London raptor

It's call was loud and raspy and impossible not to notice. Walkers stopped walking; Joggers stopped jogging. It didn't take long to spot the source: A large, noisy hawk perched on a high limb overlooking the park.

The hawk's call attracted this photographer.

Hawks are common in the London, Ontario suburb in which I live. The Ingersoll glacial moraine runs right through Byron. The high ridge of land has rather steep approaches and raptors hover in the strong updrafts.

The open fields in the subdivision are well populated with mice. Those with homes bordering the fields hate those mice but the raptors love 'em.

During the fall migration, half a dozen large raptors of assorted species can often be sighted hovering in the steady updrafts seeking a quick meal, while literally hundreds of birds pass overhead possibly on their way to Hawk's Cliff near Port Stanley on the north shore of Lake Erie.