Conure and quaker, guests at Bird Sitting Toronto — 📷 Conure and quaker, at home with us

Bird boarding for Markham bird owners

Markham is one of the longer drives in the GTA to our house, about 39 minutes without traffic, and the longest stretch of it is Highway 407, the tolled route across the top of the city, before the 400 and the 401 bring you down to Mississauga. If you would rather skip the toll, the 401 is the free way across.

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Markham to our door

Highway 7
Woodbine Avenue
Highway 407
Highway 400
Highway 401

39 min · 46.4 km

Bird vets nearest Markham

The Links Road Animal & Bird Clinic, about 20 km away near Yonge and York Mills, is the nearest on our list: two of its vets, Dr. Hanadie Nur and Dr. Jordan Palmer, belong to the Association of Avian Veterinarians. Out of hours, 404 Veterinary Emergency and Referral Hospital in Newmarket runs an avian and exotic service around the clock, about 27 km from central Markham.

Only In Markham

The River Of Birds Over Markham

Every spring and fall, a river of birds flows over Markham in the dark. Radar studied for the city's Bird Friendly Guidelines shows night migrants pushing along Lake Ontario's shore in a dense band that is still thick over Markham. Most songbirds fly by night and drop down before dawn, and the Rouge and Don valleys give them somewhere to land.

2014the February Markham Council endorsed its Bird Friendly Guidelines
247+bird species observed in Rouge National Urban Park
2World Migratory Bird Days the city proclaimed in 2025, one in May and one in October

Birds can't see glass, and neither can a parrot at home, so a decal on a big window helps both. If your trip falls in migration season, your bird stays safely indoors with us.

Sources: City of Markham: Bird Friendly Markham · Markham Bird Friendly Guidelines (PDF) · Parks Canada: Rouge birds

Bird-Friendly Places Near Markham

When A Bird Needs Help

City animal servicesCity of Markham Animal Services
Report a lost or found animal here; sheltering is done by the Ontario SPCA.
SPCA adoption centreOntario SPCA Markham Animal Adoption and Education Centre
Markham's shelter partner, where lost pets end up and adoptions happen.
7755 Bayview Avenue

Where To See Wild Birds

National urban parkRouge National Urban Park
The GTA's big birding park reaches into Markham, with threatened bobolink and wood thrush.
City park and trailToogood Pond and the Rouge Valley Trail
Unionville's pond for ducks and herons, and an 11 km trail along the Rouge.
Main Street Unionville
Conservation parkMilne Dam Conservation Park
A reservoir on the Rouge River, on the city's Rouge Valley Trail.
Highway 7 and Markham Road