Winter records of the Red-shouldered Hawk in Eastern Ontario

The following post is a summary of the wintertime records (as 6 February 2023) of Red-shouldered Hawk (RSHA) in eastern Ontario; the winter birding season extends from December 1st to February 28th. The data used is available on eBird. Historical data not yet uploaded to eBird is missing from this list, so, therefore, it is not a comprehensive overview. This list may continue to be updated as historical records are included. The records are categorized by County and organized from oldest to most recent in terms of sighting date. Enjoy and good birding!

Photo: Adult Red-shouldered Hawk (RSHA) near South Bay, Prince Edward County, Ontario. 21 December 2021. Paul Jones.

Prince Edward 

  1. Undescribed Age. Babylon Road. 20 December 1980. Ron Weir & Paul Mackenzie.
  2. Undescribed Age. Babylon Road. 29 January 1999. “Boisvert.”
  3. Undescribed Age. Picton south. 2 February 2000. Eileen Robins.
  4. Undescribed Age. Big Island Marsh. 16 December 2000. “Craighead.”
  5. Undescribed Age. Huycks Point. 14 January 2004. John Blaney.
  6. Undescribed Age. Hubbs. 17 January 2004. John Blaney. Very likely the same bird as described above.
  7. Undescribed Age. Weller’s Bay. 18 December 2005. “Quickert.”
  8. Undescribed Age. North Port. 17 December 2006. “Dewey.”
  9. Undescribed Age. Weller’s Bay. 10 December 2008. “Quickert.”
  10. Undescribed Age. Royal Road. 9 February 2009. “Dewey.”
  11. Undescribed Age. 3 individuals. Ostrander Point. 17 December 2009. Jon Pleizier.
  12. Undescribed Age. PEPBO Long Point Road. 10 December 2011. Terry Sprague.
  13. Adult. Cherry Valley. 22 December 2020. Luke Berg & Matthew Tobey.
  14. Adult. South Bay. 21 December 2021. Paul Jones.
  15. Adult (continuing bird). South Bay. 4 January 2022. Paul Jones.
  16. Adult (continuing bird). South Bay. 23 January 2022. Paul Jones.
  17. Adult. South Bay. 12 December 2022. Paul Jones.
  18. Adult (continuing bird). South Bay. 2 January 2023. Paul Jones.

Hastings

  • There is no December to February record of Red-shouldered Hawk (RSHA) in the eBird dataset.

Lennox & Addington

  1. Adult. Tamworth. 10 January 1997. Kurt Hennige.
  2. Undescribed Age. 2 individuals. Millhaven. 28 December 2007. Unknown observer.
  3. Juvenile. SY. Amherst Island. 22 February 2012. Brandon Holden.
  4. Adult. Highway 401 at Napanee. 25 January 2017. Nathan Miller.
  5. Juvenile. SY. Amherst Island. 26 January 2019. Jon Ruddy.
  6. Adult. Amherst Island. 26 January 2022. Paul Martin.
  7. Juvenile. SY. Amherst Island. 2 December 2022. Bruce Ripley.
  8. Juvenile. SY. Amherst Island. 5 December 2022. Paul Martin & Kate Mitchell.
  9. Juvenile SY (continuing bird). Amherst Island. 7 January 2023. Skyler Freeman.
  10. Juvenile. SY (continuing bird). Amherst Island. 21 January 2023. Tom Wheatley.
  11. Juvenile. SY (continuing bird). Amherst Island. 5 February 2023. Jon Ruddy.

Frontenac

  1. Juvenile. HY. Wolfe Island. 20 December 1986. John Pratt.
  2. Adult. Kingston–Rogers Side Road. 24 January 2007. Paul Mackenzie.
  3. Adult. Bedford Mills. 1 February 2012. Erwin Batalla.
  4. Undescribed Age. QUBS Opinicon Rd. 23 February 2012. Mark Conboy.
  5. Adult. Bedford Mills. 16 January 2013. Jay McMahon.
  6. Juvenile. HY. Opinicon Road. 19 December 2015. Mark Read.

Leeds & Grenville

  1. Undescribed Age. Delta. 22 January 2003. North Leeds Birders.
  2. Undescribed Age. Westport. 1 February 2012. North Leeds Birders.
  3. Adult. North Crosby. 16 January 2013. James Thompson.
  4. Adult. Gananoque west. 7 February 2019. James Thompson.
  5. Adult. Gananoque west. 13 December 2019. James Thompson.
  6. Adult. Gananoque west. 18 January 2020. James Thompson.
  7. Adult. Gananoque west. 4 January 2021. James Thompson.
  8. Undescribed Age. Northeast sector of Delta CBC. 15 December 2021. Barbara ONeill.

Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry

  1. Adult. Summerstown. 12 December 2010. Jacques Bouvier.
  2. Adult. Long Sault Parkway. 2 February 2012. Hans van der Zweep.
  3. Adult. South Dundas off Hwy 401. 9 February 2017. Ken Burrell & James Barber.
  4. Undescribed Age. Sandringham. 2 January 2020. Christian Renault.

Lanark

  1. Undescribed Age. Carleton Place CBC. 27 December 2000. Michael Jacques.
  2. Adult. Gillies Corners. 7 January 2014. Kelly Llyod.

Ottawa

  1. Undescribed Age. Kinburn. 31 January 1998. Larry Neily.
  2. Undescribed Age. Kerwin Trail, Dunrobin. 15 February 1998. Bruce Di Labio.
  3. Adult. Ottawa River at Deschenes Rapids. 25 January 2003. Bernie Ladouceur.
  4. Undescribed Age. Rural Kanata, Gourley Ln. 24 January 2008. Jeff Skevington.
  5. Undescribed Age. Rural Kanata, Gourley Ln. 15 January 2009. Jeff Skevington.
  6. Undescribed Age. Farmland near Richmond. 1 February 2009. Remy Poulin.
  7. Undescibred Age. Constance Bay. 22 February 2018. Jeff Skevington.
  8. Juvenile. SY. Trail Road, Ottawa. 25 January 2020. Melvin Legge.
  9. Adult. Kerwin Trail, Dunrobin. 3 January 2021. Ben Di Labio.
  10. Juvenile. HY. Trim Road, Ottawa. 29 December 2021. Vincent Fyson.

Renfrew

  • There is no December to February record of Red-shouldered Hawk (RSHA) in the eBird dataset.

Prescott-Russell

  • There is no December to February record of Red-shouldered Hawk (RSHA) in the eBird dataset.

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Photo: Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk (RSHA) on Amherst Island, Lennox & Addington County. Finding a wintertime Red-shouldered Hawk in eastern Ontario is a lovely surprise. Treat yourself to a nice meal/cold brew/sweet treat after such a find. Remember, savour your birding journey and reward yourself for/celebrate your rare finds. This beautiful juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk was a nice surprise find during a regularly-scheduled tour to Amherst Island. 26 January 2019. Jon P. Ruddy.