Ciao, Ascanio!
Yes, it very easy to find northern cardinal and blue jay, they are common in many local parks both big and small. Smaller woodpeckers such as downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, and northern flicker are easy to find also. Pleated woodpecker is harder to find as they are not so common in the city and also they range over fairly large areas. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are also migrating through now, if you like woodpeckers.
The Toronto Ornithological Club has a web site with local hot spots for birding described:
http://www.torontobirding.ca/hotspots/descriptions.php For the easier birds, you can go to wherever is convenient for you. I live near Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, and it has all of the first five birds in the previous paragraph. High Park is also a great location for common species. For pileated woodpecker, Sunnybrook Park is the best place I know of locally, but even there I see them only rarely. Perhaps someone else can give a better idea for that species. Looking at ebird.org, I see that there are also recent sightings for Lambton Woods and James Gardens.
Other very common species you will find include American robin, black-capped chickadee, mourning dove, red-winged blackbird (in wetland areas) and during this period of the migration, white-throated sparrow. If you enjoy ducks you should definitely visit a location on the Lake Ontario shore, as there are some beautiful water birds here now, such as long-tailed duck (many places) and red-necked grebe (Colonel Sam Smith Park).
I am not a photographer, so I cannot advise on the blind question.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy your visit here.
Pat Hodgson
