Windsor designated 'Bird Friendly City' by Nature Canada

A bird is seen on a branch in this undated stock image (Pexels/Monique Laats)

Windsor is Canada’s next certified “Bird Friendly City.”

Nature Canada announced the designation on Thursday. Windsor is the 16th city in Canada to earn the title.

Officials say Nature Canada’s partners, led by the Pelee Island Bird Observatory, along with many other community organizations, have worked to make their community a safe haven for wild birds.

“Windsor has made strides toward becoming a cleaner, greener, healthier, and more sustainable place to live. A bird friendly city designation allows us to showcase these efforts, and help to do the same for birds and other wildlife,” says Jennifer Nantais, urban bird educator with the Pelee Island Bird Observatory.

Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens says proclaiming Windsor as a Bird Friendly City is a great boost, with economic and ecotourism potential.

“We agree that healthy bird populations are of critical importance to biodiversity and ecosystem health,” said Dilkens. “Part of our commitment to Windsor becoming one of the first 30 cities to be certified in Canada, we have been moving towards creation of a national urban park at the Ojibway Prairie Complex. This would improve bird habitat in Windsor, among many other benefits.”

The city has implemented bird friendly policies and actions to help birds thrive in Windsor. These actions include:

• Implementing a collaborative approach involving animal welfare groups, nature groups and researchers to mitigate bird mortality from cat predation,
• Developing municipal strategies to protect natural features, biodiversity and key habitat, while implementing actions to achieve goals identified in the strategies,
• Presenting effective educational campaigns led by community organizations to raise awareness of the threats birds face in Windsor and provide information about how to mitigate them to protect bird biodiversity.

The Bird Friendly City designation has been developed by Nature Canada to encourage Canadian cities and municipalities to become safer and better places for birds.

Nature Canada’s Bird Friendly City program encourages communities to take action to:

• Reduce the number of human-related threats to birds such as roaming cats, the use of pesticides and glass treatment on buildings with large windows,
• Create safe environments for birds by promoting stewardship and ensuring that natural habitats are protected and restored,
• Engage and educate citizens about the benefits of Bird Friendly Cities and celebrating birds in our communities.

In each municipality seeking to become Bird Friendly certified, Bird Teams are created and residents are actively engaged in protecting, monitoring and celebrating their local bird populations