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Buy ticketsPublished on January 30, 2025 by Coralie Pinhal, Bilingual Coordinator, Marketing and Communications | Evergreen
“Chicka-dee-dee-dee.” Did you hear that? What bird was it?
Birds are chirping, turtles are splashing, frogs are croaking; even the hawks are calling sharply from above. It all makes you want to head outdoors and see those wildlife shows with your own eyes.
From the beaver to the majestic Great Blue Heron, we share our land with all kinds of wildlife. Experiencing the wonder of our public spaces is one of our favourite ways to unwind, and there’s no better way to do it than by gathering with family and friends to enjoy all that nature has to offer.
We encourage nature lovers to wander the trails around Evergreen Brick Works, where you might just spot our furry and feathered friends in action.
Whether you’re visiting in the chill of winter or the warmth of summer, here are some animals flying, hopping and swimming around the Brick Works.
We won’t keep the suspense going any longer: that was the bird you heard in the intro. The cheerful and little chickadee, with its white face and black cap and bib, sing their “here swee-tee” song or more alarmed call of “chicka-dee-dee-dee.” Be sure to tread lightly as it’s easy to startle these little guys. And we mean little: chickadees only weigh as much as about five M&Ms!
These cute little brownish-grey bunnies can be seen any time of day, but are most active from dusk through dawn, spending most of the daylight hours under vegetative cover. The easiest way to spot them is by their tracks, especially during winter in the snow: two long marks of the hind feet ahead of two dots made by the front feet. You’ll know they were racing, possibly away from predators like coyotes, foxes, owls and hawks, if the hind feet are farther ahead of the front feet.
It’s always an exciting moment to see the reddish tail of an adult hawk gracefully swooping over the Weston Family Quarry Garden. It’s the perfect windy perch to peer down at their prey from the ledges above. It may seem like they’re following a noisy group of hikers but don’t worry, they aren’t interested in you. They have eyes on their lunch, which you have likely roused from its hiding spot.
The white-tailed deer might be the biggest animal in size at the Brick Works, but you may not see them, other than the two-toed prints on the ground. They can hear you from almost a kilometre away, and are quick to split, reaching peak speeds of almost 50km/h and covering almost nine metres in a single leap. They generally travel in small groups, eating buds and shoots and sitting low on the edge of a main trail.
Photo credit Niall Flynn
You’ll have a much better chance to spot the great blue heron. They can stand still for a long period of time — they aren’t waiting for you to photograph them and be the stars of our social media channels, standing still is one of their fishing techniques. They are in fact waiting for fish to come within range of their long necks and blade-like bills. Believe us, they are expert fishers.
Often compared to professional dancers, the ruby-throated hummingbirds can flap their wings 53 times a second and fly in an acrobatic style. Not many other birds can perform this dance. Like a professional athlete, they need to feed and can eat twice their body weight in a day! When they prepare for migration, they can eat the equivalent weight of 30 pizzas!
The garter snake is most commonly encountered snake in Ontario — that’s because they adapt easily to changes in the landscape caused by humans. Like humans, garter snakes have friends too. A study found that they even have preferences about which snakes they hang out with. Animals — even snakes — need to socialize with others.
Photo credit Al Yoshiki
Here is Canada’s national animal, the beaver. Landscape engineers, you will easily spot the multiple dams and lodges build by our beavers in the ponds and greenways at the Brick Works. The beaver itself might be hard to see — they can spend up to 15 minutes underwater and are fast swimmers, up to five miles an hour. That’s more than double the speed of the average human.
Dragonflies are easy to spot as they zip around the ponds at the Brick Works in the summer months. Did you know roughly 7,000 species of dragonflies exist in the world? About 130 are found in Ontario. Dragonflies are skilled predators who spend most of their lifetime underwater in their larval stage, during which they feed on other aquatic invertebrates, larvae and sometimes even tiny fish! As they rely on healthy aquatic ecosystems, having them around is a valuable environmental indicator.
Photo credit Al Yoshiki
Last but not least, turtles are are basically our mascot at the Brick Works! They can be seen taking a sun bath most of the year, except in the winter when they disappear; having dug into the mud. You will also find turtle nest protectors — these square wood frames with a wire mesh on top — around the Brick Works. These are placed and monitored by our partner, Turtle Protectors, who work to support and protect turtles in Toronto.
Meet even more wildlife
Many more animals can be spotted at the Brick Works such as cardinals, woodpeckers, black crowned night heron, foxes, coyotes, racoons, opossums, salamanders, frogs and fish. Even in the cities, we coexist with our animal friends. Above all, remember to be respectful and give them plenty of space.
Observing other living beings can help us understand our role within the broader ecosystem and lead to a deeper understanding of our place on Earth. Time in nature not only helps us to connect with the place we live in, but many experts agree that it can also improve our mood, sleep, and overall health and wellbeing.
So ready to take a tour or a self-guided walk at the Brick Works?