Amherst Island
Amherst Island is a globally significant IBA where large numbers of migrant waterfowl gather in autumn, and shorebirds are attracted to the marshes and swamps on the southwest side.
DiLabio Birding Inc. provides guided outings 613-839-4395
Amherst Island Ferry Service 613-389-3393
Kingston Field Naturalists 613-389-8338

Cabot Head
Cabot Head serves as a migrant trap and is recognized as a globally significant IBA.
Earthquest Canada offers guided nature tours 519-875-3340
Summer House Park also offers tours 519-795-7712
Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory 519-795-7652

Cranberry Marsh
Cranberry Marsh is a provincially significant, 40-hectare coastal wetland in the southwest corner of Lynde Shores Conservation Area, at the west end of the town of Whitby.
Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority 905-579-0411
Cranberry Marsh Raptor Watch www.torontobirding.ca/gtrw

Hamilton
Dundas Marsh (also known as Cootes Paradise), in Hamilton’s west end, Hamilton Harbour and the entire Lake Ontario shoreline from Port Credit to the Niagara River have been designated as three separate IBAs.
Hamilton Region Conservation Authority 888-319-4722

Hawk Cliff
Hawk Cliff is in an area of open fields on top of a 40-metre-high bluff overlooking Lake Erie. The area is about five kilometers east of Port Stanley, at the end of Hawk Cliff Road.
Hawk Cliff Foundation www.ezlink.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff

Holiday Beach Conservation Area
Holiday Beach Conservation Area is a globally significant IBA located on the shore of Lake Erie south of Windsor. Guided hikes and banding demonstrations take place during the Festival of Hawks in the latter half of September.
Holiday Beach Conservation Area 519-736-3772
Holiday Beach Migration Observatory www.hbmo.org

Kettle Point
Kettle Point is on the Lake Huron shoreline of the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation Reserve (519-786-2125), west of Grand Bend, and is part of the Port Franks Forested Dunes IBA.

Kingston
The marshlands and mouth of the Cataraqui River, on the east side of Kingston, and Little Cataraqui Creek, in the west end of the city, are important waterfowl and shorebird staging grounds and migrant swallow roosts.
Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority 613-546-4228

Lac Deschênes
A major migration corridor, the Ottawa River widens between Britannia Bay, at the west end of the city of Ottawa, and Shirley’s Bay, farther upstream, to form Lac Deschênes, an IBA. DiLabio Birding Inc. provides guided outings 613-839-4395

Lake St. Clair
Extensive wetlands and flat farm fields along the east side of Lake St. Clair are considered the most important waterfowl staging areas south of James Bay. The globally significant IBA also attracts a wide diversity of migrant shorebirds.
St. Clair National Wildlife Area 519-354-1418

Long Point
A World Biosphere Reserve and globally significant IBA, Long Point (part of Long Point Provincial Park) forms the longest freshwater sand spit on earth, stretching 32 kilometres eastward into Lake Erie.
Earthquest Canada offers a four-day tour package to the Long Point area in October 519-875-3340
Long Point Bird Observatory (Bird Studies Canada office) 519-586-3531

Manitoulin Island
Migrant waterfowl and shorebirds concentrate around or stream by the west end of Manitoulin Island. South-central Manitoulin and the island’s west end are ranked as continentally significant IBAs.
Manitoulin Tourism Association 705-368-3021

Matchedash Bay
Considered the most important coastal plain lake in Ontario, Matchedash Bay, east of Midland, is a nationally significant IBA.
Bowles environmental Consultants provides guided outings 705-325-3149

Minesing Swamp
Located west of Barrie, Minesing Swamp is a 6,000-hectare complex of deciduous swamps, black spruce bogs, fens and marshes.
Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority 705-424-1479

Niagara River
The Niagara River Corridor was the first globally significant IBA designated in Ontario. Di Labio Birding Inc. conducts a November trip to the river.
Niagara Parks Commission 905-356-2241

Oliphant
The beaches and fens along the Lake Huron shore at the base of the Bruce Peninsula, east of Wiarton near Oliphant, draw shorebirds and waterfowl.
Grey Sauble Conservation Authority 519-376-3076

Orillia
Southbound waterfowl raft on Orillia’s waterfront at the narrows, as well as on the west side of Lake Simcoe south of Orillia, at Carthew Bay, Eight Mile Point and Shingle Bay.
Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority 800-465-0437

Pittock Reservoir
Created by a dam on the Thames River at Woodstock, the Pittock Reservoir is surrounded by the woods and fields of Pittock Conservation Area (519-539-5088) and is recognized as a globally significant IBA.

Point Edward
Point Edward, in Sarnia, is a good spot to observe southbound waterfowl, as well as gulls and rare open-sea birds. Many hawks and landbirds also follow the lakeshore to Point Edward.
St. Clair Region Conservation Authority 519-245-3710

Point Pelee National Park
The majority of Point Pelee National Park, a world-famous IBA, is marshland; forest, swamp and red cedar savannah cover the rest. Many birds crossing Lake Erie from the point touch down on Pelee Island, which is a separate IBA.
Bowles environmental consultants provides guided outings to Pelee island: 705-325-3149
Point Pelee Tours offers guided trips to the area 519-945-6610
The friends of Point Pelee 866-787-3533

Presqu’ile Provincial Park
A peninsula in eastern Lake Ontario just south of Brighton, Presqu’ile Provincial Park is a globally important IBA with extensive woods, wetlands and prime birding beachfront.
Di Labio Birding Inc. runs autumn tours of the park 613-839-4395
Presqu’il e Provincial Park 613-475-2204

Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area
Extending eight kilometres into Lake Ontario at the southeastern tip of Prince Edward County, Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area is a migrant trap for landbirds in autumn.
Guided trips are available through Di Labio Birding Inc. 613-839-4395
Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory www.peptbo.ca
Quinte Conservation 613-968-3434

Rock Point Provincial Park
A viewing platform in Rock Point Provincial Park, southeast of Dunnville, overlooks a flat limestone shoreline that is one of the biggest shorebird magnets on Lake Erie.
Rock Point Provincial Park 905-774-6642

Rondeau Provincial Park
Rondeau Provincial Park covers more than 30 square kilometers of Carolinian forest, marsh and sloughs on the shore of Lake Erie, southeast of Chatham, and, together with the surrounding area, is a globally significant IBA.
Rondeau Provincial Park 519-674-1750

Toronto
The Leslie Street Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) is a globally significant IBA on Toronto’s eastern waterfront. Migrant landbirds and northern saw-whet owls frequent the Toronto Islands, especially around the nature reserve behind the filtration plant. The city’s hawk watch is on an open knoll in the centre of High Park, in Toronto’s west end.
Toronto Parks and Recreation Department 416-392-1111
High Park Hawk Watch www.torontobirding.ca/gtrw/hp/site.htm

Wildwood Conservation Area
Thousands of gulls, waterfowl and shorebirds are drawn to the Wildwood Conservation Area, a globally significant IBA southwest of Stratford.
Wildwood Conservation Area 519-284-2931

An IBA is a designated Important Bird Area. BirdLife International coordinates the IBA program, an international conservation initiative. The Canadian co-partners are Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada.