RAPTORS AND VULTURES
of Southern Ontario

Adult Red Tailed Hawk showing red tail

There are many raptors and vultures in across North America, including Southern Ontario, such as the graceful Turkey Vulture which spends the summers in this area, the Bald Eagle and the Red Tailed Hawk and other birds of prey.

Many birds of prey migrate through this area in the Autumn on their way to their southern wintering grounds.  Others are year-round residents in Southern Ontario,

They can be observed during the fall at several points along Lake Erie, including Hawk Cliff, which is east of Port Stanley, south of St Thomas and all along the Lake Erie shoreline.


You can see more reports of animal sightings on our Facebook page

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American Kestrel

Bald Eagle

Broad Winged Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Golden Eagle

Merlin

Northern Goshawk

Northern Harrier

Osprey

Peregrine Falcon

Red Tailed Hawk

Red Shouldered Hawk

Rough Legged Hawk

Sharp Shinned Hawk

Turkey Vulture


Birds of Prey Sightings from 2010 - 2011

Birds of Prey Sightings from 2012 - 2013

Birds of Prey Sightings from 2014 - 2015

If there are other Raptors and Vultures that you would like to see on our website, please let us know using the form below

Six Raptors or Birds of Prey, Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Golden Eagle, Red Tailed hawk


Have you seen one of Southern Ontario's Raptors?

We would love to hear about your sighting of the Birds of Prey in Southern Ontario, or if you spotted a rare Raptor.

Remember to make your submission a minimum of 100 - 200 words and tell us when and where you saw the bird, the time of day, and what you observed them doing.

What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Which type of hawk is this?  
Saw this one on my deck in Aurora Ontario tonight, September 8th at around 6 pm. Can you tell me more? Can anyone help Nancy identify this raptor? …

Hawk couple and their 3 babies 
These photos were taken from the 5th floor of the Math & Computer building at the University of Waterloo. It was on May 11, 2022 around 9:30 am. …

December 2021, Oshawa Hawk 
Woke up this morning, December 13, 2021 and looked out my patio window to find this majestic Hawk sitting on my fence. He sat for a good 5 minutes …

Bird of Prey Saturday June 19th, 2021 
I was walking through Homer Watson Park Kitchener, on the trail by the Grand River. This bird caught my eye. It was sitting in the tree next to the …

A passing visitor 
I found this guy hanging around in the backyard today, we're located in Acton, Halton Hills, Ontario. Any verification on specific species? A beaut …

Landscape Architect 
Saw this beautiful Hawk at McLennan Park, near Ottawa St South, at 2:30pm on Wednesday, January 6th 2021. Very tame.

50 plus large birds of prey flew over Ajax Ontario  
Sitting in the backyard enjoying lunch at 12:20 October 5th 2020 and there was a shadow that caused me to look up and there had to be 50 to 75 huge birds …

Red tailed hawk eating its prey 
This is so special! This morning on Sunday October 4, 2020 at 10:30 am I looked out of my kitchen window and saw this huge bird swoop by very fast. …

Please help ID this bird 
I saw this bird outside my window around 9:15am. It was flapping around my backyard, trying to catch a squirrel. The squirrel ran into some bushes, …

Please help ID this bird 
I saw this bird outside my window around 9:15am. It was flapping around my backyard, trying to catch a squirrel. The squirrel ran into some bushes, …

Mystery bird of prey  
I heard a screeching call coming from the tall evergreen behind our house, in west end Toronto. I looked out and saw a large bird of prey sitting …

Can't identify this Hawk  
I saw 2 hawks (I think) circling for quite some time on April 27, in the London area over a field. Quite beautiful but unfortunately no photo. …

Prey bird having lunch 
Saw this bird on our back fence in Oakville, Ontario on April 21, 2020. Not sure what it is but it’s eating a Blue Jay.

Large for a bird, small for a bird of prey  
Spotted in my back yard in Cambridge/North Dumfries border. The back is dark slate colour and the breast, neck and head is a very light grey or white …

Possible broad-winged hawk sighting 
I saw this raptor perched high up in a tree in the Maple Hills neighbourhood of Waterloo. Sighting was around 9 am. I believe it's a broad-winged …

Unknown Fledgling 
Saw this beauty near Dunnville, Ontario. Makes and responds to whistling sounds. The nest is on top of a hydro pole and it stayed very close to it's …

A light lunch for a hawk 
Oakville 2017, spotted 2018.

Help Identifying this Bird 
This type of bird attacked and killed a Dove before my very eyes, just wondering what type of bird this is, I see it quite often. I live in North Richmond …

Backyard Visitor 
Seen at St. Clair and Christie area at 2:30 pm April 3rd. It stayed and was looking for something behind the fence. Could it be the cat or a squirrel? …

Unknown Bird of Prey 
This picture is by the water of Lake Simcoe, specifically Kempenfelt Bay. My husband saw him/her approximately 40 feet from our house, surveying the …

Beautiful Barred Owl 
I was hiking along one of my favorite beautiful trails we are blessed to have. I was taking pictures of the beautiful scenery in winter, which is my …

Unknown Hawk Reports 
Jay from Guelph wrote to say ... I spotted two very large hawks at about 6:30 pm. I saw one first, perching, then another swooping around probably after …

Small Hawk near Lake Ontario in Oshawa 
Saw this little fellow in the open, but high in a tree quite close to a subdivision. He/She is pretty but I don't know what species it is. …

Sunday Morning Breakfast 
I spotted what I believe to be a Sharp Shinned Hawk this morning eating a mouse in our back yard. On Henry Street near West street in Brantford. …

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More Pics of the Massacre 
I thought someone might enjoy these. Thank you, I will also post this on our Facebook page , as our followers will also enjoy this!

Unknown Bird of Prey 
I'm not sure what type of bird this is. I've seen in perched in a tree by the road a few days in a row. Thanks for sending your picture - perhaps …

Hawks in Southern Ontario 
S. Vollmer wrote to say ... I'm pretty sure we have a pair of Falcons in our back yard. We have had hawks before, but these friends are new. …

Birds Of Prey In Brant County 
I have yet to not see any birds of prey along the trails around the Water Works Park trails in Brantford, Ontario. Here are a few shots of some Bald …

Birds of Prey...and birds to pray for 
Late on a Sunday afternoon in early June of this year, we heard a big commotion in our back yard as this large bird settled on our back deck (see attached …

A Hawk through a dirty Toronto window 
I recently purchased a modest telephoto lens and had been practicing its use on Sparrows in my back yard. Generally I have a small blind I …

Hawk visitor 
S/he just popped in out of nowhere into our suburban back yard (granted our development surrounded on 3 sides by farm lands). Not sure if its a Coopers …

Hawks in our backyard 
We noticed a hawk in our backyard over the last few days. Today we had quite a treat with 3 in our backyard at once. So we think it may be mom …

Kestrels near London, Ontario 
One of our readers sent us this report of her sighting today - When my mother and I were driving south of London today, we saw two Kestrels on the …

What is this unusual bird in my yard? 
Hi there, I caught a picture of this bird this morning just before he took flight. We live in urban Ontario in a townhouse style condo. My …

Unknown Bird of Prey 
This bird was flying in circles over the pond at Bruce Pit in Nepean (Ottawa ON) at around 3 PM on August 28 2020. I would appreciate help identifying …

Broad Wing Hawk 
I was waiting to post this until I got confirmation of my sighting from e-bird Canada (a reporting sight where bird watchers go to let others …

Possible Gyrfalcon Sighting Not rated yet
While driving on Highway 89 and Dufferin Road 3 I got a really good look at a bird working a field then retreating behind a barn. I'm 98% sure …

Birds of Prey sighted Not rated yet
Lee Waterhouse from Belleville January 16, 08:15. ... it was about -18 C today with lightly falling snow. I was outside in my backyard in the Old East …

Maybe a Coopers Hawk Not rated yet
This guy flew in and chased off a Raven. I believe it was eyeing some squirrels below which took off in a hurry. It was around the size of the Raven …

Bald Eagle on the Maitland River Not rated yet
There are two Eagle nests within 5 miles of my home on the Maitland River. I often see Eagles flying along the river behind my home. On December …

Cooper's or Sharp Shinned Hawk? Not rated yet
I live in southern Ontario, near Windsor. I noticed this hawk on my fence targeting sparrows in December 2020. The bird is about twice the …

Hawks in Cambridge Not rated yet
Every day at work for the last couple weeks I have enjoyed a family of hawks calling to each other and flying around. I am not sure exactly what kind …

What kind is this? Not rated yet
We saw this bird of prey sitting calmly by Wilket Creek in the middle of the day in Toronto.

One, two, THREE Not rated yet
Went kayaking today, made a few friends, July 12 2020. Mountsberg Conservation Area, Just off the 401 in Milton/Hamilton.

Red head vulture Not rated yet
It is sitting in a tall pine tree, very camouflaged. We have not seen it before and we have lived here for 17 years. This was July 10th, 7:00 pm. …

Hawk stealing nest Not rated yet
I took this picture of this gorgeous bird as it was being attacked by 10 other birds. Suddenly it jumped into the tree and flew away with a nest of …

That wingspan tho Not rated yet
I'm not sure what this awe inspiring bird was! It seemed a lot larger than the red tailed hawks I'm used to seeing. Around 11am on April 25th, I spotted …

Possible Red Tailed Hawk? Not rated yet
Spotted on our morning walk in Cambridge, Ontario, around Townline Road. April 21, at about 7:30 am, 1 degree Celsius and a bit windy. Unfortunately …

Unknown bird Not rated yet
This huge bird of prey swooped down to have a sleep on a branch in our backyard in Barrie. Would like to know what kind of bird it is.

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Possible Golden Eagles Not rated yet
Over the years we have received several reports of Golden Eagle sightings, however, I have always read they the Goldens range is much farther north than …

Eagles in Milton Ontario Not rated yet
When I lived in Milton, big birds of prey are seen often like various hawks and Turkey Vultures are plentiful. This bugger tried to take my Yorkie …

Need help identifying in Hamilton, Ontario Not rated yet
I see these two almost every day at work on my lunch break. There are a few large old trees they seem to perch in and there is an empty field right …

Fox being chased by unknown Raptor on the beach Not rated yet
This was captured on a security live cam near Port Burwell, Ontario. The video shows a fox being chased away from the beach area by a bird of prey. …

Hawk Not rated yet
What type of bird is this? Thanks for sending your picture of this hawk. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm sure someone on here will be able to identify …

Possible broad-winged hawk sighting Not rated yet
I saw this raptor perched high up in a tree around 9:00 am in Waterloo. I managed to take this photo with a camera with excellent zoom! From internet …

Young bird in Paisley Ontario  Not rated yet
Can anyone help us to identify this juvenile bird? We found it walking around our backyard on Sunday August 12. It was very hungry, loved …

Hawk? Not rated yet
I see these birds often flying over our property in Bradford, Ontario. Typically there are one or two. The last couple of days there have been …

Unknown Bird of Prey Not rated yet
Last year I was vacationing in the Muskoka/Township of Georgian Bay area at Go Home Lake when I saw a huge bird of prey fly by the edge of the lake in …

Birds of Prey Not rated yet
We live in the southwest corner of Toronto, a solid golf shot from the Lake, and have plenty of birds in the area, including spottings of peregrines and …

Cooper's Hawks Not rated yet
One of our readers said ... last winter I spotter a Cooper's Hawk in my backyard in Waterdown ON. Yesterday I was out and saw him swooping low, dipping …

Hawk Sighting? Not rated yet
I saw this in my driveway eating a bird.

Golden Eagle Waterloo Not rated yet
I caught these pictures on my game camera near Erbsville, Ontario. I personally believe it is a Golden Eagle. Most of my night-time pics are deer, …

Afternoon Delight Not rated yet
Spotted this Hawk September 26, in my backyard tree. Right below was my Chipmunk I have been feeding all summer, poking his head out of his hole. …

Unknown Bird of Prey Not rated yet
Sighted on Tar Island in the Thousand islands. What is it? Can anyone help Mary identify this bird of prey? It looks like some kind of Falcon, …

American Kestrel Not rated yet
I was taking photos in Milton on October 29th and was very lucky to not only see a male American Kestrel but also to get a few photos of it. I watched …

Young Raptor Learning to Hunt Not rated yet
This young raptor was spotted on May 15th, 2016 at 2:00 pm outside my 11th floor, apartment window. Located in Clarkson Village, Mississauga, I've seen …

Balcony Hawk Shot Not rated yet
Picture of a Hawk looking for it's next prey, spotted at High Park North, Toronto. These birds fly around the High Park forests and wait for prey at …

Balcony surprise 240 Wellesly Street East Not rated yet
I returned from a walk and noticed an arrival on the balcony about 7:40. Guess it couldn't get into the Blue Jays game. Thanks for sending this …

Curious Hawk Not rated yet
I have bird feeders outside my home office window and yesterday a hawk flew in to the maple tree and scared all his lunch away. He noticed me in the …

Birds of Prey in the Holland Marsh Not rated yet
There was been a great deal of activity along the Holland Canal in January. Large nests and a number of birds, including a Snowy Owl, have been spotted …

The Circle of Life - at the bird feeder Not rated yet
Overcast skies and drizzle provided the perfect cover as a bird of prey swooped in and took out a fat, gentle, well-fed pigeon on a warm January morning …

Sharp Shinned Hawk Not rated yet
Stopped in at our backyard around 1:00 pm February 15th. We have a number of feeders and attract a large number of Squirrels (red, black and grey), …

Click here to write your own.


Raptors and Vultures Info ...

Hawk Cliff - Raptors and Vultures info
This site is a gold-mine of information about migrating birds of prey & vultures in Southern Ontario

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