The foundation is a non-profit charitable organization run by volunteers dedicated to providing education about the preservation of North American migratory birds. One of our projects is to purchase land along the shores of Lake Erie in Elgin County, thereby preserving part of the migratory route of North American songbirds, raptors and monarchs.
The Lake Erie shoreline of Elgin County is a unique place during spring and fall migration. In early spring, thousands of tundra swans, en route from wintering grounds in North Carolina and Chesapeake Bay, stop in local cornfields and wildlife management areas to rest and feed before continuing their flight to their arctic nesting grounds. Early May brings the brilliant colours of spring warblers, as they flit from tree to tree, gleaning insects, replenishing the energy expended in their lengthy migration from the south. September finds the first raptors, winging south: the American kestrel, smallest of the falcon family, and the sharp-shinned hawk, smallest of the accipiters. Below the hawks fly the hummingbirds and monarch butterflies, also migrating south. Broad-winged hawks ride the thermals, form large kettles, then soar southward in mid-September. As fall progresses, so does the spectacle of migration. With the approach of cooler weather, many of the larger hawks and eagles begin their southward journeys.
Visit the Hawk Cliff Foundation website for more information. |
