Holiday Beach Conservation Area's three-storey Hawk Tower stands directly under one of North America's busiest fall raptor flyways. Birds funnel along the north shore of Lake Erie before crossing the Detroit River, and the corner of Essex County they cross over is Holiday Beach. The Holiday Beach Migration Observatory has run a continuous count from this site since 1974, and members here developed HawkCount — the platform now used by 200+ hawk-watching sites across the continent.
Dress in layers; stay hydrated; sun protection recommended
September is the peak: broad-winged hawks dominate the early part of the month in big kettles, sharp-shinned and red-tailed hawks build later. Across a typical fall, observers tally between 600,000 and 750,000 migrant birds, including an average of 75,000 hawks. The tower deck is the public viewing platform and the count platform — HBMO runs banding demonstrations through the Festival of Hawks weekends. Holiday Beach Conservation Area is the access: $12 per vehicle, $5 walk-in, open 6am–8pm mid-April through Thanksgiving. Carolinian-zone weather means warm afternoons, occasional Lake Erie squalls, and mosquitoes earlier in the season.
Fall raptor migration corridor with the three-storey Hawk Tower as the count and viewing platform. Sharp-shinned, broad-winged, and red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures, bald eagles, and peregrine falcons all funnel through.
Wetlands six kilometres east of Holiday Beach, jointly designated with Holiday Beach as a globally significant Important Bird Area. Staging ground for herons, egrets, and waterfowl, and breeding habitat for the endangered Prothonotary Warbler.
Detroit River frontage at the staging point of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail; waterfowl viewing along the shoreline through winter when the upriver ponds freeze.
Holiday Beach Conservation Area: $12 per vehicle, $5 walk-in or cyclist; open 6am–8pm daily, mid-April through Thanksgiving
essexregionconservation.ca ↗Holiday Beach is closed mid-November through mid-April
essexregionconservation.ca ↗Controlled waterfowl hunting is permitted seasonally at Holiday Beach; bird visitors should check ERCA before fall trips
essexregionconservation.ca ↗6952 County Road 50
Non-profit research organization running the fall hawk count, Festival of Hawks, and public hawk-watching programs at the tower.