The northern cardinal is a familiar backyard bird across much of eastern North America. With its bright red plumage and melodious song, the northern cardinal is easily identifiable and beloved by many. But do these iconic birds make their home as far north as Toronto, Ontario?
The answer is yes – northern cardinals can and do live in and around Toronto. While their range centers more heavily on the southern and central United States, the northern cardinal has expanded its range northward over the past century. Toronto lies at the northern edge of the cardinal’s range, but the city’s large size and ample parks, gardens and green spaces allow northern cardinals to take up residence there.
In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at northern cardinals in Toronto. We’ll cover topics like:
Northern Cardinal Overview
– Basic facts about the northern cardinal
– Their expanded range and adaptability to cold climates
Cardinals Living in Toronto
– Evidence of cardinals nesting and wintering in Toronto
– Best areas to spot cardinals in the city
Supporting Cardinals in Toronto
– Tips for providing food, water and shelter to attract cardinals
– Landscaping with plants that cardinals prefer
Threats Facing Toronto Cardinals
– Hazards and challenges for urban cardinals
– Conservation status and protecting cardinals
Future Outlook for Cardinals in Toronto
– Likely trends in cardinal populations and range
– How climate change may affect Toronto cardinals
So if you’re wondering whether those brilliant red birds frequent backyards and parks in Canada’s largest city, read on to learn all about northern cardinals making a home in Toronto.
Northern Cardinal Overview
The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a mid-sized songbird measuring 8-9 inches long with a wingspan around 10 inches. The adult males are known for their vivid red plumage accented with a bright red crest and black face mask. Adult females are buff-brown overall with reddish accents in the wings, crest and tail. Both sexes have heavy cone-shaped reddish bills.
Northern cardinals are year-round residents across the eastern half of the United States, and in summer can range as far northwest as Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. They inhabit open woodland, thickets, suburban gardens and parks. Cardinals are non-migratory, staying put in their breeding range year-round.
Cardinal Traits and Adaptations
Some key features and adaptive traits allow northern cardinals to thrive:
– Hardy constitution – Cardinals can withstand cold winters and survive dips to -20°F when food is available.
– Year-round residence – They don’t migrate, so can start breeding as early as late winter.
– Diverse diet – Cardinals eat insects, spiders, seeds, grains, fruits and sometimes small vertebrates.
– Nesting flexibility – Cardinals nest in shrubs, trees or vine tangles, adapting to many sites.
– Color vision – Excellent color vision helps males stand out and find fruits and seeds.
– Melodious songs – Complex songs signal territory and attract mates. Calls keep pairs in contact.
The northern cardinal’s various adaptations allow it to thrive across diverse habitats, including northern cities like Toronto. Their hardiness, flexible diet and nesting behavior equip them well for urban living.
Expanded Cardinal Range
Northern cardinals originally inhabited the southeastern U.S. But over the past 150 years cardinals have dramatically expanded their range north and west, now nesting as far north as Ontario and Manitoba.
Several factors enabled this range expansion:
– Climate change – Warmer winters allow cardinals to overwinter in more northern regions.
– Backyard bird feeding – Access to supplemental food from feeders improves winter survival.
– Forest clearance – Human landscape alteration created open, shrubby edge habitat cardinals prefer.
– Lack of competition – Few ecologically similar songbird species filled the cardinal’s niche in northern areas.
– Adaptability – Cardinals’ flexible diet, nesting and hardy constitution make them highly adaptable.
So while northern cardinals were historically birds of southern swamps and forests, adaptations like their physical stamina and nutritional flexibility have allowed them to succeed far outside their ancestral range, up to the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.
Cardinals Living in Toronto
So given the northern cardinal’s adaptability and expanding range, it’s not surprising that these striking songbirds are now year-round denizens of Canada’s largest metropolis, Toronto. Let’s look at some evidence that wild northern cardinals make their homes in Toronto, and where in the city they’re mostly commonly found.
Evidence of Nesting and Wintering
There are several lines of evidence confirming successful northern cardinal breeding and overwintering within Toronto city limits:
– eBird records – Citizen scientist records show cardinals present year-round, with sightings peaking in late winter/early spring when singing and nesting commences.
– Breeding Bird Survey – North American Breeding Bird Survey routes within Toronto record cardinals as confirmed nesters each spring/summer.
– Bird banding data – Bird observatories near Toronto, like Tommy Thompson Park, have banded both juvenile and adult cardinals during summer/fall migration periods.
– Nest reports – Local birders regularly find active cardinal nests with eggs and nestlings within Toronto, primarily during April-July breeding season.
– Winter feeder sightings – Northern cardinals are commonly reported at backyard feeding stations in Toronto year-round.
The abundance of citizen science records confirms that wild northern cardinals successfully breed and weather the winters within Toronto’s urban and suburban green spaces.
Where to Find Cardinals in Toronto
In the city of Toronto, northern cardinals are most frequently reported from areas with mature trees, shrubby cover and backyard feeders, including:
– River valleys – e.g. Don Valley, Humber River, Rouge National Urban Park
– Major parks/greenspaces – e.g. High Park, Toronto Islands, Leslie Street Spit
– Ravine corridors – e.g. Rosedale Ravine, Moore Park Ravine, Burke Brook Ravine
– Botanical gardens – e.g. Toronto Botanical Garden, Edwards Gardens, Parkwoods
– Cemeteries – e.g. Mount Pleasant, Prospect, St. James Cemetery
– Residential neighborhoods – Particularly those with mature trees, shrubs, backyard feeders
The most reliable areas to spot northern cardinals within Toronto are along the wooded river valleys, large parks with forest cover, ravine corridors, and suburban backyards that provide supplemental feeders, water and shelter. Patient birders may also find cardinals among the greenspaces and thickets scattered across the city.
Supporting Cardinals in Toronto
To attract breeding and wintering northern cardinals to urban yards and greenspaces in Toronto, you can provide for their basic habitat needs:
Offer Seeds and Fruit
– Black-oil sunflower seed is cardinals’ favorite backyard food. Offer in feeders year-round.
– Suet supplements diet in cooler months. Hang suet feeders on trees or posts.
– Dried fruit like raisins appeal to cardinals. Include in mixed feeders or platform feeders.
– Native berry plants like dogwood and viburnum provide natural forage.
Supply Fresh Water
– Birdbaths attract cardinals to drink and bathe. Keep water unfrozen in winter.
– Add a mister to birdbaths for cardinal bathing pleasure!
– Ensure good drainage to prevent mosquitoes. Clean birdbaths weekly.
Provide Cover and Nest Sites
– Evergreen shrubs and small trees give shelter from weather and predators.
– Cardinals often nest in thickets and vine tangles 3-10 feet up.
– Dense shrubs with some vertical structure are ideal nest sites.
– Leave dead wood and brush piles as potential nest foundations.
Choose Native Cardinal-Friendly Plants
– Serviceberry – Fruits eaten, dense branches used for nesting
– Dogwood – Red berries eaten in fall through winter
– Viburnum – Waxy fruits eaten fall-winter, nesting sites
– Willow – Catkins eaten in spring, nesting substrate
– Oak – Nesting sites, insect forage
– Cedar – Thick shelter from elements
– Grapevines – Prime nesting substrate
By planning yards and greenspaces to meet cardinals’ key habitat needs, Torontonians can support a robust urban population of these beloved songbirds.
Threats Facing Toronto’s Cardinals
The northern cardinal has proved itself highly adaptable and successful across an array of urban habitats and frigid northern climates. But cardinals residing in Toronto still face a variety of threats and challenges to survival:
Urban Hazards
– Window collisions – Cardinals frequently die striking reflective glass on buildings.
– Predators – Urban predators like hawks, cats and raccoons prey on eggs, nestlings and adult cardinals.
– Vehicle collisions – Fast-moving traffic poses mortality risk to low-flying cardinals.
– Extreme weather – Ice storms, high winds, heat waves can jeopardize cardinals despite their hardy nature.
Habitat Loss
– Development encroaching on greenspace – Housing, industry and sprawl eats away at cardinal habitat.
– Invasive species crowding out natives – Aggressive plants like Norway maple and buckthorn outcompete food sources.
– Maturing forest canopy – Natural forest succession reduces shrubby understory cardinals prefer.
– Tree removal – Felling dead trees and snags eliminates potential nest cavities.
Climate Change
– Warming temperatures causing habitat shifts – May change northern range as vegetation zones drift northward.
– Increased drought stressing plants – Could decrease production of fruits/seeds cardinals rely on.
– Increased severe weather – More frequent ice storms, wind events and heat waves tax cardinal resilience.
Conservation Status
Despite the threats they face, northern cardinals remain common and their populations considered secure:
– Least concern on IUCN Red List
– Not on Partners in Flight watch list
– Listed as low vulnerability by state wildlife agencies
So while targeted conservation efforts aren’t needed for northern cardinals as a whole, individual cities like Toronto should tailor urban planning to their local cardinal populations’ needs. Providing habitat corridors, reducing glass, managing cats, and creating bird-friendly greenspaces within Toronto will help safeguard the future of the city’s cardinal community.
Future Outlook for Toronto’s Cardinals
What does the future likely hold for northern cardinals continuing to inhabit North America’s fourth largest city?
Population Trends
– Cardinals expected to remain common urban adapters – Given their steady range expansion and success in towns and cities, northern cardinals will likely persist as fairly common backyard birds in Toronto.
– Suburban sprawl may increase cardinal populations – More low-density housing with gardens provides ideal cardinal habitat.
– Milder winters may boost overwinter survival – Warmer due to climate change may allow higher overwinter survival at the north edge of their range.
Climate Change Impacts
– Warming temperatures to shift range north – Climate models predict cardinals shifting their range further north in Ontario and Quebec.
– Increased drought may decrease food sources – Hotter, drier summers may reduce berry and seed crops cardinals rely on.
– Increase in extreme weather events – Toronto cardinals will have to endure more storms, ice, wind, heatwaves, putting pressure on populations.
– Habitat instability – Climate-caused disruption of habitat cycles may impact breeding timing and food availability.
Urban Adaptation
– Backyard habitat support growing more vital – Homeowners providing water, food and cover will help cardinals persist through climate fluctuations.
– Greenspace corridors crucial for connectivity – Natural areas allow cardinals to move around the city as habitats shift.
– Climate-wise planting and management – Choosing drought- and heat-tolerant native plants will provide more stable habitat.
– Adapting urban planning for resilience – Designing climate-proof green infrastructure will benefit cardinals and other wildlife.
The northern cardinal’s proven adaptability and the expanding urban forest cover in cities like Toronto may allow cardinals to continue flourishing close to their northern range limit. But targeted habitat conservation and wildlife-friendly urban planning will give Toronto’s local cardinal population the best chances in a changing climate.
Conclusion
The bright red northern cardinal has expanded its range dramatically over the past century, and thanks to adaptations like hardy physiology and flexible diet, has succeeded in towns and cities far north of its original range. This includes Canada’s largest city Toronto, where northern cardinals are now documented year-round residents, nesting and overwintering despite the cold climate.
Within Toronto, cardinals frequent river valleys, parks, ravines and suburban backyards – anywhere mature trees, shrubs, vines and supplemental feeders provide adequate habitat. Homeowners can support urban cardinals by providing food, water, cover sources and native berry-producing plants.
While thriving now, Toronto’s cardinals face risks from urban hazards, habitat loss, climate change impacts and extreme weather. But this resilient bird remains common overall, and urban planners helping cities like Toronto adapt to climate change will give cardinals the best chance to keep their foothold at the northern edge of their range.
With sound urban ecology principles, plus assistance from habitat-supporting homeowners, the iconic northern cardinal will likely maintain a strong urban population in Toronto and expand across even more northern cities in the future. So look for these vibrant songbirds to keep brightening backyards and greenspaces as they continue adapting to city living across southern Canada.
