A bald eagle soars high above Mississauga’s south end near R.K. McMillan Park. A local nature lover and avid photographer has been keeping an eye on two of the majestic birds since discovering them in 2024. (Photo: Scott Heywood)

For most people interested in such things, spotting a bald eagle in Mississauga — still an uncommon occurrence — is reason to get excited and quickly spread the word.

Scott Heywood is no different — except that for nearly two years now the lifelong Mississauga resident, nature lover and avid photographer has regularly witnessed not one, but two of the majestic birds of prey as they go about their lives at R.K. McMillan Park on the city’s lakefront.

He first spotted the instantly recognizable bald eagles soaring in fall 2024 during a visit to the popular natural space located in the Port Credit neighbourhood.

Heywood, who studied biology nearly three decades ago at University of Toronto Mississauga, told INsauga.com in an interview this week he was sitting in the beach area of the park in late 2024 when the impressive creatures of the sky appeared.

He said the occasion marked the first time he’d ever seen a bald eagle — let alone two of them — in Mississauga. That makes sense, given word from Credit Valley Conservation earlier this year that only more recently have North America’s largest birds of prey somewhat reemerged in Mississauga, Brampton, Toronto and other communities across southern Ontario after having previously been an extremely rare sight for many years in these parts.

Another photo of one of the bald eagles who’ve made a home in R.K. McMillan Park in Mississauga. (Photo: Scott Heywood)

Having made the exciting discovery, Heywood immediately set about photographing the bald eagles, and he has continued to do so during regular visits to the waterfront park the past couple of years.

During that time, he says he’s fortunate to have again seen them “too many times to count.”

Heywood posted one of his most-recent shots to Facebook group Port Credit Life earlier this week. A number of people responded with comments showing a great degree of interest in and amazement at the beauty of the photo and the awe-inspiring subject forever captured in a single moment as it soared high above the south end of Canada’s seventh-largest city.

The bald eagles have made a home in the “tallest tree”

Heywood, responding to one person who commented, noted the large birds are nesting in the “tallest tree just before the little pier” at the lakefront park.

“What’s unique is there are two of them,” he continued on the post, adding they’ve been there at least two years as far as he knows. “They fly away, fish and return a few times a day.”

Heywood told INsauga.com that nearly two years later, he still recalls vividly the rush he felt after first laying eyes on the gorgeous winged creatures.

“I had to find somebody to tell,” he says, adding not long after he’d captured the breathtaking images he found an appreciative audience in some friends who raved about the photos — and that Heywood had been fortunate enough to make such an uncommon discovery.

The large bird of prey swoops down from the heights on occasion to search for fish in the waters below. (Photo: Scott Heywood)

Ever respectful of the creatures and their desire to be left alone, Heywood says he always keeps his distance from the nest whenever he visits the park.

“I like to just sit and observe,” he says, adding he hopes bald eagles are making a comeback in Mississauga and surrounding areas due to a maturing environment and a greater respect for natural areas.

The birds of prey are a “conservation success story,” says CVC

Local conservation officials said earlier this year that bald eagles, which can live up to 30 years or longer, “are a conservation success story in the Credit River Watershed,” which includes Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon, Halton Hills and Orangeville in addition to several smaller communities.

“Once rare due to habitat loss and pollution, these powerful birds have returned as water quality has improved and fish populations have rebounded, a clear sign of a healthier watershed,” Credit Valley Conservation officials said.

Credit Valley Conservation works to protect, restore and enhance the watershed area in Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon, Halton Hills and Orangeville — all home to sections of the Credit River, which empties into Lake Ontario in the Port Credit area of Mississauga.

Bald eagles can be found throughout most of North America, according to the local conservation authority, and within the Credit River Watershed they are most often sighted in Mississauga near Lake Ontario or the Credit River because of their affinity for water.

Map shows R.K. McMillan Park in Mississauga, where two bald eagles have built a nest and gone about their business for at least the past two years.

“Despite their name, bald eagles are not bald. Instead, their white-feathered heads shine in contrast to their dark-brown body and wings,” CVC said earlier of the iconic bird that’s become synonymous with the United States.

Some bald eagles stay in the same general area for the entire year while others are migratory, CVC said earlier, adding September and October are the best time of year to spot migratory bald eagles in southern Ontario.

The conservation authority also noted earlier that nesting of bald eagles has, in the last few years, been documented close to Port Credit and also confirmed in Hamilton, Toronto, Oakville and several other locations around the Greater Toronto Area.

CVC says actions that may have increased the local population of bald eagles include:

The banning in Canada in 1985 of the pesticide DDT.
Habitat restoration and improved water quality.
Protection of green spaces, forests and wetlands.
Protection under the Endangered Species Act in Ontario.

“Populations increased and stayed stable from these conservation efforts to a point that they were removed from the Ontario Endangered Species Act in 2023,” CVC said earlier.


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