The number of double-crested cormorants on Centre Island has more than doubled this summer, and it began with a renoviction by a pair of eagles.
The first bald eagles in Toronto’s recorded history arrived on Centre Island this winter, while the cormorants, which conservation authorities have been trying to keep off the islands because their acidic guano can rapidly kill trees, were basking in the sun in the southern U.S., their winter home.
The cormorants are a threat to the islands’ tree canopy because of their toxic guano.
Paul Bedford, the city’s retired chief planner, drives past trees filled with cormorants. Bedford, who keeps a boat at the Toronto Island Marina on Centre Island. said “this is a disaster in the making if it’s not addressed.”