Bird safe windows in Ontario Provincial Parks
Over the past several years, there have been significant efforts to mitigate bird collisions with buildings in Ontario provincial parks. Retrofits of glass at park facilities have been performed by staff at the Pinery, Rondeau, Point Burwell and Algonquin Provincial Park. We recently learned of a new installation of a bird collision deterrent on glass at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park near Thunder Bay. We reached out to the Park Superintendent, who connected us with their team’s Discovery Leader (DL). They kindly agreed to be interviewed about their success with protecting birds in the Park.
Brendon: Tell us about Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. What kinds of birds do people usually see there?
DL: Sleeping Giant Provincial Park is located about one hour east of Thunder Bay and offers breathtaking views of Lake Superior and the surrounding area, which are available from the Top of the Giant Trail and Thunder Bay Lookout. The park is home to over 100 km of incredible hiking trails with many spectacular geological features such as the ‘Sea Lion’, which is the rock arch that many visitors come to the park to see and photograph, Tee Harbour and of course the Sleeping Giant itself.
There are excellent wildlife viewing opportunities in the park’s boreal forest: deer, wolf, fox, lynx and over 200 bird species. Some bird species that people often see are American White Pelicans, Bald Eagles, Barred Owls, Merlins, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Black-capped Chickadees, Ruffed Grouse, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Swainson’s Thrushes, Tree Swallows, Cedar Waxwings, American Redstarts, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Black-throated Green Warblers.
Brendon: Do you have a favourite bird species that you see in the park?
DL: My favourite bird species in the park is the Belted Kingfisher. I really appreciate the crest, large beak and unique call.
Brendon: You recently treated windows on the park‘s visitor centre. Can you tell me how that initiative came about?
DL: To reduce and prevent bird strikes (i.e., birds flying into building windows) during spring and fall migrations, bird strike deterrent stickers were purchased and applied to the windows of the visitor centre over the summers of 2024 and 2025.
Brendon: What material did you use to treat the windows? Was it difficult to apply?
DL: We used Feather Friendly DIY white markers to treat the windows. It was a bit finicky, but with some practice the application became smoother.
Brendon: Have you received any feedback from visitors since the treatment? What do people think?
DL: Visitors are supportive of the window treatment and like that we are taking action to reduce the number of bird strikes at the visitor centre.
Brendon: There have been a few other Ontario Parks that also treated glass at their facilities for bird safety. Does the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks support this work?
DL: Ontario Parks recognizes the importance of protecting birds by reducing the number of bird strikes and that’s why you will find glass markers to deter bird strikes at Ontario Parks locations such as Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.
So there you have it! We applaud the staff at Sleeping Giant for taking initiative to protect birds in their park, and thank all Ontario Parks staff for their important work stewarding bird habitats across the province of Ontario.
