If you have a bird that has a hit a window?

First and foremost, do not leave the stunned bird on the ground outside as it will be vulnerable to predators .

Get a box ready (or have one handy already if you commonly get window strikes), with a towel on the bottom so the bird can be stable and not slide on the cardboard.

Do not hold the bird in hand longer than necessary. You are perceived as a predator, and being held increases the bird’s stress response, and delaying recuperation time.

If the bird is unable to sit up on its own, try to prop it up as much as possible with cloths or tissues. Being upright is important for recovery and drains swelling from the head.

For more information and details, see the flow chart here:

What to do

For us to effectively advocate for the City of Saskatoon to adopt Bird-Friendly Building Guidelines, we have to be able to demonstrate that there is a “problem”. Unfortunately, all the data from across North America about window strikes is not sufficient as it may not apply to Saskatoon.

The best way to track birds that have hit a window is on the Bird Mapper: https://birdmapper.org/app/

If you do not want to enter the data onto the Bird Mapper yourself, you can send us the following information and we will enter it. Please take a photo of the bird if possible!

(Bird Collision Report Form)

Solutions to Prevent Window Strikes

Tired of finding injured & dead birds under your window?

Solutions don’t have to be complicated or expensive… Even the simple act of letting your windows be dirty and dusty can help birds “see” the glass. Humans don’s see glass either, but we use visual cues to tell us there is a solid pane there (although sometimes we miss those cues and walk into glass doors). For new buildings, there is now bird-friendly glass that has UV markings built into it which birds will see as a solid structure, but is invisible to the human eye.

Temporary and Permanent Solutions Read More…

B.I.R.D.S. Advocacy and Volunteering

Birds In Real Danger, Saskatoon, Volunteering

B.I.R.D.S. has been actively advocating for bird safety since its inception in 2017. The partnership grew out of a communal desire to protect our feathered friends, and became a partnership between the Saskatoon Nature Society, (SNS) Wild Birds Unlimited, (WBU) Saskatchewan Light Pollution Abatement Committee, (SLPAC) and Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation (LSWR)

We are all passionate about birds and recognize the threats to birds from flying into glass structures. Over 699 million birds are killed by glass in North America each year according to the FLAP Canada. (25 million in Canada!)

Bird Friendly Building Guidelines:

The American Bird Conservancy published a guide for building with birds in mind.

Bird-friendly Building Guide

Toronto has some of the safest guidelines for bird-friendly buildings due to the advocacy efforts of FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program).

Calgary adopted some of Toronto’s early ideas for bird-friendly building design. These have been significantly improved over the years as FLAP has accumulated more data and research on what makes a building SAFE for birds!

Calgary Bird Friendly Guidelines

We are VERY excited at the prospect of a NATIONAL standard for bird-friendly building guidelines. This will greatly enhance and support cities ability to adopt such measures.

A national standard for birds and windows

Birds & Windows

THUD!

Our B.I.R.D.S. Partners