Birding

Walk along the escarpment trails on a warm day, and you’ll see kettles of Turkey Vultures soaring on thermal drafts. Traipse through the Nassagaweya Canyon from Crawford Lake to Rattlesnake Point, and maybe you’ll see Belted Kingfishers on the banks of the meromictic lake, woodpeckers knocking on trees, or birds of prey swirling overhead on your way to Rattlesnake Point. Hold out a hand with seeds and peanuts in the winter at Hilton Falls, and a chubby chickadee will stop for a snack.

This is only the beginning of the many species you’ll see when birdwatching in Halton Parks. Conservation Halton offers a variety of habitats enabling birders to see a variety of bird species in all of the Halton Parks. Young or young at heart, you’ll love the thrill of spotting the large flocks of feathered friends our conservation areas attract. The beauty of birding is that an amateur has just as good a chance at making that rare bird sighting as a professional, and it’s a great way to get the kids interested in nature!

See if you can identify some of the many birds in our watershed using these checklists. Print the appropriate seasonal check list, and see what you find in our watershed.

Where can I view birds?

Hilton Falls

With its diversity of habitats, including forest, marsh, swamp, valley and cliff, Hilton Falls provides great birding and wildlife viewing.

Hilton Falls is part of an extensive area of contiguous forest and therefore provides habitat for a variety of interior forest breeding birds, such as Brown Creeper, Veery, Scarlet Tanager, Pileated Woodpecker, Black-and-white Warbler, and Black-throated Green Warbler.

The network of wetlands provides habitat and viewing opportunities for species such as Pied-billed Grebe, Virginia Rail, Sora, Wood Duck, American Coot, Marsh Wren, and Osprey. The threatened Least Bittern has also been known to breed here.

The deep valleys and fast moving water provide ideal habitat for the rare Louisiana Waterthrush.

Mountsberg

The reservoir at Mountsberg is an excellent area for waterfowl migration in spring and fall. Species commonly seen in large numbers include American Wigeon, Rig-necked Ducks and Ruddy Ducks.

One of the more interesting breeding species in the reservoir is the Least Bittern, a nationally and provincially threatened species. Mountsberg is also a good place to observe migrating warblers in spring throughout the wooded areas.

Visit the Birds of Prey at Mountsberg. Better yet, book a Raptor Encounter at the Mountsberg Raptor Centre to get nose-to-beak with some of resident birds!