Birds of Ontario: An introduction to Birdwatching

One of the side-effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns in Ontario over the past year has been an increased interest in nature, spending time in parks and watching birds.  The sale of birdseed and bird feeders increased last winter, attendance in parks grew significantly and people paid more attention to the birdlife in Toronto’s ravines, our waterfront and in our own backyards.  In this lecture, David Lindsay, a lifelong birdwatcher and member of the Board of Ontario Parks and the Greenbelt Foundation will offer some tips and suggestions for birdwatching in Southern Ontario.  Using his own photographs, he will introduce us to some of the common and not-so-common species to be found in our area.  He will offer suggestions for where to go and what to look for during the different seasons of the year.

BIOGRAPHY:

David Lindsay was recently appointed Chair of the Board of Infrastructure Ontario after retiring as President of the Council of Ontario Universities in the fall of 2020.  David was a deputy minister in six portfolios and held other senior roles in the Ontario Public Service after serving as Chief of Staff to the Premier of Ontario from 1995 to 1997.  Throughout his long career David combined his passion for birds and nature with his interest in public policy by serving on the Boards of the World Wildlife Fund and the Ontario Board of the Nature Conservancy of Canada.  He was involved in the Lands for Life initiative which resulted in the largest expansion of parks and protected spaces in Ontario’s history.  He is currently Vice-chair of the Parks Ontario board and serves on the Greenbelt Foundation.  Birdwatching and bird photography continues to be an interest in his retirement.