Red Tailed Hawks

by Cameron, Matthew, Margaret, Robert, Dawn, Tah
( Toronto, Milton, Dundas, Waterloo, Guelph, Forest City)

One of our readers sent us this picture of a Red Tailed Hawk, he says ... I watched a Red Tailed Hawk sitting in a tree by a field, then it let out a screech and flew down to the field to pick up it's meal!

Cameron from Toronto wrote to tell us of a Hawk retrieving a snack ... I live on Cosburn Avenue in Toronto, north of Greek Town. about 2 blocks east of Broadview. This afternoon I watched what looked to me to be a young Red-Tail on the balcony across the grass between two high-rise apartment buildings. I say I think it was a Red-Tail, but I am no expert. I just saw the wings go by my living room window and knew that was no pigeon. It alighted on the rail of the 6th floor balcony opposite mine on the 8th. I had a clear view through 8x Busch. It was grey-brown with a cinnamon tail. I will call her she; she walked crab wise up and down the banister rail looking, I thought at first, into the windows. After maybe 10 minutes she flew off did a sort of barrel roll and landed on the rail of the balcony on the 5th floor. Again she went crabbing back and forth until she finally found it: she jumped down and retrieved a partially eaten pigeon, finished it and flew off. About half an hour in all. Once she left, the pigeons came back to roost. About half hour in all. Sorry had no camera handy and ones on phone were useless (blurred, bad zoom, etc.)

Matthew from Milton wrote to report ... I was driving northbound on James Snow Parkway between Britannia and Derry and saw a Red Tailed Hawk. It was flying/hovering about twenty feet above the field on the east side of the road. It appeared to be hunting something on the ground, and it seemed as though it was waiting for its prey to come out of a burrow. It was doing this for about 45 seconds. It then swooped low to the field and flew to a cluster of trees. It was an amazing sight to behold! I believe it was this same bird that flew directly over me a week earlier. I was driving westbound on Brittania just before turning on to James Snow Parkway. It flew across the road in a south west direction and landed on the South side of Brittania. I believe it was also hunting prey on that occasion as well. It' looked like it was going in for the kill; quick and stealthy. What a beautiful bird!

Margaret wrote to tell us ... Not much of a story, though we are enthralled. We just recently moved to Dundas and back onto a ravine overlooking McMaster. Yesterday afternoon we saw what most certainly is a Red Tailed Hawk. Today we saw two, perched in the trees of the ravine, and then taking off. Huge wing span, white belly, red tail. Stunning.

Robert Lake from Waterloo wrote to say ... I saw a large hawk on a street lamp post - didn't move at all while I walked around it. Mainly white breast feathers with brown spots - dark back and head feathers with white touches. Then I saw a larger version of the same bird, about 100 metres further down the road - on the ground at first, but it lifted off as I got closer and flew to a nearby tree branch, where I checked it out for a few minutes. Seemed to me like a pair of Red-Tailed hawks, though I didn't see a red tail, just a short dark tail on both of them.

Dawn Matheson wrote to say ... We were visiting Ignatious Centre Guelph (Catholic Ecological Centre) as I often do, walking the trails or the labyrinth. A Red Tail was perched on a tree near the old road in. When we approached, it flew off but was dive bombed by two crows. Quite a dance. I learned that this is called mobbing.

Tah from Forest City, NC wrote to say Yesterday I picked up my granddaughter at school and took her home. We noticed two groups of hawks soaring over a large field, we got out of the car and stood looking up at this strange sight and wondering why the hawks were doing this. As we looked on at this amazing sight one group started flying one by one over to join the other group of soaring hawks. Now they were one large flock of hawks soaring higher and higher into the sky until it was hard to see them. They went so high they looked like small specks in the sky. Then they started flying off towards the west. I got up this morning with the hawks on my mind....and I am grateful I found this site. I look for hawks soaring everyday because they lift my spirit and bring me joy....oh how I envy them:) I am grateful to find this site with info and video...thanks!

Thank you all for writing to tell us about your Hawk sightings - for sending us your picture (if you let me know your name, I will add it to this page), and to Tah for telling us about your sighting of the flock of Hawks - after these birds leave Canada, heading south, they must fly over your area as they head to their wintering area.

Thanks again all!