Bird monitoring: measuring the creek before and after restoration
Birds respond quickly to changes in vegetation, water and food, which makes them one of the simplest ways to judge whether a restoration is working. We surveyed the corridor before any work begins, so every future survey can be compared with a real starting point.
Baseline walk, Sunday 13 September 2026, Jefferson, Jordan and Jayfield Parks.
Photos: Stephen Hu. Baseline survey: Vic Chiang, logged on eBird.
Why birds
Birds are widely used as indicators of ecosystem health. Their numbers and behaviour reflect vegetation structure, habitat variety, water, food and disturbance, so changes in the bird community can show whether restored habitat is working in practice, not just whether it looks better.
Baseline
A field survey on 13 September 2026 and a year of eBird records describe the corridor as it is today.
Restoration
Naturalize the channel, restore the banks and habitat, manage invasive plants and define public access.
Repeat surveys
Standardized surveys and community observations, compared with the baseline to show what has changed.
The baseline walk: Sunday 13 September 2026
Observer Vic Chiang walked the Don Doan Trail corridor from west to east in three stages, from 7:32 to 10:45 a.m., logging every bird on eBird Mobile. The three parks share a very similar channel, vegetation and disturbance, so we treat them as one continuous corridor.
| Park | Time | Distance | Species | Birds recorded | Checklist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Park | 7:32 to 8:39 a.m. (67 min) | 0.46 km | 14* | 73 | eBird |
| Jordan Park | 8:40 to 9:41 a.m. (61 min) | 0.47 km | 17 | 101 | eBird |
| Jayfield Park | 9:42 to 10:45 a.m. (63 min) | 0.38 km | 13 | 39 | eBird |
| Whole corridor | 191 min | 1.31 km | 22 unique | 213 |
* Jefferson Park also had one unidentified flycatcher. The whole-corridor species total counts each species once.
What the creek looks like today
The survey also recorded the habitat the birds were using. These observations support the key issues on habitat and public access.
Water
The channel holds only shallow, murky, stagnant water, with no riffles, clean gravel margins or pools. No birds were seen drinking or bathing. Waterfowl use was limited to two Mallards resting beside the creek, while Canada Geese and Ring-billed Gulls only flew over.
Vegetation
The banks are covered by unmanaged, clumped thickets. They give dense cover but little vertical structure, which makes birds hard to see: most were detected by sound or in brief flights. Scattered spruce, pine and mature deciduous trees offer perches. Mown lawns showed very little bird activity.
Disturbance
Heavy foot and bicycle traffic on the paved trail, and off-leash dogs running through the turf and along the banks, repeatedly flushed birds that were feeding near the path.
Edge effects and insects
A private bird feeder on an adjacent property draws large groups of House Sparrows and House Finches into the park margins, which inflates counts of non-native species. Pesticide runoff from surrounding properties is suspected of suppressing insects; this has not been confirmed.
Photos: Stephen Hu.
Who we found
Most records were common urban birds. Four species recorded on the walk say more about the habitat, and they are the ones we will watch most closely.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Contopus virens. A forest flycatcher that hunts insects from the mid-canopy of mature trees. It depends on flying insects and open feeding corridors, so it is vulnerable to canopy loss.
Common Yellowthroat
Geothlypis trichas. Detected by call in dense thickets along the bank. It needs moist, dense undergrowth, which makes it a direct indicator for restoring the riparian edge.
Swainson's Thrush
Catharus ustulatus. A cryptic migrant that uses wooded urban corridors for shelter and ground-level insect foraging in autumn. Here it is partly hidden, as it usually is.
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta canadensis. Found only in scattered ornamental conifers, which shows the value of evergreen trees in an otherwise deciduous park.
Photos: Stephen Hu.
A longer record: eBird
Three eBird hotspots, one for each park, give a longer view than a single morning. Together they show a community of urban generalists, migratory songbirds, woodland birds and riparian species.
Jefferson Park
Eastern Wood-Pewee, Red-eyed Vireo, American Redstart, Indigo Bunting and Red-breasted Nuthatch point to mature tree cover, shrub habitat and varied vegetation.
View the hotspot on eBird →Jordan Park
The highest diversity of the three. Osprey, Eastern Screech-Owl, Merlin, Red-tailed Hawk, Brown Creeper, Swainson's Thrush and Wilson's Warbler suggest a varied habitat mosaic.
View the hotspot on eBird →Jayfield Park
Bobolink, a species at risk in Ontario and Canada, plus Veery, Least Flycatcher and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, are less common in highly urbanized landscapes.
View the hotspot on eBird →What the records suggest
| Group | Examples recorded | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Urban generalists | European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, American Robin, Blue Jay, American Crow, Mourning Dove | The baseline against which restoration-sensitive species will be compared. |
| Woodland birds | Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Red-eyed Vireo, Brown Creeper, Northern Flicker | Show tree cover and developing woodland habitat. |
| Shrub and edge birds | Gray Catbird, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Cedar Waxwing, Common Yellowthroat | Typical of thickets and naturalized margins that riparian plantings create. |
| Riparian and water birds | Canada Goose, Mallard, Red-winged Blackbird, Osprey, Ring-billed Gull | Show use of water and creek-edge habitat. |
| Migratory songbirds | Tennessee Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Swainson's Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Indigo Bunting | Regular spring and fall use of the corridor as stopover habitat. |
What restoration could bring
The baseline suggests which species could benefit from the proposed habitat changes. These are anticipated outcomes tied to design features. They are not results, and the repeat surveys will show whether they happen.
| Proposed feature | Habitat it would create | Species that could benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous clean flow, riffles and vegetated mud shelves | Invertebrate communities and soft, damp margins for probing and foraging, plus shallow backwaters and pocket wetlands | American Woodcock; Sedge Wren (seasonal stopover) |
| Structured native shrub thickets, such as dogwood and willow | Leaf litter, rich insect life and dense stopover shelter | Connecticut Warbler; Fox Sparrow |
| Native meadow and grassy floodplain buffers, with scattered thorny shrubs and dead branches for perches | Winter foraging and hunting habitat | Northern Shrike; Short-eared Owl (a species at risk in Ontario) |
| Dense native shrub buffers along trail margins, and designated viewing nodes | Concentrated public traffic, protected banks and an undisturbed interior for wildlife | Sensitive migrants and ground-feeding birds |
How we will measure change
Monitoring will test whether the restored corridor supports more native bird diversity, more habitat use, more breeding activity and bird communities closer to those of a healthy riparian ecosystem than the former concrete channel did.
What we will track
Species richness
The number of bird species using the creek corridor and the surrounding park habitats. Read alongside the other indicators, because species numbers alone do not show recovery.
Abundance
Whether birds use the restored habitat more often over time, which would suggest better food, shelter and overall habitat suitability.
Community and indicator species
Insect-eating birds, water-associated species, breeding birds and habitat specialists. A shift in the mix is often more informative than richness alone.
Breeding evidence
Nesting, territorial behaviour, adults carrying food and fledglings. Breeding shows birds use the corridor to reproduce, not just to pass through.
Habitat checks
- Native vegetation establishment
- Riparian cover and structural complexity
- Pollinator garden condition
- Tree and shrub cover
- Water availability and stream condition
- Human disturbance around trails
- Habitat variety across the corridor
- Connectivity along the Don Doan Trail corridor
How the data are collected
Standardized visual surveys
Repeated surveys across the creek corridor, pollinator gardens and adjacent habitats record richness, abundance, breeding and indicator species.
eBird records
Regional and seasonal context that helps interpret local observations. Used alongside surveys, not instead of them.
Shared observations
Photos and videos from residents and trail users widen coverage, help detect uncommon species and build stewardship.
What we will test
- More bird species using the creek corridor
- Higher overall bird abundance
- More restoration-sensitive native species
- More breeding activity in restored habitat
- Better habitat quality as vegetation matures
- More habitat variety and structure
- Better habitat connectivity in the urban landscape
- Bird communities closer to a healthy riparian ecosystem
- Whether AI-assisted monitoring is feasible
Community Bird Watch
You do not need to be a birder to take part. Every photo, video, audio recording or wildlife observation helps build the record we will measure change against. No binoculars, bird identification skills or eBird experience are needed: a smartphone is enough.
Ways to contribute
Photographs
Birds, nests, feathers, wildlife interactions, native plantings and habitat features.
Videos
Short clips of birds feeding, perching, foraging, nesting, singing or using restoration features.
Audio
Songs and calls recorded on a phone. Many species are easier to hear than to see.
eBird checklists
For experienced birders: complete checklists of species, numbers and seasonal activity.
Quick reports
Just the date, the location and a short description. Naming the species is optional.
Who can join
Spring and fall events
- Introduction to the restoration project
- Guided bird and nature walks
- Smartphone wildlife observation training
- Photography and audio-recording demonstrations
- Optional eBird tutorials
- AI-assisted species identification demonstrations
- Observation upload sessions
- Discussion of findings and restoration outcomes
Species you may encounter
| Habitat | Species already recorded in the three parks |
|---|---|
| Woodland | Eastern Wood-Pewee, Red-eyed Vireo, American Redstart, Indigo Bunting, Brown Creeper, Veery |
| Shrub and edge | Gray Catbird, Song Sparrow, Cedar Waxwing |
| Water and riparian | Mallard, Canada Goose, Red-winged Blackbird, Osprey |
| Notable | Bobolink, Wilson's Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Eastern Screech-Owl |
When you visit
- Observe wildlife during your park visits
- Share photos, videos, audio or observations
- Submit an eBird checklist if you like
- Stay on designated trails
- Respect sensitive habitats and wildlife
- Learn about native plants and ecological restoration
- Take part in future stewardship activities
- Share what you learn with family and community
Interested? Tell us in the survey that you would like to join a bird watch, or submit an eBird checklist at any of the three park hotspots.
Open the survey eBird: Jordan ParkAI-assisted monitoring: a proof of concept
Standard bird surveys need trained observers and a lot of time. We tested whether open AI models can turn short phone videos into useful records, so that community footage could one day support long-term monitoring.
Identify the species
BioCLIP compares 50 frames from each clip with the 500 most-recorded bird species in Ontario, based on verified iNaturalist records.
Track posture
DeepLabCut SuperAnimal-Bird locates the beak, eyes, wings and feet to follow alertness and foraging.
Classify behaviour and habitat
X-CLIP compares 32 frames against 16 common behaviours across 16 Ontario micro-habitats.
What it found
Seven clips of about 20 seconds each were analyzed. Three species came out as the top result, and each was confirmed by photographs from the same walk. The other four clips gave low-confidence results, so we do not report them.
With more cameras, sound recording and better tracking, the same approach could turn community videos into species, behaviour, habitat-use and seasonal records, and show how birds use specific restoration features.
Photo gallery: the corridor on 13 September 2026
Birds, pollinators and other wildlife photographed during the baseline walk.
Photos: Stephen Hu. Baseline survey: Vic Chiang.