Tips for Educating Building Tenants about Bird-Safe Best Practices

The tiny Golden-crowned Kinglet, weighing little more than a nickel, is a frequent victim of window collisions during their challenging migratory journey. Photo: Nancy Barrett

Fall bird migration is just around the corner, and with it, an increased risk of birds fatally colliding with buildings during their amazing journeys. Bird-window collisions are at their peak in the fall as billions of beautiful, colourful birds (and all the babies born in the summer) must navigate through unfamiliar urban areas on the way to their wintering grounds. Luckily, there are simple steps you can take to help migrating birds safely reach their winter homes.

Educating and empowering your tenants and staff to embrace bird-safe practices is one way that you as a property owner or manager can help birds and highlight your commitment to green building management. Fall bird migration in the Great Lakes area will begin mid-August and continue until mid-November. Follow these tips to engage your tenants and staff and get ready for fall migration.

1. Send a migration alert

At the beginning of fall migration, send out a bird migration notice to tenants and staff via email or through your regular newsletter. Detail the importance of protecting birds during this critical time and the specific actions that you would like tenants to take, such as light reduction practices. Also be sure to prepare tenants for the possibility of encountering a dead or injured bird that has hit a window. Describe the steps they should take to help an injured bird and document all window strikes.

Download sample email text to send to your tenants and staff.

2. Post notices in communal areas

For the length of fall migration, keep posters in communal areas or use digital displays to remind and empower building occupants to embrace bird-safe practices. Include protocols for helping injured birds and documenting window collisions.

Download a poster that you can print yourself or purchase a ‘Lights Out’ poster from PosterOne.

3. Book a FLAP Canada presentation

FLAP Canada regularly does presentations for various audiences on the issue of bird-window collisions. We also run workshops for building operators, maintenance staff, and tenants on how to monitor, rescue, and contain injured and dead birds found around their buildings.

If you would like to book FLAP Canada for a presentation or workshop, please complete our presentation request form or email us at flap@flap.org.

4. Create a team for Global Bird Rescue

Global Bird Rescue is an annual event hosted by FLAP Canada to raise awareness and inspire actions to protect birds from window collisions. Between September 27 and October 3, 2021, teams and individuals around the world will take to the streets to search for and rescue birds that have collided with buildings in their community. Global Bird Rescue is an excellent excuse to rally together your tenants to help migrating birds, while also increasing your company’s public profile.

Learn more about Global Bird Rescue and register your team at globalbirdrescue.org.

5. Promote ongoing tenant education (and pride) by making windows bird-safe

Tenants are also interested in knowing what management is doing to embrace green building practices! Create a point of pride year-round by investing in effective bird-safe window treatments for your building. In addition to being a talking point and saving birds’ lives, making your windows bird-safe can also help protect you from potential legal prosecution.

FLAP Canada, under the umbrella of BirdSafe® consulting, can help you make informed decisions to prioritize the highest risk areas of your building for treatment. Please contact us to inquire and learn more.

Bird-safe acid-etched glass. Photo: FLAP Canada

Have you started a tenant education program at your building? We’d love to hear about it! Email us at flap@flap.org.