All Eyes to the Skies for Festival of Hawks at Holiday Beach Conservation Area

Phil Roberts of the HBMO demonstrates a banded Red-tail Hawk at the Festival of Hawks.

Amherstburg– All eyes will be on the skies this September as local birders and nature lovers take in one of North America’s greatest migration at Holiday Beach Conservation Area: tens of thousands of hawks and raptors flying overhead on their annual journey to nesting grounds in the south.

The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA), together with the Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO), will host the 2025 Festival of Hawks on September 13 & 14. Learn more about the birds of prey that migrate through this conservation area each year with a variety of educational workshops and hikes. Experts will conduct raptor and hummingbird banding and adoptions in support of their important species and populations monitoring efforts each year.   Local experts will share information on a wide range of birding and nature-related topics. These include:

·       HBMO’s Bob Pettit will provide expertise on identifying hawks in flight.

·       Peak Migration Bird Hike with birding expert Jeremy Bensette

·       Join in the Woodland Critter Parade both days showcasing costumes and masks created in the WFCU Credit Union activity tent

·       Take part in various beginner bird and family butterfly hikes

·       Learn from local groups such as RAEON, Parks Canada, Wildlife Preservation Canada, Windsor of Change and more on their conservation and environmental programs

·       Purchase delicious lunch options from Scotty’s BBQ and Catering.

·       Native Trees and Plants (NTP) will sell native plants

·       Evening Owl Prowl Experience with Jess Rose, Environmental Educator, ERCA

·       Just Fishin’ Friends will be at the Trout Pond to share casting tips with guests

·       Visit multiple artwork booths featuring a variety of wildlife and nature themed displays

This year’s Festival will also include a number of new children’s activities, including a woodland Critter Parade at 1:30pm at the Outdoor Classroom both days. Guests are encouraged to come dressed as your favourite woodland critter, or to make a mask at the event tent and join in. Kids can also take a chance at the Birds of a Feather Treasure Hunt and match clues to hidden birds and feathers along the trail.

“Audobon Magazine has identified Holiday Beach Conservation Area as one of the 10 best sites in all of North America to experience the raptor migration, and we’re so lucky to have it right in our own back yard,” notes Danielle Breault Stuebing, ERCA’s Director of Communications & Outreach.  “Whether you are an expert birder or nature-loving family, there’s something for everyone at the annual Festival of Hawks.”

On Saturday evening, tickets are available for a special evening Owl Prowl to learn about the owls of Ontario, their adaptations, calls, and behaviours. At this intimate experience, participants will take a guided walk through the woods, looking and listening for owls. “When circumstances are just right and you're able to call in an owl, it’s really an extraordinary experience,” Breault Stuebing adds. Tickets for this special experience must be pre-purchased at https://essexregionconservation.ca/owlprowl .

The Festival takes place 9am to 3pm on September 13 & 14.  All daytime programs are included with the festival admission fee of $20 per vehicle or a seasonal pass. The final list of programs is available at https://essexregionconservation.ca/hawkfest .

The best raptor viewing time is from 9am until noon when the hawks fly low. The Holiday Beach Conservation Area is located on County Road 50, on Lake Erie near Malden Centre approximately 15km southeast of historic Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, a half hour drive from Highway 401 and only 40 minutes from the Ambassador Bridge for those coming from Detroit.  

Since 1973, Essex Region Conservation has been sustaining and enriching the environment of the Windsor-Essex-Pelee Island region to ensure it is the Place for Life.