Bird Friendly City
The City of Regina became the 5th municipality in Canada to earn Nature Canada’s Bird Friendly City designation! The certification is a badge of honour that celebrates the contributions municipalities make to save bird lives.
Birds play an essential role in maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems in our communities and our planet. But Canada’s birds need our help. There are three billion fewer birds in North America today than 50 years ago. The City of Regina wants to help reverse this alarming trend.
The Bird Friendly City designation encourages communities to take action to reduce the number of human-related threats to birds, create safe environments for birds by promoting stewardship and ensuring that natural habitats are protected and restored, and engage and educate citizens about the benefits of Bird Friendly Cities and celebrating birds in our communities.
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Official Regina Bird
We are thrilled to have the Black-capped Chickadee as our Official Bird of Regina! Regina’s Official Bird contest saw over 21,000 votes from Regina residents and played a crucial role in directing attention to the important roles these birds play along with the challenges confronting them. It brought people together, encouraged connection, ruffled feathers, it evoked laughter, it gave space for these important conversations, it gave voice to the birds for us to advocate on their behalf. We are so grateful for everyone who was involved in making this such a special initiative - this was a huge win for the birds!
Bird Friendly Actions
With Regina's designation as a certified Bird Friendly City, there is a strong focus to make our city a safe haven for wild birds. We can all work together to make our city bird friendly.
Preventing Window Collisions
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Did you know that 1 billion birds in North America die annually from collisions with glass? And it’s not just high-rises that kill birds. The majority of collisions are caused by residential homes and low-rise buildings.
What we can do:
- The key to stopping birds from flying into your windows is to make the entire window look like a barrier to birds. You can do this by applying dense patterns of markings (small dots, squares, lines, etc.) to the entire surface of the outside of your window. To be most effective, apply markings in a dense pattern, leaving no gaps more than 2” by 2”. If gaps are any larger, birds may try to fly through them and still hit the window. Be sure to apply markings to the outside surface of the glass, NOT the inside. Reflections of trees or sky on the outside of the window may render any internal window markings invisible. FeatherFriendly Window Markers is an effective and affordable solution which you can order directly from the Nature Saskatchewan store.
- If a bird has collided with a window, it has likely suffered severe head trauma which can lead to brain swelling. The sooner you get the bird to a Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre for treatment, the better chance it has for recovery. In Regina, contact Salthaven West at 639-999-4957.
Keep Cats and Wildlife Safe
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Each year in Canada, free-roaming cats kill between 100-350 million birds. This accounts for up to 75% of all bird deaths in Canada. Feral and free-roaming cats pose a huge risk for migratory birds in our communities. Through education, policy and bylaw enforcement, cities can become a safer place for birds and cats alike.
What we can do:
- We can keep cats and wildlife safe by keeping our cat indoors, supervising our cats on a leash, or building an outdoor catio. This will help save birds and ensure our cats are safe from becoming lost, being struck by a vehicle, or eating something that could make them sick.
- Any wildlife that has been caught by a cat needs medical attention. Contact your local Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre immediately. In Regina, contact Salthaven West at 639-999-4957.
- To review current pet bylaws for the City of Regina please click here.
Dim the Lights for Birds at Night
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Every year, billions of birds migrate in the spring and fall, the majority of them flying at night, navigating by moonlight and starlight. Artificial light can cause them to wander off course and toward the dangerous nighttime landscapes of cities. Millions of birds die colliding with needlessly illuminated buildings and towers.
What we can do:
- There are many things we can all do to reduce artificial light at night including: turning off exterior lighting, install automatic motion sensors and controls wherever possible, and down-shield exterior lighting to eliminate light directed upwards, to name a few.
2024 Events and Citizen Science
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Bird Friendly Resources
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- Beginning Bird Guide for AE Wilson Park – Bird Friendly Regina is excited to provide this Beginning Bird Guide for AE Wilson Park. Be sure to take a look the next time you stroll AE Wilson Park and see how many feathered friends you can spot!
In the News
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Bird Friendly City Partners
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