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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Spring is in the air. The grass is getting greener, robins are singing their hearts out, and a steady stream of migratory songbirds are passing by on their way to their breeding grounds. For those of us who are used to getting out in nature to witness the magic of spring migration, being homebound during […]
The last few weeks of winter may have us longing for the warmth of spring and summer, and we aren’t the only ones thinking of the months ahead. Many of our favourite migratory songbirds, which have jumped ship and headed south to warmer climates for the winter, are now busy fattening up in preparation for […]
It’s a distressing reality that millions of birds continue to tragically die in Canada every year due to collisions with glass. Most of the birds that hit windows die on impact or soon after due to their injuries. But some birds simply appear to be stunned. Will these birds be ok? Many people think that […]
One little bird started it all. For Michael Mesure, FLAP Canada’s Executive Director, keeping birds safe in urban areas has been the focus of his life for the last 30 years. At the beginning of the New Year, I sat down with Michael to look back on 2019 and look forward to FLAP’s plans for […]
Thirty years ago, I was on a mission in downtown Toronto to understand the bird- building collision phenomenon. I came across a common yellowthroat stunned but still alive at the base of a building, and in need of rescuing. Ever so gently, I placed it in a brown paper bag, and drove with it to […]