Barrie Becomes Bird Friendly City

Barrie just joined the club! Of bird friendly cities in Canada, that is. Barrie is officially on the list of 15 municipalities in the country that are deemed bird friendly. The area has a healthy population of birders that are continuously concerned about the well-being of our feathered friends, and we are so happy to see this commitment to making our city safer place for birds. 

"According to Nature Canada, there are three billion fewer birds in North America today than there were 50 years ago. Much of the decline is attributed to human activities."

- Marg. Bruineman, Barrie Today. 

Read the full press release here. 

Tree Swallow in a nest box. Photo by Heather Kerrison. 

What does it mean to be a bird friendly city?

• No-roam” bylaw for cats, to reduce the amount of birds lost to cat predation. Although it is a difficult statistic to calculate, it is estimated that domestic cats kill 97-325 million birds annually in North America. Unlike native predators, such as raccoons or skunks, domestic cats are likely to kill birds whether they intend on consuming them or not. Domestic cats differ from natural predators in drastic ways which amplify their effects on wildlife populations. Predators in nature tend to be rarer in comparison to prey populations and naturally decline with prey populations, which does not ring true with domestic cat populations that are maintained at high levels through pet ownership. You can read our full blog on Caring for Cats AND Birds here. 
• Campaigns to raise awareness on the threats that birds face and how we can help mitigate them
• Providing residents opportunities to participate in community science projects with the aim of bird conservation. Citizen science not only provides us with an opportunity to connect more deeply with the spaces that we occupy and frequent, it allows us to feel like we are part of something bigger. Small, grassroot efforts can contribute to conservation management and environmental protection. You can read our full blog on citizen science initiatives that you can participate in today here. 
• Limiting Use of Pesticides. To learn more about how pesticides impact bird populations, please read our former blog Life Without Bugs is Life Without Birds: How Pesticides Affect Birds, here. 

Northern Flickers mainly feed on insects, particularly ants and beetles. Photo by Heather Kerrison.

• Creating Safe Environments for Birds. A great place to start is window decals, read our blog on How to Protect Birds from Window Collisions here. 
• Protecting and/or restoring natural environments. We recently were able to share the success story of Kirtland Warblers returning to Simcoe County after restoring their natural habitat. You can read the wonderful news here. 

We are so excited to see Barrie, as a city, becoming bird friendly. We know so many of our friends, family, and customers are avid bird lovers and supporters. We all want to see birds thrive, and collective efforts towards creating environments that help birds thrive, will ultimately help us all. 

To being bird friendly!


Warmly, 

Heather