Outdoor Ontario

Wildlife Reports => Toronto Wildlife => Topic started by: Dylanfly on July 05, 2007, 04:14:27 PM

Title: BEAVER in TORONTO?
Post by: Dylanfly on July 05, 2007, 04:14:27 PM

:o  I'm 90% sure I saw a BEAVER on Pottery Road in Toronto this morning!  It was not far down from the corner of Broadview and Pottery Rd. (100 metres below the Dairy Queen), hundreds of metres above the Don River.  
    Can anyone confirm beaver sightings in this area?

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Post by: Walter Sobchak on July 05, 2007, 04:18:37 PM

There are beavers in the area.  There's a few on the Islands.

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Post by: Kin Lau on July 05, 2007, 05:37:18 PM

I've seen beavers in many places in the GTA.

Basically, if it's on the river/ravine system, a beaver is possible.

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Post by: Dr. John on July 06, 2007, 01:36:27 PM

There's beavers on the Spit too. Lots of evidence on the trees near the water.

-John

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Post by: Marnie on July 06, 2007, 05:05:50 PM

Here are a couple of blog postings (with pics) about beavers in that area last year:

http://donwatcher.blogspot.com/2006/10/beaver-at-brick-works.html

http://beechwoodwetland.blogspot.com/2006/08/im-afraid-i-dont-have-update-on-our.html

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Post by: mike on July 08, 2007, 01:33:02 PM

I've photographed 2 Beavers in the creek at the Yonge/York Mills golf course this year. Saw them both on the same hike in different parts of the creek.

(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h234/mrmike1111/Beaver4-4100.jpg)

(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h234/mrmike1111/Beaver1-3587.jpg)

Title: Maybe I was wrong? Maybe a muskrat?
Post by: Dylanfly on July 08, 2007, 10:07:46 PM

Well, maybe it was just a muskrat.  A couple of neighbors who are big birders made that suggestion.  I'm new to Canada, so I'm also new to muskrat.  After seeing pics of muskrat, I can see why I was confused.  Even the muskrat tail has beaver-like qualities.  Hopefully, it was a beaver, but I'm not going to bet on it.  :?

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Post by: Kin Lau on July 09, 2007, 09:34:08 AM

If you cannot see the tail, then the size is a good indicator. The beaver is several times larger than a muskrat..

For Mike, those are some really nice pics of the beavers. It's hard to get them nicely in the open like that.

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Post by: Axeman on October 26, 2007, 03:25:55 PM

There are beavers in Mississauga -- I've seen roadkill beaver at the intersection of Mississauga Road and Dundas...and I've seen the telltale tree stumps on the spit located at the mouth of Cooksville Creek.

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Post by: Jaedon on October 27, 2007, 09:37:52 AM

Theres tons of evidence of beavers in Charles Sauriol park which is just upstream from where you think you saw them on Pottery Road.  There are trees that are near to being dropped by beavers all over the place up there.....but I have never seen a live beaver there.  Most likely because when I go down there it is with my very noisy 4 year old who scares away most adults let alone the wildlife lol.

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Post by: Axeman on October 27, 2007, 10:32:06 AM

There are a couple of marshes that I drive by regularly...and they have small rounded cones made of reeds in them...they look like small versions of a beaver lodge but made of reeds instead of sticks / branches...would these have been made by beavers or is it muskrats?

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Post by: GStuart on October 27, 2007, 04:19:53 PM

I've stolen the following from an Alberta "Fish and Wildlife" website.

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The muskrat also lives in ponds, but it does not build dams. Muskrat houses are built with mud, pond weeds and cattail stalks. In the winter, muskrats form "push-ups" in the pond ice over their feeding areas. Push-ups are domes of frozen vegetation covering a hole in the ice. The muskrat keeps these holes open throughout the winter by continually chewing away the ice and pulling up underwater vegetation to build an insulated dome over the hole.

Sounds like a muskrat home to me.

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Post by: jack.windsor on November 08, 2007, 12:43:06 PM

I wish I see a beaver especially if it is somewhere near or in the city.
anyway, i find beavers to be exquisite animals.

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Post by: mike on November 11, 2007, 10:01:59 AM

Take a walk along the creek that runs through the golf course at Yonge and the 401. They're in there.

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Post by: jack.windsor on November 12, 2007, 10:15:58 AM

awesome, i will do that :)

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Post by: mike on November 14, 2007, 08:53:29 PM

You may have to hike it all the way to the end of the golf course on the north side of the 401. From my experience, they tend to be up closer to that end.
edit:...and let me know if you see any:o)

Mike