 types of resident and migrant birds having been recorded.

2) There are tall red and white oaks, willows, pines and other trees available for food, cover and nesting.

3) The fish and plant life in Lake Ontario provide food for water birds.

4) The water attracts mosquitoes which are food for a number of birds including swallows.

5) The eggs and young of the smaller birds are food for larger ones.

6) There are wildflowers along the shore which provide seeds for some species of birds to eat.

7) Some home-owners provide bird feeders and bird baths, as well as trees and shrubs attractive to birds.

Yet, despite all of these reasons, the number of birds there now would be only a fraction of the number once there, before houses and yards were built right over the river which led down to the lake. Marshy areas were destroyed by humans. There are also leaf-blowers, lawnmowers, construction machinery and aircraft, as well as motorized watercraft. Humans are inadvertently destroying what is priceless in their selfish pursuit of temporary, material ends.