BIRDS Advocacy
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 collaboration among the Saskatoon Nature Society (SNS), Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU), the Saskatchewan Light Pollution Abatement Committee (SLPAC), and Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation (LSWR). In 2025, Bird Friendly Saskatoon was created and has since joined BIRDS’ efforts.
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 FLAP Canada (25 million in Canada!).
About Birds in Real Danger Saskatoon (BIRDS)
What does BIRDS do?
We collect data on the number of birds that hit glass and the outcome of those events: died, were injured, or flew away.
Why are we collecting this information?
We want to save birds’ lives. 90% of all window strike mortalities result from collisions with household windows.
At LSWR, we take in all windowstrike casualties, even the ones that have already passed. We can use these birds to confirm identification, and then they are sent to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina for display or other research purposes. Even in death, these birds are still very useful.
Why is this data so important?
To effectively advocate for the City of Saskatoon to adopt Bird-Friendly Building Guidelines, we must demonstrate that there is a problem. Unfortunately, the data from across North America on window strikes is insufficient to demonstrate a problem in Saskatoon.
How can you contribute to this data?
The best way to track birds that have hit your window is on the Bird Mapper.
If you don’t want to enter the data into the Bird Mapper yourself, you can send us the following information, and we will enter it for you. If possible, a photo of the bird would be most helpful!
BIRDS & WINDOWS
THUD!
If you have ever heard this sound, you know that only the lucky birds survive a window collision, recover, and fly away.
Millions of birds die each year in North America from hitting windows.
Found a bird that hit your 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 if you commonly get window strikes), with a towel on the bottom so the bird stays stable and doesn’t slide on the cardboard.
Do not hold the bird in your hand for longer than necessary. You are perceived as a predator, and being held increases the birds’ stress response and delays 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 tisses. Being upright is important for recovery and drains swelling from the head.
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’t 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 with UV markings built into it, which birds see as a solid structure but is invisible to the human eye.
7 Solutions to prevent Birds and Window Collisions
“Keeping Birds Safe from Collisions with Buildings“
Join the Flight Crew!
The Flight Crew is essential to protect migrating birds. As Flight Crew Members, your role is to look for injured birds during your daily routine. Including trips into more high-risk locations (e.g., River Landing neighbourhood).
If you find an injured bird, we make sure you have the supplies on hand to respond. You place the bird in a paper bag or small box with a towel on the bottom, and keep the container in a quiet, dark place. You then either bring the bird to LSWR or you contact LSWR and request a volunteer to pick up the bird.
How to Join
Bird Friendly Building Guidelines
The American Bird Conservancy published a ‘Bird-Friendly Building Design‘ guide for building with birds in mind.
Toronto has some of the safest guidelines for bird-friendly buildings due to the advocacy efforts of the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP). Their guidelines:
- Toronto Bird Friendly Practices
- Toronto Bird Effective Lighting
- Bird-Friendly Development Guidelines
Calgary adopted some of Toronto’s early ideas for bird-friendly building designs with its ‘Calgary Bird Friendly Guidelines‘. These have been significantly improved over the years as FLAP has accumulated more data and research on what makes a building SAFE for birds!
The prospect of a national standard for bird-friendly building design guidelines is a huge and exciting development. This will greatly enhance cities’ abilities to adopt such measures across the country.
ORGANIZATIONS AND RESOURCES
Local
Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) – purchase products for your windows
Saskatoon Nature Society (SNS) – if you are interested in learning more about our local bird species
Meewasin Valley Authority (MVA)
Bird Friendly Saskatoon – join the effort to protect Saskatoon’s birds
Our B.I.R.D.S. Partners
Birds In Real Danger Saskatoon (BIRDS) is a partnership of several organizations and individuals in Saskatoon that is concerned about the number of birds dying from collisions with windows. These organizations include:
