Ontario’s Bill 23 eliminated municipal bird friendly building guidelines. Now it’s time to put a province-wide standard in the Building Code.

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By Brendon Samuels, Ontario Building Code Campaign Coordinator Unprecedented changes are happening in Ontario under Bill 23, but what do they mean for birds? Bill 23 will erode environmental protections under the guise of solving the housing crisis, yet the Bill offers virtually nothing to increase affordable housing. Read the joint statement by FLAP Canada […]

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The Invisible Cabin: A Deadly Illusion for Birds

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Environmentally conscious would-be vacationers are being misled by false promises. Clever marketers paint an irresistible picture of a novel and eco-friendly retreat. “Come immerse yourself in nature!” they say. In the middle of an unspoiled forest, you can stay in a supposedly ‘green’ cabin, which, with its mirrored exterior, is specifically designed to camouflage perfectly […]

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The Value of Research in Creating Bird-Friendly Campuses

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High collision mortality documented during winter and migration spurs conservation action at the University of British Columbia. By Krista De Groot Most collision research has occurred during fall and spring migration in the eastern half of North America, creating both a seasonal and a regional bias in published results. However, after conducting collision research across […]

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History in the Making: TD Centre Bird-Safe Retrofits a Testament to Our Collective Efforts

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We at FLAP Canada were elated to hear the news of what will be the largest bird-safe building retrofit in North America (and possibly the world). Cadillac Fairview (CF), a Canadian commercial real estate company, will soon begin installing bird collision deterrent markers at their iconic Toronto-Dominion (TD) Centre in Toronto’s Financial District. This retrofit […]

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Balcony Birding: A Great Way to Enjoy Birds While We Stay Home

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By Monika Croydon Balcony birding is the hot new hobby! No traveling or social distancing required, with easy access to food, drinks, and washrooms. Lockdowns don’t stop the birds from migrating! Now that we in Ontario are back to a stay-at-home directive, it’s even more important to be able to watch birds safely. I’m very […]

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Choosing Coffee That Supports Bird Conservation

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Ah, coffee. Many of us can’t get through our day without a cup (or three). Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages, but our addiction to caffeine can come with a steep environmental price tag. Most of the coffee we drink comes from plantations that destroy and clear native forest to grow coffee […]

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Meet the Birds of Global Bird Rescue: 2020 Edition

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By Kaitlin Brough, FLAP Canada’s Global Bird Rescue Coordinator for 2019 & 2020 As we enter into colder weather in North America, most of the migratory birds have already made their passage south. Sadly, many of these birds never arrive at their wintering grounds because they are killed or injured from collisions with glass during […]

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Mitigating Glass Railings

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By John Carley All FLAP volunteers and supporters are well aware of the dangers windows present to birds, but all too often we forget about other architectural uses of glass. You’ve probably seen the ad, or one similar – Undisturbed, natural, beautiful – extolling the virtues of frameless glass railings for your home or cottage. […]

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Keep Cats Safe and Save Bird Lives

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By Ted Cheskey and Aly Hyder Ali, Nature Canada In 2013, Canadian Bird Scientist Peter Blanchard authored one of several scientific papers, published in the Journal Avian Ecology and Conservation on human-related causes of bird mortality.  The papers quantified a spectrum of human-related causes of bird mortality, using the best science available. The result was […]

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Eyes on the Road Ahead: Using Bird Vision to Prevent Collisions with Windows

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By Brendon Samuels Whether you’re a human driving a car or a bird migrating across a continent, navigating safely at high speed requires awareness of visual signals in the environment. Fortunately for humans, signals along roads and highways are designed to be highly conspicuous so drivers can easily spot them. For example, road signs are […]

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