Hawk Watch
From September 1st to November 30th, the High Park Hawk Watch aims to count as many migrating raptors as possible from atop Hawk Hill. Located near the north shore of Lake Ontario, Hawk Hill is a great location for recording the fall passage of raptors. Southbound birds which, on meeting the obstacle of Lake Ontario, turn westward and follow the Lake Ontario shoreline to avoid crossing the water (minimal thermal lift versus land). However, due to this geography, no significant spring raptor migration is seen - since the birds have little reason to follow the shore to continue their journey north.
Expected Species
The species listed below are seen during fall migration from Hawk Hill (with time windows):
- Turkey Vulture (Sep 22 - Oct 31)
- Osprey (Sep 1 - Sep 30)
- Bald Eagle (Sep 1 - Oct 14)
- Northern Harrier (Sep 8 - Oct 31)
- Sharp-shinned Hawk (Sep 8 - Oct 21)
- Cooper's Hawk (Sep 1 - Oct 21)
- American Goshawk (Oct 1 - Nov 14)
- Red-shouldered Hawk (Sep 15 - Nov 1)
- Broad-winged Hawk (Sep 1 -Sep 30)
- Red-tailed Hawk (Sep 22 - Nov 21)
- Rough-legged Hawk (Oct 22 - Nov 21)
- Golden Eagle (Oct 8 - Nov 7)
- American Kestrel (Sep 8 - Oct 21)
- Merlin (Sep 8 - Sep 30)
- Peregrine Falcon (Sep 8 - Oct 31)
When to Visit
Anything could fly over at any time, but there is a set of conditions that often produce the best days of hawk watching: days with steady north to north-west winds and partial cloudiness will usually lead to the most migrating raptors.
Mid-September often has the greatest numbers and variety of species, but days of good numbers can happen from the start of September through the end of October.
The most activity is often between 11am-2pm, but if the conditions are right then birds will be flying overhead from sunrise to sunset!
