Since 1975, birdwatchers have been monitoring the annual spring migration of hawks, eagles, falcons, and vultures over the Niagara Peninsula. Every spring this process reverses and these birds return to Canada to nest and raise their young. Migrating birds in spring have a purpose, and that is to get where they are going in the shortest time possible. In order to achieve the fastest rate of travel and conserve energy, they seek out rising air. Along the Niagara Escarpment, strong updrafts are created by winds being deflected upwards as they blow against this limestone cliff.
Migrant hawks take advantage of the redirected winds and glide on set wings above the tree tops.
At Hamilton, the end of Lake Ontario, they drift northward with many seeking out the escarpment again and other spreading out elsewhere. Circling inside this thermal, the birds will rise until they are mere specks, and at the top of the thermal they glide on for long distances without moving a feather. In spring, the cold waters of Lakes Ontario and Erie will not produce thermals and the birds of prey migrating north into Ontario must go around these two bodies of water. They configuration of the two lakes creates a funneling effect, and the result is that large numbers of birds of prey fly directly over the Niagara Peninsula. Beamer Memorial Conservation Area, located on the top of the escarpment overlooking Grimsby, is an ideal observation point for hawk enthusiasts.